New way of making a ferrofluid. Costs less than 3$!!!

Ferrofluid - a substance that's liquid under normal conditions, but turns solid in the presence of a magnetic field.

I found new way of making home made ferrofluid and I want to share it with you guys.

The advantage of my project is cost. It's way cheaper than all other methods online and it is indeed very simple.

My ferrofluid consist only two inexpensive parts, you only need old record tapes and a bottle of acetone!

Step 1: Materials

You will only need ACETONE, record TAPES, cooking OIL and MAGNET.

---500ml/16 fl. oz. Acetone. (1.50$)---
Acetone is high flameable be careful with it. You can get it at department store. It cost around 2$.

---10 music tapes or 4 video tapes. (0.00$)---
Use old music or video records tapes.You can get them virtually in any basement...

---5ml/0.2 fl. oz. Cooking oil. (0.00$)---
Every house has a secret room...The Kitchen...

---1 big strong magnet. (0.50$)---
You can get it from any old speaker in your house. Just take it apart and use it!

WARNING: IT IS VERY SIMPLE!
REAL WARNING: ACETONE IS HIGH FLAMEABLE AND NOISOME! BE CAREFUL WITH IT!

Comments

[nerd7473]

awesome!!!

[grokcore]

You can't make nanoparticles out of casette tapes, sorry.
It's neat, but it's not true ferrofluid, it's some kind of ferrite suspension, but you can do something this with rust/iron filings and oil (and a really strong magnet).

[grokcore]

Oh - but you can make it though (but expect some nasty nasty fumes) www.sci-spot.com/Chemistry/liqimag.htm

[Newty]

This does look easy. But I'm not sure I'd call $200 per cup a "very low price" when a $60 per cup result tops a Google search for "buy ferrofluid". Does this instructable produce better quality stuff? To whatnot: The dish soap is the surfactant and also emulsifies the oil and water. Apparently you can make magnetite more soluble in oil or kerosene using oleic acid, or more soluble in water with citric acid. I'm also reading a journal abstract here where they got crazy and dissolved in water particles made of magnetite+styrofoam, coated with oleic acid, surrounded by oil, coated with dodecyl sulfate.

[hcaz-301]

You can buy it for about £10 per 30ml on ebay

[aristide202]

Good comment , compliments.

[beehard44]

yes, it is cheap, but you forgot onne thing, Delivery price. Maybe it is no big deal if you live in the US, but change the setting to the philippines, it's a different story...

[Zujus]

he he ;D This is one of my first instructables, actually it is way better to buy thing if your point is quality. ;) I made better one "Real" ferrofluid so this is very simple and basic version. But still pretty cool ;)

[moris_zen]

I tried same thing but burned the tapes .. I got a lot of ferrite fluid but quality was low - Couldn't get any shape like you show in the beginning . you sure this is fluid you made this way ?

[Darmago]

Could you be a little more specific on how you "magnetize" the ferrofluid, I'm a little confused at this point. Also, why does size matter and not strength for magnetizing it?

[last_decoy]

another good substance is to ask mates or uni ("borrow") finished toner cartridges! there is still always at leased a table spoon of toner powder left in them!! (toner is a magnetic ink) mix this into the substance too. it adds to the effect really well. !! dont make it too weak cause it just flops about after the magnet then !!

[beehard44]

i didn't know that regular toner cartriges use magnetic ink a.k.a. toner...
i thought that a special toner is used for that one...

[aristide202]

Me neither , Are you sure that toner is megnetic ? I thught it was som kind of organic. Anyway iron must be just a part of the compound

[Zujus]

Yea, there was popular instructable about that. :)

[itsthatsguy]

ok the way he made the ferrofluid is by putting amagnet underneath thats what he means by "magnatize" and you do want a strong magnet but you also want one that covers a big surface area so you get a big affect Cheers

[-Aj-]

good idea, greae use for all those dead floppy disks and cassette tapes! can also use mentholated spirits. should work. it is abit less evil on your head + less flammable. also dissolves in water dont know if acetone does if that helps at all. im off to pilfer old video tape now!

[joachimboaz]

Acetone seems to have failed to dissolve video tapes for me. Did 'mentholated spirits' work for you? If so, what are they and where can I get them? Thanks.

