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Ferromagnetism

Ferromagnetism

Materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt consist of magnetic domains, within which the magnetic dipoles are arranged parallel to each other. The magnetic dipoles are rigidly aligned in the same direction within a domain by quantum mechanical coupling among the atoms. This coupling is so strong that even thermal agitation at room temperature cannot break it. The result is that each domain has a net dipole moment. However, some materials have weaker coupling, and are ferromagnetic at lower...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 16, 2025

An Additive Manufacturing Technique for the Facile and Rapid Fabrication of Hydrogel-based Micromachines with Magnetically Responsive Components

An Additive Manufacturing Technique for the Facile and Rapid Fabrication of Hydrogel-based Micromachines with Magnetically Responsive Components

Published on: July 18, 2018

Exploiting ferrofluidic wetting for miniature soft machines.

Mengmeng Sun¹, Bo Hao¹, Shihao Yang¹

¹Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Nature Communications

|December 23, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers harnessed ferrofluid wettability to create reconfigurable magnetic soft machines. These liquid machines offer advanced capabilities for minimally invasive robotics and biomedical applications.

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Materials Science
Biomedical Engineering

Background:

Soft machines are crucial for minimally invasive robotics and biomedical applications.
Current soft machines primarily use solid magnetic materials, limiting their adaptability.
Progress requires fluidic constructs from reconfigurable liquid magnetic materials like ferrofluids.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate controlled reconfigurability of ferrofluids for versatile soft machine creation.
To explore the potential of ferrofluid droplets in complex environments and applications.
To advance the capabilities of miniature magnetic soft machines for biomedical use.

Main Methods:

Harnessing the wettability properties of ferrofluids.
Utilizing magnetic fields to control ferrofluid droplet behavior (splitting, re-fusion, motion).
Configuring ferrofluid droplets into various functional soft machine prototypes.

Main Results:

Achieved controlled reconfigurability and multimodal motions of ferrofluid droplets.
Demonstrated ferrofluid machines negotiating challenging terrains.
Developed functional prototypes: liquid capsules for cargo delivery, liquid cilia matrices for biofluid pumping, and liquid skins for machine construction.

Conclusions:

Ferrofluid wettability enables the creation of versatile, reconfigurable magnetic soft machines.
These liquid-based soft machines significantly enhance complexity and functionality for biomedical applications.
The study opens new avenues for advanced minimally invasive robotic systems and drug delivery platforms.