How to Make Liquid Magnets

Don an apron, gloves and eye protection before you begin handling any chemicals. The apron should be made of rubber or vinyl to protect you from liquid splashes. Your eye protection should fit you snugly and protect your eyes from any splashes.

Pour 25 ml of ferric chloride into a small beaker. Your beaker should be marked with ml increments to help you measure the correct amount of liquids.

Add 25 ml of distilled water to the ferric chloride in the beaker. You can measure 25 ml of distilled water accurately by pouring the distilled water into another beaker before adding it to the first beaker.

Place a small piece of steel wool inside of the beaker and stir briskly with your glass rod. The piece of steel wool should be about the size of a quarter. As you stir, gently mash the steel wool until it begins to disintegrate in the solution and the beaker becomes warm to the touch.

Add additional small pieces of steel wool, one by one, stirring and mashing after each addition. The solution will become a transparent neon green color. Soon the steel wool will no longer dissolve in the water and you will have floating pieces left over. This means that your solution has become adequately saturated with the steel wool.

Place the filter over a clean beaker and slowly pour the solution through the filter and into the beaker. This will remove any particles or sediment that did not dissolve completely.

Measure 40 ml of the strained solution and pour it into a large, clean beaker. Add 40 ml of ferric chloride to the beaker. Ideally, you should be using a beaker that holds 1,000 ml or more to ensure adequate room for the solution and liquid additions. If you have less than 40 ml of strained solution available, make sure that you add the ferric chloride at a 1:1 ratio (equal parts).

Ensure that you have an adequately ventilated area to work in, as adding ammonia will create toxic fumes. It might be a good option to do this part of the mixing outdoors if the weather is suitable.

Add 400 ml of ammonia to the solution very slowly, stirring briskly. It is important to not stop stirring, or the mixture will begin to clump. The solution will turn brown, then black as it becomes fully saturated.

Insert a thermometer into the solution so that you can monitor the temperature, and begin to heat it over your stove. Heat the solution until it reaches 120 degrees F.

Add 10 ml of oleic acid with your pipette, one drop at a time while stirring the solution. This will help keep the particles from sticking to each other.

Heat the solution until it reaches 200 degrees F. It will begin to boil, so be careful to avoid any splashing. Continue to simmer the solution on low until it evaporates enough solution to leave you with 400 ml. This should take approximately one hour. Monitor the solution carefully while it is on the stove.

Remove the beaker from the burner and allow the solution to cool completely.

Add 200 ml of kerosene to the solution and mix thoroughly. When you have finished mixing, the solution will begin to separate into two layers, a dark top layer and a lighter bottom layer. The top layer is the ferrofluid, or the liquid magnet.

Pour the top layer, the ferrofluid, into a clean beaker and discard the remaining layer properly, according to your local laws. The liquid magnet is now ready for use and will react when you place a magnet underneath the beaker.