Ferrofluid Polls- Science Fair

Ferrofluid Polls- Science Fair

1)   Do you know what a Ferrofluid is?

Yes:  39

No: 10

2)   What ingredient do you think used in ferrofluid?

Kerosene: 36

Acetone: 4

Sulfuric Acid: 9

3)   How long do you think you boil ingredients in order to make a ferrofluid?

Under an Hour: 10

1-2 Hours: 35

4-6 Hours: 4

4)   Pick one use of ferrofluid?

Identifies Cancer: 35

Inside Football: 10

Seals a Jump Rope: 4

5)   When are there more spikes in a ferrofluid

When a magnet is closer: 39

When a magnet is further:  10

Ferrofluid questionaire

Ferrofluids

Ray Pioppo and Amanda Berger

1. Do you know what a ferrofluid is?
   Yes No
   
   
2. What ingredient do you think is used in ferrofluid?
   Kerosene        Acetone       Sulfuric Acid

3. How long do you think you boil ingredients in order to make a ferrofluid?
   Under an hour     1-2 hours      4-6 hours

4. Pick one use of ferrofluids.
   Identifies cancer      Inside footballs      Seals a jumprope

5. When are there more spikes in the ferrofluid?
   When a magnet is closer       When a magnet is further

pictures

May 4

Today Ray and I finished our ferrofluid. First we added 200ml of kerosene to our mixture. The mixture then turned orange with bubbles on the top. Our mixture of ferrofluid was supposed to have a dark substance on the top of two layers. However, we had five different color orange layers. We divided the layers in to separate beakers to test if they would react to the magnet even though they did not look right. Unfortunately, none of the mixtures reacted to the substances. Therefore, we were not successful in creating ferrofluid. As a team Ray and I still learned new information on ferrofluid and how to correctly make it next time we try. 

May 3

Today Ray and I heated the mixture for an hour. Specifically, we first put the mixture on a hot plate and stirred it while it was heating. Then we move the heated mixture to the bunsen burner until it came to a boil. While, the mixture was boiling we added 10 ml of oleic acid. We kept the mixture boiling until it smelt like ammonium. Once it started to smell we then cooled it and cover it until tomorrow.   Tomorrow, May 4 ray and I will add kerosene and finish our ferrofluid. Later at night during study hall, Ray and I went to see our future ferrofluid and it was broken up into 3 layers.

May 2, 2012

Today Ray and I worked on making ferrofluid again. Since we did not have ferric chloride we had to substitute it with 40 ml of the green ferrous chloride. We added the 40 ml of the green ferrous chloride to the brown ferrous chloride mixture. Then we added 400 ml of ammonia to the ferrous chloride mixture. The color of this new mixture of Ferric Chloride and Ammonia is now a dark brown. Tomorrow, we are going to heat the mixture for an hour and ass oleic acid. 

May 2nd

In class today, Amanda and I continued making our ferrofluid following the procedure instructions we made up serveral days ago. When we arrived to Mr.McCarthy's room, we were happy to find that there was a dramatic color change in the ferrofluid mixture. Since we made two samples of ferrofluid in class yesterday, we were able to utilize both by mixing them together. We poured 40mLs of the bright green ferrofluid into 40mLs of the dark brown ferrofluid. We then mixed the two, which changed the color of the liquids. We then added 400mLs of ammonia to the liquid and slowly stirred the mixture. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to cook the mixture today because it required at least an hour to boil it. We agreed that we would go to physics early tomorrow so that we'd have enough time to boil the substance. We hope the turnout of the mixture will be in line for our experiment.

Procedure May 1st 2012

Ray and Amanda

Procedure for making ferrofluid substance

Materials

Ferric chloride


Steel wool


Distilled water


Ammonia


Kerosene


Oleic Acid

Steps
1. Mix 25mL of Ferric chloride with 25mL of water.

2. Add steel wool then stir it until it turns bright green. (Bright greenish chemical is Ferrous Chloride or FeC12).
3. Strain it to get rid of the steel wool and dirt. Best to use a coffee filter as strainer.

4. Add 40 mL of ferric chloride to the Green Ferrous Chloride. The ratio should be 1:1.

5. Mix the solution and while stirring, add 400 mL of ammonia slowly.
6. Heat the solution for an hour at boiling point. When it has boiled already, stir the solution.

7. Add small amount of oleic acid while stirring. A total of 10mL of oleic acid should be added to your solution.
8. Continue heating near boiling point until the smell of ammonia subsides.
9. Let the solution cool entirely.
10. Add 200mL of kerosene and blend it well.

11. There will be 2 layers after the solution settled. The black layer on top is the magnetite particles (ferrofluid) and the second layer is the remaining water and kerosene. Pour the ferrofluid layer off on the top and trash the other layer.

Hypothesis #1

The ferrofluid will form bigger shapes and have more ridges when the strength of the magnet is increased.

We will test neodymium magnets.

Amanda and I will record the ferrofluid on video and observe the size of the shape the ferrofluid makes, the amount of ridges it has and the reaction speed at which it moves.

Hypothesis #2

Hypothesis for experiment- If we put different materials between the ferrofluid and the magnet, the reaction of the ferrofluid will change.

Materials could be- plastic, saran wrap, aluminum foil, wood, glass.

How do we measure the change?

Record by video- observe different shapes it makes, speed it moves at etc.

Materials

To make ferrofluid....
We need- ferric chloride (find substitute), steel wool, coffee filters, ammonia, kerosene and some beakers

• mix ferric chloride with water
• add steel wool - stir until bright green
• use a coffee filter as a strainer
• add more ferric chloride
• add ammonia
• heat for a hour at boiling (in a well ventilated space)
• let solution cool
• add kerosene
• pour off kerosene discard water

One way of making Ferrofluids

http://www.sci-spot.com/Chemistry/liqimag.htm

Materials needed

-OLEIC ACID -HOUSEHOLD AMMONIA -PCB ETCHANT (FERRIC CHLORIDE SOLUTION) -DISTILLED WATER -STEEL WOOL -A STRONG MAGNET -A HEAT SOURCE -2 BEAKERS -KEROSENE -PLASTIC SYRINGE -COFFEE FILTERS

Questions about Ferrofluid

What are ferrofluids?

Are ferrofluids safe to handle? 

How are ferrofluids made?

Can they made "at home"? 

What are the ingredients for ferrofluids? 

What are potential uses for ferrofluids? 

What is the texture of ferrofluids? 

What reacts to ferrofluids? 

Ordered

Ferrofluids have been ordered, along with the ability for DIY fluids and conception of your own variables

Simple Ferrofluid DIY

Here is a very simple approach to make a ferrofluid, are there any other ways we can make them? Can we add this too our research? Should we test out different ways? Can you find any others?

Look forward to your responses!

Ferro Fluids

What are Ferro Fluids? How are they made? Can they be made "at home"?