[aristide202]

Acetone failed to dissolve my viideos too. I kept tapes in acetone a night long and nothing happened. Tapes were all of the same set. Acetone was clear , no iron oxide dust appeared, I guess tapes differ in some kind of wear protection. I' ll try with some other different set of cassettes. I tried to add nitro paint diluent but nothing happened. What about gasoline ?. Anyway I got rid of that junk at last.
What about tumbling mineral magnetite in a pop bottle with little round quartz stones. Quartz stones are free and harder than black magnetite that is free also.. You can collect nagnetite in many river sands using an magnet. That's just a last minute idea , I didn't try to tumble magnetite jet.

[psycho_3852]

READ BEFORE YOU POST, plz

[KevinAlien26]

At your local bar xD

[TheRealDutchOwner]

Never do this to a tape that still works. If you do, i'll be around your home tonight... Just kidding, but never use working tapes. VHS? Go ahead, they still make them.

[simonfman]

does it have to be written over before i do that to it? i put a small strip of VHS which was a movie in there too and when i run my finger over it really hard, my finger turns a little black. the other tapes are completely new and have never been written over

[magnet18]

most rust is actually fe2o3, dosen't change anything, just sayin...

[mrmorose]

Great idea, but it doesn't seem to work very will with VHS tapes (no clue why). We couldn't get the ferric oxide to separate from the film using acetone set for about two hours. shrug*

[tomorrowsman]

Same problem; audio cassettes worked fine, but I have a bucket of videotapes I could seemingly just respool and watch again. Anyone know how to do this with VHS tapes?

[r-philp]

I tried dissolving the iron oxide off a video tape with acetone, but it did not work. Is the manufacturing process of video tapes different than audio tapes?

[Zujus]

It could be chrome based video tape or something simply went wrong.

[joachimboaz]

Same problem. I don't know if they're chrome-based vid tapes or not. They look old, standard, and cheap. I found a bunch on the street, bought a gallon of acetone, let it soak over nigh, and nothing!. ALso, wasn't clear from your instructions: Do you let the acetone evaporate before trying to harvest your ferric powder? (Not that I had anything to harvest.)

I put a lot of time and effort into this and I don't want to give up. Could it be that the room temperature wasn't warm enough? Will waiting longer help? Or do I just have to throw away the whole ugly, stinking mess?

[jarheadwithm16]

Try using toluene.

[death192333]

Just spit balling here, but wouldn't used hand warmers work? They use iron powder that then oxides and produces heat. Thus spent ones contain mainly iron oxide with a small amount of impurities.

[kretzlord]

I made similar stuff with silicon oil and some magnetic powder that came with a laser printer service kit, its called developer. Worked out pretty cool, was able to get some nice effects. best of all, no acetone required

[turbosinaboy]

Have someone tried other than edible oil? Like motor oil...

[mr.squeakers]

thank you

[Frankiescou]

How much Fe304 Do you need for 1 ml? I need a bigger amount of ferrofluid and its for my science fair project.
Please Reply. (I got tons of Fe304 and vegetable oil).

[Nicola Tesla]

can u use nail polish remover?

[Frankiescou]

Nail polish is the same than acetone but I think that it is better to find "acetone".

You could try... :D

[YummyPancakes]

I would highly suggest working on your English. I had a lot of trouble reading this Instructable, and many of your others. Thanks.

[PikminRed]

Aww Come on man! I read it just fine. Are you some other nationality? Because your first language is obviously not English. i grew up speaking English and Spanish. Its just fine.

[schimmi]

it's fine

[miiwii3]

i agree

[budabob07]

good way to do it (pretty) easily, but for higher quality fluid you might want to try http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/liquidmagnet.htm

[123456]

Hey, I highly suggest not to use video cassettes, because there's a high probability that it won't dissolve and you'll just waste acetone. Audio tapes are the way to go.

[Zujus]

Na jei neuzdengsi bliudo tai isgaruos acetuonas :D tai taip ir pagerina efekta kad jis ten lieka :D 

[piestas]

A kodel uzdengt reik bliuda su acetonu? kaip nuo to gali but efektas geresnis ?.

[nutsandbolts_64]

 I guess I'm making another instructable about making ferro fluid for cheap. It involves sand, a magnet, and a plastic bag.

[Zujus]

 Yes, you can gather iron parts from the earth or sand. But there is such a instructable :)

[nutsandbolts_64]

 Really! Where?

