Comments

  • This reminds me of a thought I had concerning the usage of a magnet as some sort of southpaw replacement.
    I read about pidgeons having small magnetic crystals as some sort of compass sense and even that (some) humans have such a crystal. This thing is located behind the nose in quite a fragile bone. So I thought about what was making that small thing so powerfull as to create a sensation the pidgeons can use to navigate.

    My solution was, that the bone around the magnetic fragment is fix, so the force affecting the crystal uses the surrounding like a lever and thus the small force gets  amplified. I'm not quite sure if that would work, but the idea of havin a magnet on a nail, which also is fixed/inflexible, reminded me of this and I wonder if it really amplifies the sensation..
  • There are people who claim they can feel magnetic north because of that, but I know of no tests done. Which doesn't say very much, really.
    I have _no_ idea. Get a magnet attached, wear a northpaw, and try to learn to tell north with the magnet? I'd say problem number one would be knowing what you're feeling is, given how weak the effect must be.
  • Cool concept, the nails. It seems like it would be a good introduction of sorts for someone who is considering a full-on subdermal implantation procedure. 
  • Similar to Nate's suggestion, though his sounds closer to the "implanted experience." No evidence either way, ofc.
  • Uninformed speculation ftw! (",)
  • Since upcoming interfacing technology will be built around the magnetic implants, I feel that it is important to bring this subject back up for people not ready for the full implant procedure 
  • edited February 2012
    I am a bit late to the discussion here, since the link is already broken, but I think it's neat that this is being discussed here.  About a year ago, I bought some magnets and sensors, and tried out fingernail magnets.
    For anyone trying out fingernail magnets, I recommend big neodymium magnets (at least
    1/4" diameter).  Pick up some CA glue (superglue) and an "activator" -- the activator dries the glue fast, before the magnets fall off (you can also really glob on the superglue if you have a way of drying it fast).
    A "Cell Sensor" meter was able to confirm that I was sensing fields sometimes, and other times, it was just my hands shaking.
    For small, implant-sized magnets, the nail damps the sensation, instead of amplifying it.  (the small magnets were about 3mm to 6mm diameter x 1mm thick).  Small magnets work better attached to the fingertip, which is more sensitive.
    For the large, thick magnets that I pulled off refrigerator, the sensitivity is much better, and might even be better than gluing it to the skin.  (these types were about 7mm diameter x 5mm thick).  The large magnets were fun, but were bulky, visible, and stuck themselves to everything.
    It was a neat experiment, but a lot of work to reapply the glue.
  • Nice work! Thanks for reporting the results. ",)
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