I am in the process of decommissioning a bunch of old computer hardware; wiping the hard drives of sensitive company data could be done a lot more simply, but I’m taking them apart and pulling out the voice coil magnets (one pair I pulled out is so strong, I can’t get them apart at all - I may have to find a thin nonmetallic wedge of something I can drive between them.
Anyway, they’re still all mounted on crescent-shaped metal plates with a hole in either end; ideal for mounting on a chunk of wood and dragging around to see if I can pick up anything interesting.
Iron meteorites (including microscopic ones) are an obvious possibility, but it strikes me that I ought to be able to use an array of superstrong magnets to trawl up some other interesting ferrous items, perhaps in places where people may have dropped them into fairly shallow water.
Has anyone tred this? Any suggestions as to the sort of places (nt actual locations, just types of places) that might be good?
I don’t have any suggestions but I just want to ask, are the magnets you got the ones out of the hard drive? I think those things are so cool. I can’t believe how string they are, and I was wondering how they make them. Ideal topic for a GQ thread, or maybe someone could answer here.
The beach might be a good place to drag with a magnet…
You’d no doubt get some interesting catches in places like Beaufort’s Dyke, or north of the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames estuary, though probably not stuff you’d want to keep.
Old open wells, and storm drain outflows into rivers like the Thames should provide less explosive items of interest.
Yes; they’re unbelievably string; one pair is just really strong, the other pair is stuck together so tight I can barely slide them against each other, even a bit. Getting your fingertips pinched between these suckers would probably hurt a great deal (I’ve given myself blood blisters that way in the past).
I have been dragging them about looking for meteorites.
I have found some rocks that stick and I am in the process of learning how to identify meteorites and the terrestrial rocks that are attracted to my magnets.
I get my magnets from old hard drives and from microwaves. The magnets in the microwave although not as strong are more durable and take much more of a beating. I have a great dump in the area and I could get a microwave every day if I wanted and I can get a computer tossed out about once a week or so.
I have not done it yet but hear of stories of folks dropping the magnets in the boat harbor and pulling up fishing poles, tools, engine parts, and even guns.
