The world’s first magnetic soap has been created by scientists and it could revolutionise the way pollution is cleaned up.
The invented soap, composed of iron rich salts dissolved in water, responds to a magnetic field when placed in solution. A team at Bristol University says that its soap would calm all concerns over the use of surfactants in oil-spill clean-ups and revolutionise industrial cleaning products. The team, led by Professor Julian Eastoe, found that the addition of iron creates metallic centres within the soap particles. Magnetic soap could be used to create cleaning products that can later be removed such as those used to treat of oil spills at sea. The soaps can also be switched on and off with a magnet so they only work when they are needed. The potential applications of magnetic surfactants are huge, say the scientists.
