WHEN AUDI'S NEW TT vehicle hits the roads later this year, it will offer enhanced performance due to a semi-active primary suspension system enabled by magneto-rheological fluid technology The suspension system, supplied by Delphi Corporation and based on technology from Lord Corporation, allows continuously variable real-time suspension damping control. A similar system is also being used in the Ferrari 599, which develops 456KW and is claimed to be the most powerful production car of all time. The viscosity (internal resistance to flow) of Theological fluids changes dramatically in the presence of an electric or magnetic field, leading to their being referred to as 'smart fluids'. Depending on the field type responsible for the change, they are classified as either electro-rheological (ER) or magneto-rheological (MR). The first patent relating to MR technology was issued to Jacob Rabinow, then at the US National Bureau of Standards, in the late 1940s. MR fluids languished in obscurity until the late 1980s, when advances in microprocessor and sensing technology enabled their unique properties to be harnessed in practical applications.
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