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World's First Practical Plastic Magnet

Posted by timothy on from the demagnetize-your-own-credit-card dept.

Stopmotioncleaverman writes "New Scientist is reporting that scientists at the University of Durham in the UK have created the world's first plastic magnet to work at room temperature from two compounds, emeraldine base polyaniline (PANi) and tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). In 2001, scientists in Nebraska created a plastic magnet, but it only worked at 10 Kelvin. Most notably from the article - "One of the most likely applications is in the magnetic coating of computer hard discs, which could lead to a new generation of high-capacity discs". This story is also being reported in lots of other places."

30 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Obligatory by CaptPuff · · Score: 4, Funny

    I for one welcome our plastic robot overlords... of the non-vibrating kind...

  2. I have this image.. by hexMonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    of Michael Jackson stuck to a lamppost

  3. Plastic Fantastic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So this is going to confuse poor operators of MRI machines then. Now they can't even take plastic stuff in. They'll have to go in naked.

    Mmmmm Naked Nurses :)

    1. Re:Plastic Fantastic by Lord+Kano · · Score: 4, Funny

      Mmmmm Naked Nurses :)

      My grandmother and ex-wife are nurses. The naughty nurse fantasy was ruined for me.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    2. Re:Plastic Fantastic by Frogbert · · Score: 3, Informative

      Mmmmm Naked Nurses :)

      Have you ever even seen a real nurse?
  4. Coming soon: Refrigerator Magnet Barbie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Whoohoo! In 2007, you'll be able to attach Barbie to the fridge.

  5. This takes time by bert.cl · · Score: 5, Informative
    After a quick read, I can only see that the polymer needs a lot of time to get magnetic properties, as opposed to metal. This might come in handy with hard disks, however, another usage I had in mind (Lego bricks and other children's toys) falls of the boat. Since I think this will be a little to expensive.

    I might be wrong though, I'm not a rocket scientist (or polymer scientist if you want)

    1. Re:This takes time by Spad · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is only their first prototype. The fact that it took some time for the magnetic properties to exhibit themselves may be a property of the polymer or it could simply be a result of what amounts to guesswork in producing the stuff in the first place.

      Now that they know they can get magnetic properties from the polymer they can work on refining it - making it stronger, more uniform and possibly "faster".

      Also, there's no real detail about the methods behind the creation of the magnets - for all you know it might cost them 50p to make each magnet, which would make mass-produced children's toys perfectly possible.

    2. Re:This takes time by RWerp · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I found the original article overhyped. It's just a "one sample effect". They need to present a method of producing (even highly inefficiently) ferromagnetic polymers, which works at least most of the time. Right now, they are probably guessing "but how did we do it???".

      People were delivering similar reports on "discovery of room temperature superconductivity" in the past. The trouble is, they could not repeat their achievements. They were also from Croatia, which didn't give them that much publicity.

      --
      "Long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead." (John Maynard Keynes)
  6. Potential for high-end audio applications? by j3ll0 · · Score: 5, Interesting


    I'm sure the audiophiles will correct me, but is it possible that this could be used to produce seriously high quality audio gear: specifically speakers?

    My understanding of speaker technology is that at it's most basic, a cone is held attached in some way to a magnet, which is moved by modulating the intensity of an opposing magnetic field. The movement of the cone produces sound.

    If you could build the magnet into the cone, ie make the cone out of magnetic plastic, that would have to eliminate a source of distortion from the reproduction, which would lead to better quality sound.

    I see this as a more realistic first application than building platters out of plastic.

    What do the audiophiles have to say?

    1. Re:Potential for high-end audio applications? by JanneM · · Score: 5, Informative

      IANAAP, but I believe electrostatic speakers covers that aspect pretty well already. There, the entire surface of the membrane is moving in concert as well.

      --
      Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
    2. Re:Potential for high-end audio applications? by Vellmont · · Score: 4, Insightful


      What do the audiophiles have to say?
      The "audiophiles" will say whatever you want them to say given the right price, and hype. Make it expensive and hype it up like "monster cables" and it'll be audio gold. Make it cheap and common and everyone will want "old fashioned magnets".

      --
      AccountKiller
    3. Re:Potential for high-end audio applications? by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Informative

      I don't really see how this plastic could ever really help make a better speaker, but knowing how many useless superstitious expensive bullshit many audiophiles will buy (i.e. cable that costs $300 per meter), I'm sure if you made such a product you'd have no trouble selling it.

    4. Re:Potential for high-end audio applications? by Lisandro · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What makes a speaker good is it's mainly the cone itself: it has to be very rigid but also very thin; if it's too heavy the amplifier needs to be more powerful (which reduces it's efficiency), and if it's too elastic it will vibrate and bend when moved back and forth, creating a nasty distortion. Not only that, the cone material has to be sonically "dead" (won't resonate at audible frequencies).
      Paper is the preffered choice; there's also kevlar laminate for some high end speakers. Some high frequency speakers ("tweeters") are made of aluminium.

