Some of the latest technology in suspension damping has to do with magnetorheoligical shocks. Your traditional shock is filled with oil that is forced through valves in order to provide resistance to velocity otherwise known as damping. The amount of damping force you get is dependent on the viscosity of the oil, the size of the valve and how fast you are moving it through the oil. The oil viscosity and damping are pretty much permanent once the shock has been assembled.

Magnetorheological fluid is an oil that has magnetic microparticles suspended in it. What makes this interesting is that the fluid’s effective viscosity can be changed by exposure to an electromagnet. This electromagnet in turn can be controlled by a computer capable of dialing in the perfect amount of damping for the road surface the car is about to encounter. GM has featured magnetorheological shocks on the Cadillac CTS-V, the Corvette ZR-1 and the Camaro ZL1 and it’s starting to find its way on to more Cadillac models. A very similar technology is also used on the Ferrari 458 Italia and some of Acura’s models.

The folks at MIT have recently patented a new use for magnetorheological technology. Their plan is to use it to clean up oil spills. The basic concept is that magnetic particles are given a surface treatment that allows it to repel water and embed in the oil just like the magnetorheological suspension fluid. Removing the oil then simply becomes a matter of putting a magnet to it. The particles can even be removed from the oil and reused once it’s been collected. Like I mentioned in the rapid prototyped eagle beak story, there is a balance in all things even engineering. Our high demand for automobile usage is what puts the oceans at risk for oil spills. At least something we’ve developed to make your car handle better can also help safely remove oil from our oceans.

Here’s an extra “Science is Cool!” video. It’s two spiral electromagnets in magnetorheological fluid with music speaker currents flowing through them.

Sources: MIT News Office on YouTube via IO9 and YouTube user rdig1