[wolf1234link]

 what if you just pour it out is it like mercury like stays in single drops or is it like water and just flows away

[GlueyMcGee]

just burn steel wool, you'll get more in a shorter period of time. Burning steel wool gives Fe3O4 or black iron oxide or magnetite.

[Lance Mt.]

Anyone else tried this? How safe? (the burning method)

[GlueyMcGee]

just do it outside and you'll be fine. its safe as long as you don't have anything dry near VERY HOT.

[beehard44]

well, if u own  alotta tapes, this is the easier way 2 go....
i wonder if denatured alcohol can do that

[ampeyro]

do you think this could be done with the dust from cutting steel with carbon discs?

[TEKNOLOGIKAL]

 Looks cool although i would rather use baby oil instead of cooking oil

[drayegon]

experiment with differing amounts of oleic acid and types of dish soap. try using colored dish soap green or orange or blue or purple add more tone mix as well. All of this stuff is trial and errrrror!! if i donut work add more RRRRR's Make fun nobody going to buy from your stuff this is not for RE SAIL more like RE SOLE! or is it RE S OLE` dray

[flying texan]

I foregot.....then shake well!

[flying texan]

I used a glass bottle to put tapes acetone and a wire brush as an aggitant to better scrub off ferric oxide, and then I used hard drive magnets to pull the ferric oxide from the tapes as well.

[Koil_01]

This would work on all those old useless floppies too. Sweet Instructable!

[Lance Mt.]

USELSS!?!?!?!

[ZxxxY]

COOl! and cheap. now only need to find some tapes... But this is awesome =D!
And i know that u re from Lithuania... Mee Too =D!

[Zujus]

Sveikas, keista kad kazkas is lietuviu domisi tokiais dalykais :) is kur tu?

[ildiko]

My ferrofluid doesn't show spikes...what could be the problem???

[whiteoakart]

Please do this in a well-ventilated area.

[Carigo]

Also, preferably do not use a plastic bowl, as you run the risk of dissolving the bowl as well. Glass/ceramic is perfect.

[xenobiologista]

I think that's the point of the magazine over the tub, to stop the acetone from evaporating too fast and having a lot of fumes build up in your work space. Container w/airtight lid would be better probably.

[Biotele]

1)Burn Steel Wool 2)Put in water 3) Wait a couple of days. All the FeOx will turn to powder. 4)Separate the magnetite with a magnet. The trick with ferro fluid is to have very fine powder so it make a suspension called a "colloid". The medium is usually a mixture of oil and kerosene. Maybe if you put the magnetite in a tubler you will get very fine powder.

[999592]

colloidal

[Mr.NHRA]

burn steal wool with a 9 volt?

[Zujus]

Thanks I will try to get steel wool and if this will work i involve this to my instructable (with your name of course).

[Biotele]

Did I say a couple of days...I meant a couple of weeks. I don't understand the process but burned steel wool maintain its integrity and doesn't fall apart. After soaking in water for a couple of weeks, red rust will appear and the burned steel wool falls apart. I hope someone can explain this and suggest a faster process.

[bikerbob2005]

hot hydrogen perxiod will work faster than water its not nearly as mole stable as water is. as for the steel wool get the super fine type ,dont burn it with fire use a 9 volt battery as fire will give bad contaminants .next week how to centrifuge right guard for the alu oxide

[twenglish1]

you can add vinegar to speed up the rusting to a couple hours

[twenglish1]

oh crap i forgot you have to mix bleach and vinegar and put steel wool in and it rusts the whole piece in a couple hours then filter the rust out with a coffee filter

[flio191]

i would use one of those fish tank bubblers, so it touches more oxygen... so it oxidizes. or one of those hydroponics air stones... in any case, just get more air on it, and it should rust faster... right?

[Zujus]

I think it will only work in theory.

[beehard44]

well, the reaction slows down when there is less dissolved O2, cuz O in FeO is oxygen, and where will the iron get the oxygen from oxygen-depleted water? flio has a point there...

[duct tape]

You take steel wool, put a 9-volt to it, and then when the core is glowing red, drop into a bucket of water. this gave me results in 2 nights.

