DURHAM, N.C. -- A magnetic separation technique developed by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering and Purdue University makes it relatively simple to sort through beads ...

Traditional magnetic separators, however, present a challenge: they generate a magnetic force that is very high near the side of the vessel closest to the magnet and decreases rapidly with distance.

MIT engineers have come up with a method of extracting clean water and reusable oil from oil spills using nanoparticles that turn the oil into magnetic ferrofluids. When oil spills occur, the polluted ...