Evil Fun with Magnets

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2002-11-29 11:12pm

I somehow stumbled across a place that sells high power neodymium magnets, and I now have an urge to put them to some good fun. I just ordered one of these babies and plan on wreaking havoc on various computers and electronic devices. They say one of those magnets will distort a computer monitor from over 30" away, and to keep them the hell away from magnetic storage media. I so feel like walking past a row of computers with this things in my poket and watching them conk out as I pass. Anti-shoplifting security tags can also be screwed up really good with a magnet this strong, so that could provide for tons of fun too. I'll be paying a visit to an electronics store soon.

data_link · Post by **data_link** » 2002-11-29 11:15pm

*Mew*

Yes, you are evil.

Next of Kin · Post by **Next of Kin** » 2002-11-29 11:16pm

You should use the powers of magnetism for good and not to further the cause of evil and chaos.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2002-11-29 11:20pm

Oh my lord.... I am going to buy a few of those #3 and a cube... and about ten of the spheres!

Rather, I will after I get some extra cash.

Jadeite · Post by **Jadeite** » 2002-11-29 11:21pm

Heh, I found a magnet in a hardware store once that could pick a crowbar up from about a foot away, not as powerful as the one your talking about Aerius, but still pretty damn powerful.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2002-11-29 11:49pm

I really wanted to get the #37 but apparently it's a restricted item because of it's incredible power. That thing will probably pick up a full size fridge, imagine the fun I can have with that.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2002-11-30 12:18am

Muwhaha, Aerius up for a shop lifting spree?

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2002-11-30 12:25am

hehe, i *could* buy the #37 as i have a license for wholesale and run my own business (also well known at most online scientific supply places as being an inventor and experimentor) and i just may... i have a rather evil idea for one that strong...

btw, the #3 is great for non-peirce earrings...i know, i've done it. they look pretty decent too if you set things up right.

btw, all of you who're interested in uber-magnets like the neyodemium magnets, go talk to the local comp stores and get the old "dead" hard drives.... takes some work but those things have the most powerful magnets around in'em. and most of the time you can get old drives for free... another great source is thriftshops and computer recycling places, get the small 500mb and less drives for like $5 each... not a bad deal considering how much the magnets are worth and you can get from 1-4 or more out of each drive.

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2002-11-30 12:27am

Whoa... Think of the railguns and gauss cannons you could make with this stuff...

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-11-30 12:29am

aerius wrote:I really wanted to get the #37 but apparently it's a restricted item because of it's incredible power. That thing will probably pick up a full size fridge, imagine the fun I can have with that.

The hard part is going anywhere with it. One wrong move and its stuck to your car for the next decade.

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2002-11-30 12:32am

Exonerate wrote:Whoa... Think of the railguns and gauss cannons you could make with this stuff...

ever made a railgun? i got in trouble for one in my first year of the electronics class at the local college... put a nail thru the blackboard, 2 cinderblock walls, another interior wall, and it still embedded itself in the brick wall beyond.

all a railgun is, is a length of stacked electromagnet rings on a sync-pulse generator, mine was set up with an internal aluminum bore just the right diameter for the head of the nail with a #3 sized neydemium magnet on it, the sync-pulse generator ramped thru the 16 coils in the barrel in less than a second, the final coil was set to reverse polarity to keep the momentum (and not stick the projectile, took forever to work that bug out)

btw, synching the reversal of the last coil is a bitch. a little too long of a cycle and the projectile sticks, then falls out and resticks on the outside of the barrel, too short and it stops in the barrel. (or shot back down the barrel as my group had happen a few times)

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2002-11-30 12:37am

Sea Skimmer wrote:
aerius wrote:I really wanted to get the #37 but apparently it's a restricted item because of it's incredible power. That thing will probably pick up a full size fridge, imagine the fun I can have with that.
The hard part is going anywhere with it. One wrong move and its stuck to your car for the next decade.

ROFL!!! Another wrong move and your car's stuck to a light pole for another decade!

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2002-11-30 12:40am

Hyperion wrote:
Exonerate wrote:Whoa... Think of the railguns and gauss cannons you could make with this stuff...
ever made a railgun? i got in trouble for one in my first year of the electronics class at the local college... put a nail thru the blackboard, 2 cinderblock walls, another interior wall, and it still embedded itself in the brick wall beyond.

all a railgun is, is a length of stacked electromagnet rings on a sync-pulse generator, mine was set up with an internal aluminum bore just the right diameter for the head of the nail with a #3 sized neydemium magnet on it, the sync-pulse generator ramped thru the 16 coils in the barrel in less than a second, the final coil was set to reverse polarity to keep the momentum (and not stick the projectile, took forever to work that bug out)

btw, synching the reversal of the last coil is a bitch. a little too long of a cycle and the projectile sticks, then falls out and resticks on the outside of the barrel, too short and it stops in the barrel. (or shot back down the barrel as my group had happen a few times)

OUCH!!! That sounds about right for a railgun.. btw I think that's actually a coilgun or "gauss gun" you built. Other than the "last coil synch" bug I'll bet it was a hoot to make!

