Answer to Question #135886 in Electricity and Magnetism for Cameron Hicks

Question

I have 1.2-1250 umol of Iron (Fe) in seawater, how would I work out the strength of the electromagnet needed to extract the iron in the seawater? Is there a relevant set of formulas needed?

Answer 1

Extracting iron from seawater is not possible because in saltwater, the iron is present in the form of oxide molecules. To attract something with an electromagnet, you need to have a lot of such molecules that align according to the external magnetic field (like in a metal bar).