Magneto-rheological fluids offer new emergency stops for laboratory equipment manufacturers

Laboratory equipment manufacturers whose products include moving parts may be intrigued by research into magneto-rheological fluids.

These are liquids which, when in the presence of a magnetic field, realign to form fixed chains.

By altering the strength of the field, they can be made to alter their state from fully liquid to fully solid, or to an intermediate level of viscosity.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute, Europe's largest research organisation with an application-led focus, have outlined a number of possible uses for the fluids.

Perhaps most notable for laboratory equipment manufacturers is the proposal that they may be used as emergency stop mechanisms.

By including a chamber of the fluid alongside any moving parts - such as a drive shaft and cutting head, in the example given by the researchers - the solid state can be triggered and the motion rapidly halted.

When the fluid returns to its liquid state, meanwhile, the machinery can quickly resume its previous operation.