Thursday, August 14, 2014

The particles of iron or magnetite dust

Arden Warner and his colleague Curtis Crawford at work at Fermilab. © Fermilab, Reidar Hahn

Transformer oil in a magnetorheological fluid

Warner wanted to have a clear heart and it began to make simple experiments in his Garage with a magnet on the refrigerator and filings iron in engine oil. Encouraged by early results, the physicist began a serious study of the phenomenon. It has indeed been found that could be obtained, not a ferrofluid, but with a magnetorheological fluid oil. The particles are, in this case, of micrometer size and there are some differences in the behavior of a  magnetorheological fluid relative to a ferrofluid.

The particles of iron or magnetite dust by Warner used have sizes between 2 and 6 microns . They were obtained with a viscous fluid which follows the movement of particles when it is immersed in a magnetic field. The physicist has made ​​some videos that show the effectiveness of his method. It is even more so if the magnetic particles used are also hydrophobic , which means they will tend to concentrate in the oil.

The Arden Warner method is promising and, besides, he already filed a patent. It has the particular advantage of being environmentally friendly because magnetite is found naturally in the oceans. Initially, it may be an alternative dispersants that are used to fight against the tide black. BP had such Corexit 9500 used to disperse the oil microdroplets during the oil spill of 2010 Not only this presents some hazards Man, but its impact on the ecosystem is poorly understood marine long term.