[Biotele]

I burned the steel wool over the stove. it took a while to get it all burned. And i had to blow at it. Is the 9 volt battery faster? When the core is glowing red is it transient or does the 9 volt battery maintain a current and glows red for a while? I will have to try it. Thanks.

[duct tape]

Basically, you just touch the battery to it and it starts to burn. Then you take the battery away and it keeps burning. If you want it to go faster, you have to blow at it still. Sometimes you will get Fe2O3, sometimes Fe3O4. What do you mean by transient?

[Biotele]

that's what I usually do, but it takes two week for the steel wool to disintegrates. It must be the water.

[duct tape]

after the steel wool is cooled down, take it out of the water and leave it in the sun.

[porkdemon]

could you use motor oil to get a different looking substance with the same properties?

[NullFlux8ight]

Thanks Zujus. I'm in the process of constructing a 3D magnetic field viewer. You get one free. Look for it on Youtube. Keep up the great attitude young man, your rare. I've found a substance that is free, it can be crushed into a powder, it's water bourne and it can be very easily magnetized. Like I said your 3DViewer is free. [e-mail]

[professorred]

this is well done. but, does anyone know how to mak/ get instructions to make a higher grade ferrofluid.

[bfk]

Try this link:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/liquidmagnet.htm

You won't need tetramethylammonium hydroxide and I think you can even substitute citric acid for the oleic acid listed, which may be more difficult to get.

Have fun. Make an inst.

[Zujus]

I know that. :) But you need Tetramethylammoniumhydroxide 15% in water. So if you can get this from Sigma Aldrich or somewhere else you can make really high grade ferrofluid. But it is pointless because that regent cost more then real ferrofluid.

[professorred]

ah. thanks

[someguy1234]

can you elaborate on step 4?

[i_build_stuff]

oh man finally cheap ferro fluid the homemade stuff may look disgusting but u cant beat the price especially considering how much the "real" stuff costs thanks.

[Ward_Nox]

thi is the stuff that will dance if you put it near a base right?

[Dvanex]

Well actually a bass speaker would be controlled by an electromagnet so if you were to put this by a subwoofer it would move around and look pretty cool.

[Zujus]

aaa. you mean that way. Yea probably will.

[Zujus]

Nop.

[itsthatsguy]

Hey nice instructable but i have 3 questions plz answer them 1. Your ferrofluid is brown is it supposed to be brown? i though black 2.the magnet your using to make it do the "tricks" does it have to be neomoduyim or an elctromagnet? 3.If you know this, whats the pullforce or "lift" of the magnet you used? thanks for the help Cheers

[Zujus]

1.It supposed to be brown (it is NOT real ferroflui, it is scaled up version with bigger particles) 2. Any speaker magnet will work, no big difference in this situation. 3. No it is just a regular magnet.

[itsthatsguy]

Cool thanks man Cheers

[n8man]

the real stuff is shinier and looks better but it's cool that it works

[Zujus]

Of course, I almost made it myself but it is really hard to do it, because you need whole chemistry lab and a lot of rare chemicals. And at the end making it cost 3-5 times more then just buying.

[gorgo333]

why do people use acetone for everything??

[edfel01]

so if i use 2 VHS tapes how much acetone and cooking oil?

[IAE]

could you substitute the acetone with anything else???'

[-Aj-]

and i just remembered. no metho will NOT work. you basically need to use acetone as it is a very effective at dissolving this stuff and leaves no residue when it evaporates. you can get it from your local hardware, is guaranteed.

[-Aj-]

yes you can, try methylated spirits. it MAY work. its basically pure alcohol ( plus a colouring agent and some poisons that taste bad so people dont drink it ; ) )

[Zujus]

lol. People are really stupid mammals...

[-Aj-]

well, ethanol is the alchohol thats in drinks. so PURE alcohol is like the god of vodka basically lol. and considering you can by 5L for under $20. well gee all those 16yr olds having parties out there.... and just cheap drunk hobos and the such. seeing as it is a poison, and you will die if you have to much so they put stuff into it to make it considerably less appealing.. yes some still persist in drinking it. "yeah ill have a metho and orange thanks" cheers

[tom_jones]

the poison in methylated spirits is methanol. drinking methylated spirits is highly dangerous and very stupid due to methanols toxicity. still many people try to distill it to make cheap vodka why????

[Zujus]

lol. You may not agree, but I think drinking alcohol is really stupid.

