anyone heard of or even worked with the stuff? I'd like an opinion on something, or even better special knowledge on the subject. thanks

 

Wassup Josh... I looked it up...

A ferrofluid is a liquid that responds to magnetic fields. Ferrofluid is made by combining a small amount of ferrous magnetic material into a liquid. The magnetic material is a powder of very small particles. The magnetic material is first coated with a surfactant. The surfactant is basically a soap or detergent that prevents the particles from clumping together. The liquid carrier is usually a synthetic oily compound. Ferrofluid was originally developed by scientists at NASA doing research for the space program. Ferrofluid is now commercially available.In the absence of a magnetic field, the magnetic moments of the particles are randomly distributed and the fluid has no net magnetization. When a magnetic field is applied to a ferrofluid, the magnetic moments of the particles orient along the field lines almost instantly. This magnetic orientation produces a characteristic spike pattern in the fluid as seen in the picture to the left. The magnetization of the ferrofluid responds immediately to the changes in the applied magnetic field and when the applied field is removed, the moments randomize quickly. Medium: Light mineral oil; Saturation magnetization: 400 gauss; Initial susceptibility: 1.70; Flash point: 92

 

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well i know that much, in fact I have some in my posession. really cool stuff! But I was hoping for some first-hand knowledge...you know how I am about sending ppl to google

 

Yeah, heard of it. Never worked with it. The main commercial applications that I can think of offhand are computer controlled dampening of automotive shocks, hard drive bearings, and speaker lubrication. (Not entirely sure about those last two items, they might be something else in truth.)

Your best bet is probably to contact somebody who works in those fields, I guess.

 

that's what I'm looking for I came up with a prototype of a thingy last night, it works pretty well but I want to discuss w/ someone who has special knowledge.

 

Tell us about what it is you made, I'm interested.
I know that the fluid changes viscosity when magnetized. I designed a viscometer in college.

 

Talk to Road Rage, tell him axis_of_evil sent you. I'll bet he's pretty competent in applications to speaker systems at least.