Magnetic Attraction: New Material Guides Fluid Flow

摘要

A coating made of tiny hairs that act like miniature traffic directors of sorts can manipulate fluid flow in response to a magnetic field. Developed by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this new coating could be used in a range of applications, from sunlight-tunable windows to microfluidic devices. The surface coating consists of an array of microscopic hair-like structures made of nickel that tilt when exposed to a magnetic field. Each microhair is about 70 urn high and 25 urn in diameter.