[-Aj-]

nope, i totally agree. its a toxin that puts strain on your body and causes brain damage. especially when wielded by 16 yr olds and all their little friends. im 18 and i really dont drink, i have had afew just to see what the stuff was like, but ill only drink stuff that i actually like. and never enough to get anywhere near drunk. although i would like to know how much i could handle cause then i would have ultimate bragging rights over my friends lol :P but i prefer to stick to water, i really prefer to keep my body in top condition, or atleast work on getting it there. filtered and uv sterilized water is prefered, haha. lucky i have my espring. :D oh yeah on a random note, some guys in japan have come up with a stuff that does your livers job for you basically. it converts the alcohol into co2 and water. would be very good in situations where you have stupid blind drunk kids who are in serious trouble. just give them a shot of this and it kills their blood alcohol level. ill have to go over my chemistry as im sure i could figure out what would do that, hmm.

[xkwiptwendl]

Good man- I'm 17 and refuse to drink, even though that's what all the "cool kids" are doing.  I intend to keep it that way :-)

[Zujus]

Nice! Total respect for that! I am 18 too, and i stop drinking at age 14. lol. i never really drank anything strong for real, but i know a taste. It just strange why the hell human do harm to their self. :/ I am OK when this is for taste, but when that goes beyond that is totally unlogical. But people do a lot unlogical things...

[PetraMaijer]

Just check the beauty and makeup aisle in the store.

[Zujus]

I don't think so. But why you need that? You can buy it easily. ;)

[chuck norris]

hey im just starting this electronic building stuff. could any of you give me any tips on handeling and creating electronic stuff? c'mon im chuck norris. you can help me right?

[Dael]

hey chuck, im a sophomore in electrical engineering technology at purdue.

here our links to the course pages.

Purdue ECET Courses

each column corresponds to what year in the program the courses are taught. so first column is first year, second column is second year, so on.

107 is where youre gonna want to start, thats all the basic analog stuff. you can find power point slides on the site.

sadly not all classes have power points slides available, but hopefully that can get you started.

if you need any help with anything let me know.

[-Aj-]

mmm electrical tastiness, i just like making random cool stuff and coming up with ways to take over the world... opps did i say that? unfortunately someone has figured out paint on solar panels before me. well i suppose it is about time they came up with it. i didnt quite have the chemical knowledge or materials to make them 2 yrs ago when still in school ... and still dont :( alwell, onto bigger and better creations! (well these days its smaller and better really). ah yes thats right was trying to do an rc insect.... dont have the materials for that either. hmm, this is beginning to look to be a trend..... perhaps just stick to ferrofluid till i have the money for the big boys toys.... and i dont even have the Oleic acid to make that! gah! *head desk*

[DELETED_Nicker987]

(removed by author or community request)

[Dael]

From what im told by my advisors, i shoulf be aiming to make 50k-60k out of school

[DELETED_Nicker987]

(removed by author or community request)

[Dael]

not too sure =\

[DELETED_Nicker987]

(removed by author or community request)

[Dael]

well i asked my friend about it (her dad is a EET) and she says he makes 110k a year

[DELETED_Nicker987]

(removed by author or community request)

[Dael]

lol no, doctors can make like, 400k+. it all comes down to what you want to do

[DELETED_Nicker987]

(removed by author or community request)

[benhudson]

As with everything, it depends who you work for and how good you are. To take the best example, a barrister can earn upwards of £300,000 at his best. If he trains in Scotland, he will earn literally nothing for a couple of years - even in England the average for the first couple of years is about £10,000p.a.

[-Aj-]

um yeah. you dont make nearly 50-60k straight out of uni. 30k would be a more reasonable number. ok i find this quite funny in a way. you get out of school and go to uni or college right. you get a degree. congrats, you just spent the last 5 years and some insane amount of money so you now have a little piece of paper that says you can go and get a job and NOW may begin earning money. the first 3 years of which will be paying off your hex fees / breaking even with your college fees. and then after all this you will be earning a decent income... and at the end of the day you still groan because you have to get up the next day for work.. yay! have fun.!!!!!!11 unless you like your job ;-) but still... lol

[Zujus]

Men i like your style!!! i tottaly agree! :D So what do you think, what is the way ot of this?

