Technology ferrofluids: Liquid magnetics: A space-age research spin-off finds its way out of the laboratory and into a host of lubricating and damping applications

Spun-off from space technology and refined after several years of down-to-earth development, ferrofluids consist of magnetic particles suspended colloidally in a carrier fluid. Developed in the early 1960s at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a means of controlling fuel flow under the weightless conditions of space, ferrofluids became commercially available in a variety of reliable formulations only about five years ago. At first limited to carrier liquids of kerosene and water, ferrofluids can now be manufactured with virtually any carrier liquid, including natural and synthetic lubricants.