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2002-11-30 12:41am

Sea Skimmer wrote:
aerius wrote:I really wanted to get the #37 but apparently it's a restricted item because of it's incredible power. That thing will probably pick up a full size fridge, imagine the fun I can have with that.
The hard part is going anywhere with it. One wrong move and its stuck to your car for the next decade.

not really... i should know, i've got a couple of neydemium magnets a hair larger than that from boeing surplus...they kind of have to be transported via car... in this case they were transported attached to the door from the inside... though it takes a bit of strength and creativity to remove high power magnets from anything ferrous.... door latches and those #37's would be fun i'd bet...

btw, i can tell you from experience, don't put 2 high power magnets on opposite sides of your arm or leg, they tend to try and meet each other...generally resulting in some seriously smashed flesh. and the hard drive magnets are still the worst i've messed with...not only do they like to snap together, they tend to "explode" on impact peppering the room, and you, with high velocity shards which then stick to everything ferrous in sight. (make good screwpickers though)

btw, at the college a prof had 2 huge high power magnets from an ancient free electron laser, they were stored in rooms on opposite sides of the building, one day some smartass decided to push one up against the wall and make them stick on opposite sides of the building, well that worked and was fine, except for one little thing, over the next couple years they decided to smash thru the walls and meet in the middle. very obviously they have not been separated since. this happened about a decade prior to my going there though...but the patches on the walls are still visible as are the 2, now joined, 12" diameter magnets with debris in between them.

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2002-11-30 12:45am

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:
Hyperion wrote:
Exonerate wrote:Whoa... Think of the railguns and gauss cannons you could make with this stuff...
ever made a railgun? i got in trouble for one in my first year of the electronics class at the local college... put a nail thru the blackboard, 2 cinderblock walls, another interior wall, and it still embedded itself in the brick wall beyond.

all a railgun is, is a length of stacked electromagnet rings on a sync-pulse generator, mine was set up with an internal aluminum bore just the right diameter for the head of the nail with a #3 sized neydemium magnet on it, the sync-pulse generator ramped thru the 16 coils in the barrel in less than a second, the final coil was set to reverse polarity to keep the momentum (and not stick the projectile, took forever to work that bug out)

btw, synching the reversal of the last coil is a bitch. a little too long of a cycle and the projectile sticks, then falls out and resticks on the outside of the barrel, too short and it stops in the barrel. (or shot back down the barrel as my group had happen a few times)
OUCH!!! That sounds about right for a railgun.. btw I think that's actually a coilgun or "gauss gun" you built. Other than the "last coil synch" bug I'll bet it was a hoot to make!

yep, quite the hoot, simple control too. literal "pull-the-trigger" activation, the rest was handled by the comp.

the thing took about a month to build spending an hour a day or so, and most of that was research and winding the damned coils, another month was spent dealing with the sync and the rest of the quarter was spent dealing with the reversal sync (and the theory to launch the projectile)

btw, it was my design. the profs thought i was insane. then we tested it successfully the first time and the nail whipped past the prof about 3 feet in front of his desk with a pop and a bunch of dust. we had one more test and royally pissed off grounds and maintenance... thru the wall, into the tree, out the other side of the tree, and into the concrete wall of the physical plant...

Raxmei · Post by **Raxmei** » 2002-11-30 01:25am

Smaller magnets are also capable of causing havoc. For instance, I have a little badge magnet somewhere around here. It doesn't look like much but it's easily capable of erasing the magnetic strips on id and credit cards. Not that I'd ever do such a thing.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2002-11-30 02:09am

Gloves and eye protection must be worn at all times. Folks who are unfamiliar with magnets of this strength are likely to wind up hurt

oh shit yeah, I have just got to get one of those mother fuckers. so long left eye.

Evil Sadistic Bastard · Post by **Evil Sadistic Bastard** » 2002-11-30 02:19am

Mmmm... railgun... mmmm...