[Vendigroth]

you're chuck norris, you don't need help

[nrlaing]

REMEMBER!!! Any solvent, like acetone (or gas, eek) can explode if near an open flame or spark. If heating, NEVER use the stove. A good way to exaporate it faster is to put your container in a larger container, and fill the larger container with boiling water. Acetone has a lower boiling temperature than water, so it will boil as well. Make sure to ventilate properly!

[recon506]

couldnt you just like bury the paper-wrapped magnet in your back-yard and get all those little metal filings that are in like every single grain of sand in the world?

[Zujus]

Do you really tryed this method? No this does't work in my back yard...

[Loops101]

lucky i got some black iron oxide handy

[bardon08]

if you want an iron base to add to oil in order to make ferro fluid then you can just burn steel wool

[rustysmoove]

this worked great for me . I drank mine when i was done, then put a magnet on my back and made funny shapes in my stomach.

[pokefreak501]

*right eye twitches uncontrollably for 5 minutes*

[crankyjew]

dude...

[glassspider2142]

im makeing my own iron oxide.....dont buy it you can get lots for nothing. just stick some olld rusty steel or iron in a buckket of water and hook up to car battery with jumper cables a tea spoon of salt desolved in hot water thrown in to speed it up and scrape the scum floating off the top the next day. dry in sun on news paper. when iron all eaten boil away water till you have paist and dry on news paper in sun or oven. you may need to experiment on ways to get it fine textured but shouldent be hard if it dry enuff.

[codesuidae]

Ferrofluid is not supposed to be magnetic. When you take the magnet away it should collapse back to a fluid.

[martinroger]

Hey ! I tried this with VHS tapes I got... something like 10 years ago. Since there was a lot of tape, I put the whole 1l of acetone with it, covered it and put it out for 12 hours, slightly shaking it occasionnally. It seems that the glue employed in those VHS was not reactive to Acetone, so I guess that tests must be made to ensure that the tape will effectively be melt. I also think that heating a bit ( like putting it under the sunlight ) the enclosure could accelerate the reaction of melting. Then again, it didn't work with those VHS tapes. It could also be due to different substracts - Fe was often replaced by other magnetic elements in modern videotapes -. I got to find audio tapes and try it again. :D M

[chennate]

how do you magnetize the ferrofluid???

[Zujus]

I put magnet under it. ;)

[chennate]

oh

[pooboy]

nice 1

[Whatnot]

It's a nice instructable but I think you need to experiment with the final mixture to make it better, perhaps find an emulsifier to make the mixture smoother.

[nepheron]

use baby oil (mineral oil) vege oil will rot

[TheBikemaniac]

Hey would just smashing a magnet give you the same powder?

[Zujus]

No. You will get pieces of magnet not Ferrum oxide. ;)

[_Kent]

Does the type of cooking oil matter?

[Zujus]

No. :)

[dig-dug]

You can get powdered iron oxide online at cheapchemicals.com i believe. The quality will be a lot better and you won't have to worry about fussing with those old tapes. Now you don't have to sacrifice your old Duran Duran radio mixes :)

[Zujus]

Do they ship internationaly? :)

[perkinsb1024]

eBay does:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Iron-Oxide-Ferric-Black-Pwd-Magnetic-One-Lb_W0QQitemZ270129786024QQihZ017QQcategoryZ413QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Zujus]

Thanks!

[Culturedropout]

I've had about 6 old VCR tapes soaking in a gallon of acetone for about 36 hours now, and don't seem to be getting any reaction. The tape looks just like it did when it went in, only wet. I wonder if older (1980's) VCR tapes used a different binder that acetone doesn't dissolve? Any suggestions?

[Zujus]

Maybe, try to use cheaper VCR tapes.

[crumbnumber1]

Dude... cant you just break open an etch-a-sketch and pour the powder into water...

[gregr]

Etch-a-sketches are filled with aluminum powder which is not magnetic.

[Zujus]

Intresting idea ;) please do that and show to us. :)

[girrrrrrr2]

can i just use gas instread of acetone...the work the same on styrofoam...

[BlueFusion]

No you can't. Please don't if you like your face unfried.

[Zujus]

Mhm.... I really don't know. Try it yourself. ;)

[girrrrrrr2]

will VCR tape work as well...

