A ferrofluid is a metallic liquid that becomes magnetized when placed in a magnetic field. Ferrofluids are made up of clumps of iron nanoparticles that are evenly placed throughout a carrier fluid such as water or organic solvent. These clumps all work together to create a response to a magnet...
The area of ferrofluids is quite new, and very interesting. Ferrofluid is made of small particles (~10nm) of magnetite (Fe3O4) surrounded by a surfactant such as tetramethylammonium hydroxide. The surfactant is needed to keep the particles of magnetite from agglomerating (clumping together) due...