      In fact, one of the latest "advancements" in speaker construction was not long ago when a japanese fella discovered how to shape thin wood sheets into cones... after soaking them with sake - apparently it's good for more than drinking, and makes one hell of a cone material. Not cheap though.

      I build my audio gear, and you wouldn't beleive the ammount of variables that goes into speaker designing (number of speakers, enclosure volume and shape, variable impedances, type and implementation of crossover network, etc). I think this technology could improve the magnets used in speakers if nothing else, making them cheaper, or stronger, but plastic cones (unless VERY rigid), it's not a good idea overall.

    5. Re:Potential for high-end audio applications? by jcr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, whether this material is suitable for speakers depends as much on its other physical properties (stiffness, density, etc.) as is magnetic properties.

      An idea speaker cone has no mass, and is infinitely stiff. An ideal driver is a voice coil with no resistance, working against a magnetic field with the highest flux density you can get.

      If you were to use this material in a speaker, it might make a decent diaphragm for a planar-type speaker, but just how good it is remains to be seen.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  7. Cool! by TheDigitalOne · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean that I can now stick my floppy discs to the refrigerator without wiping out the data?

    Heh :)

    1. Re:Cool! by kirk444 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Plastic magnets are clearly too advanced for you if you're still using floppy disks.

  8. Ohdear... by tigress · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is going to have some serious implications on the world's superhero balance of power.

  9. What people think by shfted! · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... and people say my inflatable girlfriend doesn't have a magnetic personality! Fah!

    --
    He who laughs last is stuck in a time dilation bubble.
  10. Could this lead by I7D · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Could this lead to lighter electric motors? Which might make the future of printing products in a personal 3D printer more functional.

    --
    Neil is that you? Yeah yeah, it's me... Neil...
    1. Re:Could this lead by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 3, Informative

      At this point, the field strength of these magnets does not even come close to the current magnetic/ceramic magents we have, so its uses would be extremely limited.

      In the article, they say that they were ready to throw the batch away, but they had aquired magnetic properties over 3 months in storage.

      Whilst we must obviously wait and see, it doesnt look likely at this point.

      --
      liqbase :: faster than paper
  11. Electromagnetism with plastic magnets ! by phreakv6 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Will this be possible with plastic magnets ?... If it will be then we could have better
    electric motors and generators isnt it ?

    --
    fifteen jugglers, five believers
  12. Furniture by Xerxes2695 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is great. Imagine a house full of items made from this material. Cups, pens, paper pads, tools etc. Just stick them to a table, wall, or door, and they stay put.

  13. I remeber... by Lisandro · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I remember not so long ago a news about some researchers that managed to create a conductive plastic; it was a remarkably better conductor than cooper. They were working into making it cheaper for mass production (can't find a link, anyone?).

    If these people manage to create powerful magnets for cheap, expect a lot of magnet-based devices (motors, hard disks, generators) to drop prices in the future; powerful ceramic magnets are still very expensive.

  14. Electric properties? by Vo0k · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder what is its conductivity?

    The problem with most magnets and electromagnets is that they are excellent conductors. In some applications this is desired, in many irrelevant, in some very undesired. A neat new way to mount easily replacable chips/cartridges, etc wherever spare metal parts may mean problems...

    And a nice property of many polymers is that it's quite common to make transparent derivatives. "glass magnet", interesting idea?

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  15. Replacing copper in hydrogen fuelcell engines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Replacing the copper spools of the electro engine in hydrogen fuelcell engines with light polymers will give fuelcell cars a serious weight advantage over combustion engines with their metal explosive combustion chambers.

    For us Europeans at least, for US American cars the reduced weight would be, what a reduction of 1%, and most likely be meaningless. :-)
    --
    Dennis SCP

    1. Re:Replacing copper in hydrogen fuelcell engines by Vo0k · · Score: 4, Informative

      Sorry to disappoint you but the idea isn't as stupid as it looks :)
      Electric motor needs magnets on both sides, both stator and motor. Only one needs to create variable field. You can perfectly well make the stator or rotor with normal magnets, frequently done with small motors too. The problem is any larger magnets are damn heavy compared to their strength, so usually in stronger/bigger motors electromagnets are used instead. Now if the plastic magnet was light enough and strong enough, it could perfectly well replace half of the coils present in the motor. The other half would have to remain there to create the changing field.

      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  16. Implants by nekosej · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just imagine what this could do for the bra industry if you could make magnetic breast implants!

    --
    Never pet a burning dog.
  17. As a resident of Durham I should point out... by levell · · Score: 4, Funny

    This article might be a tad misleading, most days room temperature here is about 10 Kelvin if you leave a window open.

    (For people that don't understand the Kelvin temperature scale this is not true and is in fact a bad attempt at humour)

    --
    Struggling to find a day everyone can make? WhenShallWe.com
  18. INSENSITIVE CLOD! by Eric_Cartman_South_P · · Score: 3, Funny
    Whoohoo! In 2007, you'll be able to attach Barbie to the fridge.

    But I need to attach her to the fridge NOW!