[Zujus]

Of course VCR tape work as well ;)

[rocketbat]

ive heard that you can get iron oxide simply by puting strong magnets in a bag and dragging it through sand on the beach. great instructable!

[Zujus]

Thanks! Bur if you do that you will get small pieces of iron not iron oxide. ;)

[rocketbat]

yea thats what i thaught it would do, but it is in instructions for making ferrofluid (it is probably a mix that you get)

[girrrrrrr2]

Find a enough size blow... dont you mean bowl...

[Zujus]

lol. sorry ;)

[FreakCitySF]

The Exploratorium booth at the maker faire had another cool way to make this stuff. Take some steel wool. Burn it. Take the remains and mix it with cornstarch and water I think.

[Spl1nt3rC3ll]

Sigh... every thing has worked for me up to the mix the oil in with the magnetic dust from the tape. I've tryed many measurements but the cooking oil and the dust just won't mix. now I've got a soggy blob that doesn't do anything. Whats gone wrong?

[Zujus]

Try dish washer to melt some oil then mix everything. If this won't work try use olive oil or something simmilar. ;)

[Spl1nt3rC3ll]

Ok, I will try that. I think I used too thick of an oil. Thanks!

[Punkguyta]

You made a few picture duplicates in the first step btw.This is all nice, but what's the use for ferrofluid other than something to play with or use as an example for students?

[odiekokee]

One use is drag clutches, where you have a ferromag fluid inside a sealed enclosure, a EM coil on one end, or around the perimeter of the enclosure, and a shaft entering the enclosure with "paddles" suspended inside the fluid. Most of these fluids are actually dry particles, loosely packed, alot like locksmiths graphite. when the coil is energized, the fluid thickens significantly, creating drag, proportional to the strength of the field (which is proportional to the voltage applied to the coil) allowing variable amounts of drag on the paddles, slowing the rotation of the shaft.
https://sdp-si.com/ss/PDF/79013027.PDF is a commercial unit we use in our testing. (And I talk to much, I know)

[Zujus]

Hey! I really like to know more about all technologys that consist magnetic particles! :) please write if you know more ;)

[Zujus]

Real ferrofluid is used in HiTech speaker, medicine eyes surgery and etc. This ferrofluid is just for playing and exploring.

[25Kilovolt]

easiest source of iron power is to use toner developer(not toner its self) developer is is found separately from toner in some old cartridges and it is mixed in with most modern toner which is mostly carbon. you can find developer at a printer store that manufactures toner cartridges. ive got a very cool no mess ferro-non-Newtonian fluid instructable idea ill try to put up soon it will be my fist post.

[Zujus]

Ok, but that toners are expensive. I will post my new ferrofluid pictures (real with nanoparticles) soon. :)

[Never Turn Your Back On A $ailor]

Hey Dude Can this stuff be solid say at a certain temperature, and is it magnetic. I would really appreciate if someone helped me out. Thanks

[Zujus]

Check this out: http://www.tesladownunder.com/Ferrofluid.htm

[Never Turn Your Back On A $ailor]

Never mind

[motley]

i was just looking at http://www.sci-spot.com/Chemistry/liqimag.htm and wanted to make some... but where could if find the oleic acid? would olive oil just work the same? or would the supermaket have some pure oleic acid? yay! any help or sudgestions?

[Zujus]

I already tryed that thing... I have oleic acid but it doesn't works well... This method make ferrofluid but it don't make spikes. Also amonium smells really bad. Try this http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanolab/ffexp/index.html it works just perfect if you have 25% tetramethylammonium hydroxide in water ;D but you can order that thing, it available from Aldrich. :)

[HOMEPIE64]

yo this isn't working i got about enough powder stuff to fill one hole in a die!!! please help

[Zujus]

You need a LOT of tapes ;) also try to scratch oxide from tapes :)

[HOMEPIE64]

ok

[endolith]

"substance that's liquid, but turn solid in the presence of a magnetic field"

That's not ferrofluid; that's magnetorheological fluid. Ferrofluid stays liquid in a magnetic field (and doesn't have chunks in it).

The real stuff is made by ball milling the magnetite. Get (or make!) a spinning drum (coffee can?) and put some ball bearings in it and run it on some magnetite for a week.

[Zujus]

I trusted same Wikipedia :)

[oniony]

Or we could just remove the tape from the casette? Guess this way is more fun...

