What has the magnetic properties of a solid magnet, but the mechanical properties of a liquid? If you answered 'nothing,' you're wrong - because engineers have just created just such a substance, by using a modified 3D printer.
Yes, ferrofluid is already a thing, but this is different. Unlike the ferrofluid you may know and love (because come on, it is awesome), the new magnetic liquid retains its magnetism even in the absence of an external magnetic field.
"We wondered, 'If a ferrofluid can become temporarily magnetic, what could we do to make it permanently magnetic, and behave like a solid magnet but still look and feel like a liquid?'" said materials scientist and engineer Tom Russell of the University of Massachusetts.
"We've made a new material that is both liquid and magnetic. No one has ever observed this before."
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