Would it be possible to make a liquid electromagnet using ferrofluid and Ferris sulfate liquid. Having the core be 3/4s of it be ferris sulfate and 1/4 be ferrofluid. Then just having a normal coil. Would that work and if it does would it be stronger then normal electromagnets?
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$\begingroup$ May I ask why you think that ferrofluids would make for better magnets than solid magnetic materials? In fact, the strongest magnets on Earth are basically air coils which use ferromagnetic materials only as flux returns. $\endgroup$– CuriousOneCommented Oct 29, 2015 at 5:13
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$\begingroup$ Just curious no particular reason $\endgroup$– aaronCommented Oct 29, 2015 at 5:18
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$\begingroup$ The question has come up several times since I joined stackexchange and that's why I am asking. I do understand that these materials have some really interesting properties and are cool to look at, but in terms of performance enhancement for high performance electromagnets they are, so far, not particularly attractive. Wikipedia mentions a number of niche applications (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrofluid). Based on a statement on ferrotec.com/technology/ferrofluid that a typical ferrofluid has only 5% magnetically active material, it's hard to imagine it outperforming solids. $\endgroup$– CuriousOneCommented Oct 29, 2015 at 5:47
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If you start with a coil with nothing inside it then introduce a core of relative permeability $\mu$ the effect is to multiply the strength of the generated magnetic field by $\mu$.
So in your case the strength of the field would depend on the relative permeability of your mixture of 25% ferrofluid and 75% ferric sulphate. The relative permeability of a ferric sulphate solution is going to be pretty close to water (i.e. $\approx$ 1) so it depends on the ferrofluid. A quick Google failed to give me any clear answers for the permeability of ferrofluids - no doubt it depends on what type of ferrofluid you choose.
answered Oct 29, 2015 at 6:46