When we posted our first ferrofluid story [frogz] threatened to make a video of his own version. Well he did and here's the video. He uses laser printer toner and suspends it in lightweight SAE10 motor oil. He says that a thinner oil produces shapes quicker. I don't think the power drill with the spoon attachment is really necessary though.
Quick and dirty ferrofluid
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(Page 1)4. Not all toner contains the ferrite. But there is toner for priting checks on laser printers that absolutely does. It is so the banks can read the account data laser printed onto blank check stock.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by Buzzkill
5. man this clip sucks i tought i was going to see some major explosions or something else buth no just a lame 4 min long clip
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by laine69
6. Just look at the ingredients on the toner bottle; if it contains powdered iron or ferrite it will work.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by josh santos
7. I'm not too familiar with the properties of toner. Is most toner magnetic or did you need to use the MICR toner mentioned above? I'm just curiouse because I'd like to try this without spending to much money on toner.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by Axlan
9. You need toner that contains powdered iron, such as MICR toner. Anything else won't work. Visit your local Pitney Bowes dealer, they should be able to get you some.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by josh santos
10. frogz! nice one. the music, though, i wasn't surprised to see it was named 'a night on xtacy' or more like a dance hall version 'rolling stones - paint it black.' so i guess it's all back to yours after the club for magic guiness.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by jim
11. So the video was slowed down so people got bored watching it... yet the text flashes by so fast you can't read it? Smrt. I wasn't aware MICR toner was readily available. I used to print cheques with it in a previous job, and the materials for that are (understandably) pretty tightly controlled - although maybe it's just the paper.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by pelrun
12. Wow... I don't know why, but I really liked the idea of the video being posted directly on the site, instead of linking us off to some other window.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by Richie solarski
13. yea i really liked the music. my attempts to find a copy have failed, help?
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by johnnyprimus
15. i mean the idea of ferrofluid seems pretty interesting, but i'm having problems seeing any practical application. lava lamp sounds cool, i wonder what else could use the magnetic powers of ferro fluid.... without practical application it's pretty much just a poor mans etch-a-sketch for the 2000's. but the tutorial was great and i am intrigued by the simplicity that is involved in producing it. thanks frogz
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by taspankya
18. http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Laser_printer
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by IronLizard
19. Aside from the spoon being necessary, anyone messing with toner like that should be wearing a dust mask and latex gloves.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by chris joseph
20. Hmm. I was just wondering if you could make speakers from this. Obviously, the fluid itself isn't going to produce any vibrations, but maybe if you trapped it inside something rigid. Also: coat something small in ferrofliud and float it over a really powerful magnet? The fluid seems repelled by the magnet, so it might work. Or what about making a lava-lamp type toy that works with electromagnetism rather than heat expansion? Suspend the ferrofluid in water or something else that won't mix with the oil and use a pair of electromagnets to make it dance around. Since it wouldn't be constrained by thermal transfer, you could get more complicated effects. Hell, feed it an audio signal for a truly unique visualisation device! I think doing something like this would require a lot of experimentation and tuning, but the output might be worth it. I'd be tempted to do it myself if I didn't lack a decent workspace.
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1. Normal toner isn't magnetic, it's plastic. In the laser printer/copier, it's attracted to the paper by a static charge. So, I guess I'd either want some sort of refutation of that or some explanation from frogz about how he managed to make normal plastic toner follow magnetic flux lines or a clarification about using micr toner or some kind of explanation of how this works. ps: i guess i am in the minority that found the music goofy, but in a fun way.
Posted at 3:05PM on Sep 3rd 2006 by josh