Scientists have created the world’s first liquid permanent magnet using iron oxide nanoparticles. This new material could potentially be used in robotics in the future. Until now, it was believed that only solids could form true permanent magnets due to their structure, which ensures the necessary uniform position of atom spins. However, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have published a research paper in the journal Science, demonstrating that a permanent magnet can also be created from a liquid.
During their experiments, the scientists used various solutions containing iron oxide nanoparticles, which are normally only paramagnetic. When combined with a liquid polymer and oil, tiny droplets with a thick crust formed from the nanoparticles, as the iron oxide nanoparticles collected at the boundary layers. Unlike previous liquid magnets, whose magnetic field disappears once the external magnet is removed, the crust made up of nanoparticles remains permanently magnetic. The magnetic orientation remained intact even when the droplets were mechanically deformed later on.
According to Thomas Russell from the University of Massachusetts, the scientists have created a completely new material that is both liquid and magnetic, opening the door to a whole new field of research. In the future, the ferromagnetic droplets, which have the properties of a solid magnet, could be used in robotics, among other applications. The scientists also believe that magnetic sponges or other flexible magnetic materials are likely to be developed using this new material.
This breakthrough in creating a liquid permanent magnet challenges the previously accepted scientific theory that only solids can form true permanent magnets. The discovery could have significant implications for the development of new materials and technologies in the future.
