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Magnetic Fingernails

http://hypatia.ca/2010/06/magnetic-fingernails/

Comments

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  1. 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..
  2. 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.
  3. 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. 
  4. Similar to Nate's suggestion, though his sounds closer to the "implanted experience." No evidence either way, ofc.
  5. Uninformed speculation ftw! (",)
  6. 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 
  7. 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.
  8. Nice work! Thanks for reporting the results. ",)
Displaying all 8 comments