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Chemistry In Pictures

Chemistry in Pictures: Black sand

by Craig Bettenhausen
August 22, 2023

Black powder is supended in air between and around two bent metal bars.
Credit: Craig Bettenhausen/C&EN

The white sands of Mykonos capture the imagination of beachgoers, but the black sands of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach can capture a magnet. Waves and currents have broken down iron ore in the local geology, mixing it with sand. The process gives some beaches in the area a dark dramatic look and causes many of the particles to convey iron’s ferromagnetic properties. In this hands-on exhibit at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, visitors can make bridges and other shapes out of the sand using the magnetic field created by two strong permanent magnets.

Credit: Craig Bettenhausen/C&EN

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