Blog #6

The Ferrofluid lab today was very interesting. The process of making the ferrofluid took a lot of patience, but was worth it once it was complete and we got to see how it moved and changed due to the magnet. My group’s ferrofluid did not turn out quite like the other groups; it moved with the magnet but did not form spikes.

FerroFluid

Thinking back on it I think we might have rushed the step where it sits on the magnet until the water goes to the top and begins to become clear. dscn0154 I think that if we let it separate longer we might have had better results. Observing the ferrofluid made me wonder what kind of things this technology is used for today and what it could lead to in the future. Because of its relation to magnetic one day it might be a common material or used in equipment.

I also enjoyed the lithography lab today. Lithography is a method of printing something in stone or other material, for example today we used copper. After lab I decided to find out more of how it works. It uses a fat or oil to divide the surface of the material into hydrophobic areas. I remembered the word hydrophobic from the visit to the Dunn lab where we saw and learned how about hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials. Things that are hydrophobic repel water. The hydrophobic areas of the copper keep the ink in while the hydrophilic areas reject it making the background. dscn0168