Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Physics of Magnetic Nail Polish

Magnets play a key role in the newest and most popular fashion sensation.  The results of the innovative magnetic nail polish are largely accredited to the physics of a magnetic pull.  In most cases, you apply two coats of the nail polish.  The first is left alone and then the second coat is heavily applied once the first application has dried.  Before the second coat dries, you hold a  magnet over your nail for about ten seconds and the results are shown below.

            The appearance of this nail polish changes based on the magnet used.  This is because each magnet has differently arranged atoms.  Although the nature of a magnet is not completely understood, scientists believe that each of the millions of atoms that make up a metal have their own separate magnetic charge.  Magnets have both north and south poles.  The magnets pull towards each other when opposite poles are facing each other (north and south), but when the same sides of two magnets are pointed together (such as the two south sides), the magnets will refuse to come in contact.  The atoms of an unmagnetized metal are facing in many different directions.  In a magnetized metal, all the atoms are pointing in the same direction.
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            Iron is not an initially magnetized metal, but if held up to a magnet, it will turn into one itself.  When the south end of a magnet is held up to iron, the north end of the magnetic atoms inside of the iron material will pull towards the magnet. This reaction makes the iron magnetic, and is seen in the magnetic nail polish. 
            The nail polish contains iron powder with minuscule iron filings, each of which is turned into a little magnet. They either repel or attract the original magnet and each other.  The filings inside the nail polish are what create the unmistakable pattern.  They move around each other until the magnet used is removed. The magnet applied, the arrangement of the powder, and the position of the magnet above the nail will generate a slightly unique pattern.