The influence of the Earth’s magnetic field on fluid flows revealed for the first time.

Earth’s magnetic field quietly supports life on Earth, and for the first time now, its invisible forces have been used to create new nanoparticles and materials.

Scientists at Flinders University embarked on a bold journey into unknown waters, challenging the longstanding views of physics by showing how ever-present magnetic fields affect liquid flow.

The article, “Chiral Lemniscoat Formation in Magnetic Field-Controlled Topological Liquid Flows,” is published on a small scale.

Australian experts with collaborators in the US, UK and China say new data based on modelling of high-speed vortex fluid devices (VFDs) creates exciting possibilities for nanomachining and sustainable green chemistry.

Articles in the new journal gather evidence from five locations around the world and show how nanomaterials form right-handed and left-handed structures in relation to the placement or orientation of the fluid flow device by rotating the tubes clockwise and counterclockwise.

“Simply put, we found that fluid flow combined with a magnetic field could potentially prefer one chirality (left or right-hand helical structure) over the other chirality,” says Professor Colin Ruston of the Nanoscale Science and Technology Institute at Flinders University.

“The Earth’s magnetic field is neither innocent nor harmless. It can not only help birds move around the world, but it can also be a positive force for human efforts.

“Experiments in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres demonstrate potential and are examining how this can be used to manufacture chiral molecules, polymers and materials simply by changing the processing parameters of VFDs.”

Professor Raston invented the Vortex Fluidic Device (VFD) almost 15 years ago, investigating multiple functions of high shear fluid flow in rapidly rotating tubes.

Its unique design has created new technologies to develop better pharmaceuticals, new nanoparticles and industrial processing, more natural cosmetics, water purification, and other applications.

One of VFD’s first famous “breakthroughs” was “egg laying” or separate interacting proteins, which won the global IG Nobel Prize in 2015.

It was then shown to be a useful tool in nanomaterial production by breaking down the strong bonds of carbon nanotubes, one of the world’s most challenging materials, and later useful tool in nanomaterial production by extracting DNA, developing biomarkers for rapid disease, and manipulating oils that separate from chemical-free water.

Based on these previous findings, this latest study uncovers how to adjust the rapid water flow of microfluidic devices to normal magnetic field control, resulting in surprising, potentially game-changing results.

“The findings highlight the possibility of optimizing the processing results by exploring the complete 3D space of applied magnetic fields, including potentially useful components of quantum devices for manipulating photons and electrons,” says Professor Raston.

“In addition to the benefits of the environment, by significantly simplifying the nanofabrication process, VFD processing has created a new metamaterial that has never had strong potential in quantum technology.”