[Zujus]

After third tape you will start think different. ;D

[nonexplosive]

hay chuck you need to get your skills down start by going to the libairy and geting some books. start with bacic electronics books. once you master all the math and ohms law and shit like that you should check out 101 spy gadgets for the evil genius... good book...allso there is another one called more electronic gadgets for the evil genius.......but you must learn your basic electronic skills mostly ac/dc have funnnnnnnnnnnnn that what it is all about

[Zujus]

I helped him with soldering...

[solidification]

That is not Fe2O3, but Fe3O4. your source on howstuffworks is wrong. Fe2O3 is red and paramagnetic, not ferromagnetic.

[Phill]

Just remember to wear your mask and goggles when handling acetone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone#Health_effects

It's a mild irritant, and long term exposure may be a bit risky. Though, generally safe.

[Zujus]

Yes , and better do this with smaller sizes :) And watch out don't breath it! ;)

[buildingteen]

ooh ooh me have better idea hand warmers are almost entirely iron dust!!!!!! yay thank you short attention span for kicking in at ski shop!

[Zujus]

Mhm nice idea! :)

[chuck norris]

wait a minute... you're right!!!!!! >:) have a nice day! mmuuwwaaahhaaahaaa!!!!

[dalton2021]

why should he help you chuck you are chuck norris and you can do anything

[jackass9391]

yay!!

[Illidan]

ill have to keep it away from my dog then

[Illidan]

is this stuff dangerous?

[Zujus]

No. If you eat it YES. :)

[robotguy4]

I ALWAYS WANTED SOME OF THIS STUFF!!! =D Sweet!

[botronics]

Real Ferrofluid is not that expensive. You can get 30ml for $12 at Amazing Magnets. Then the ferrofluid will look like that picture with the black spikes.
http://www.amazingmagnets.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=108

[Zujus]

More intersting is make by your self.

[westfw]

Hmm. The earlier instructable points to a "real" synthesis here: http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanolab/ffexp/index.html that uses a mixture of FeCl3 and FeCl2 with ammonia. FeCl3 is commonly available as PCB etchant, and FeCl2 forms in the process of etching, so I wonder if you can make ferrofluids from spend PCB etchant? You'd be contaminated with copper and/or copper oxides, but would that matter?

[westfw]

Oops. Via Make Magazine, there was already a link for making a ferrofluid starting with PCB etchant, although they disolve iron to get the FeCl2, rather than using "spent" etchant.
http://www.sci-spot.com/Chemistry/liqimag.htm

[Zujus]

Thanx! i will make this to.

[VIRON]

The real stuff in the picture looks like hematite. I was thinking of crushing a hematite stone, but my hematite sample seems to be paramagnetic, and barely sticks to a supermagnet, and only on one side of it. Idea- Use "Chromium Dioxide type II" or "Metal type IV" tapes. Another idea. There is probably another solvent that dissolves all of the tape, and maybe it can be used to make a goo that not only works as ferrofluid but dries solid and keeps the field shape and maybe something weird happens like a phantom magnet remains. (invisible magnetic hologram? Levitation?) Or the solidified bumpy shape might just be a funny looking weak ordinary magnet. I've removed ferromagnetic powder from tapes before. This might work best for really old (8track or bigreel tape). I just stretched the tape and the powder wiped off real easily but took a long time to do all the tape. Einstein quiz: Are magnetic fields really bumpy like that? If so then why? Watch out, acetone is one of the REALLY flammable solvents, worse than petrol gasoline.

[austin]

so wher should i get acetone from? like a hardware store?

[FrenchCrawler]

Here's some links:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006PS3KS/sz-category78-20/ref=nosim
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006N5ESY/sz-category551-20/ref=nosim

[FrenchCrawler]

I think it's used in nail polish remover. I'm thinking you can probably use paint thinner instead.

[Zujus]

Nail polish remover works but not so good like acetone. You can get acetone i any hardware store.

[FrenchCrawler]

There's a problem with your list of materials. Those items may be free for you, but other people on here actually have to pay for those items.

Good idea otherwise, but I think Prank's way is faster and looks cooler cause it's got that metallic look to it (as other people have pointed out, you can get the toner ink from copy repair people): http://www.instructables.com/id/EWMSJWI1BWEP2878DV/