(Thinks of the havoc he could cause by going around fucking up electronics shops)

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2002-11-30 02:22am

I'd walk around Best Buy or Circuit Shitty with that thing. Wait till I find some asshole that's buying something and fuck it up real good. That'd be hillarious. I can imagine their reaction hours after they finally get it all setup and realize the machine is crapped out. muwhahahahaha

Evil Sadistic Bastard · Post by **Evil Sadistic Bastard** » 2002-11-30 02:34am

DG_Cal_Wright wrote:I'd walk around Best Buy or Circuit Shitty with that thing. Wait till I find some asshole that's buying something and fuck it up real good. That'd be hillarious. I can imagine their reaction hours after they finally get it all setup and realize the machine is crapped out. muwhahahahaha

Best is when you walk into those computer stores and surreptitiously turn on an electromagnet. Yep, electronics store dudes, shit happens, and it happened to you.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2002-11-30 12:33pm

Hyperion wrote: ever made a railgun? i got in trouble for one in my first year of the electronics class at the local college... put a nail thru the blackboard, 2 cinderblock walls, another interior wall, and it still embedded itself in the brick wall beyond.

Were you responsible for this little piece of mayhem too? This is from their buyer comments page.

Hi! I thought you'd get a kick out of my useage of your magnets. A few months ago I ordered a stack of 12 1/2" disc magnets. I stacked them into a cylinder, and slipped them into a PVC tube. The tube was wound to 2x the length of the magnets with 3 layers of 18awg PVC coated wire. I applied a pulse discharge cap to it, at a potential of around 9kv. The spark gap (high speed switch here, sillycon can't switch the amperage) conducts and dumps the charge through the coil. I figure it's sinking around 2000+ amps for maybe 1/100000th of a second. Result? Really loud boom from the sparkgap. 18awg wire blows off half it's insulation and stretches to roughly an extra inch in diameter. The cylinder of magnets goes across the room faster than I can see, and whumps safely to a stop in a stack of pillows, rumpled sheets, and styrofoam. Very cool I been doing this stuff for a few years, so I am very safe (2" thick wooden box encased in cargo straps around the firing coil, spark gap enclosed in plywood box, target path cleared, target is up to the impact, etc. The magnets did a *LOT* better than I expected, but the acceleration or deceleration pulled the stack apart. And the magnets got very hot (hotter than I expected) from the eddy currents induced. All in all, it was a pure hoot.

I already have a couple small magnets from a dead hard disc I had lying around, and those things can pick up my mountain bike. But man, I can't help thinking big!

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2002-11-30 01:56pm

Why don't you attach those all over yourself? You can stick yourself to wall, or walk by and fuck up all the electronic stuff, I'm sure it would be cool.

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2002-11-30 04:54pm

aerius wrote:
Hyperion wrote: ever made a railgun? i got in trouble for one in my first year of the electronics class at the local college... put a nail thru the blackboard, 2 cinderblock walls, another interior wall, and it still embedded itself in the brick wall beyond.
Were you responsible for this little piece of mayhem too? This is from their buyer comments page.

Hi! I thought you'd get a kick out of my useage of your magnets. A few months ago I ordered a stack of 12 1/2" disc magnets. I stacked them into a cylinder, and slipped them into a PVC tube. The tube was wound to 2x the length of the magnets with 3 layers of 18awg PVC coated wire. I applied a pulse discharge cap to it, at a potential of around 9kv. The spark gap (high speed switch here, sillycon can't switch the amperage) conducts and dumps the charge through the coil. I figure it's sinking around 2000+ amps for maybe 1/100000th of a second. Result? Really loud boom from the sparkgap. 18awg wire blows off half it's insulation and stretches to roughly an extra inch in diameter. The cylinder of magnets goes across the room faster than I can see, and whumps safely to a stop in a stack of pillows, rumpled sheets, and styrofoam. Very cool I been doing this stuff for a few years, so I am very safe (2" thick wooden box encased in cargo straps around the firing coil, spark gap enclosed in plywood box, target path cleared, target is up to the impact, etc. The magnets did a *LOT* better than I expected, but the acceleration or deceleration pulled the stack apart. And the magnets got very hot (hotter than I expected) from the eddy currents induced. All in all, it was a pure hoot.

I already have a couple small magnets from a dead hard disc I had lying around, and those things can pick up my mountain bike. But man, I can't help thinking big!

interesting, looks like the guy used the magnets for the projectile... much less power and service life though than the railgun my group made... still cool though and i may have to try it.

btw, no that was not my doing.

a great way to get good deals on used monitors in a used comp parts store is to put one of those small magnets on the sloped part behind the screen (on top) spazzes out the picture and isn't fixed with the monitor's degauss (only an external degauss coil will fix it). you can get a kickass 17 or 19" monitor for like $5 if you "prove" to the owner that it's broken...

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2002-11-30 05:53pm

One of the uses for the magnets someone submitted was "gluing them onto my shoes and walking up metal walls and on celings".

Hell yeah! I'm gonna do that right after I build a railgun! Death from above!

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2002-11-30 11:05pm

DPDarkPrimus wrote:One of the uses for the magnets someone submitted was "gluing them onto my shoes and walking up metal walls and on celings".

Hell yeah! I'm gonna do that right after I build a railgun! Death from above!

you know that's too damned tempting.