[Noisebridge-discuss] do you have some ferrofluid i can use this weekend?

[Brink Of Complexity]

Well shucks, my ferrofluid is in storage, and I'm in NY.

However, obtaining more, at least the dirty opaque variety, is pretty darn
easy.

Automatic transmissions routinely make the stuff.  The older the
transmission the better.  As the parts of the transmission grind together,
what eventually turns the transmission oil black is a superfine metallic
dust, which ends up as a suspension in the oil. There are actually strong
toroidal magnets in the bottom of the transmission pan to catch it, and
what they catch ends up being a thick ferrofluidic sludge.  Thanks to that,
you can actually SEE the magnetic field shapes around the magnets when you
pull off a transmission pan! The magnets in my last tranny had an awesome
12-fold radial symmetry pattern!

I'm sure a transmission shop would be happy to give you as much as you
want, since they're otherwise just going to throw it out, and they probably
have to pay for proper environmental disposal, so you'd be doing them a
favor recycling it.

Don't call asking for ferrofluid, just ask for freshly gathered
transmission pan sludge. Might even want to go there and explain that you
want just the metallic oil stuck to the magnets from a freshly pulled pan,
and not a whole barrel of randomly mixed transmission crap.

- Brink
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