Magnets: Nature's Shark Repellant?

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Hey, did somebody say SHARK WEEK?

I know, I know: the article I am linking to is a couple of months old. But for goodness' sake, it's shark week and this is interesting enough by far to justify any unfortunate delay; besides, can you ever really get enough news stories about sharks? I mean, really? That's what I thought.

So, here's the thing: sharks are repelled by magnets. I know, what the hell, right? At first I thought this was going to involve some kind of massive cartoon magnet and a fearsome iron robot shark with red laser eyes of death, but we're actually talking about real live natural sharks here, not to mention natural magnets. As was recently discovered by Eric Stroud and Michael Herrmann, co-creators of the aptly-named shark repellant research company SharkDefense, they can chomp through all the boats and harpoons they want, but when it comes to magnets, sharks can't even step.

For SharkDefense partners Eric Stroud and Michael Herrmann, the latest eureka moment in their efforts to repel sharks came not from their extensive research but their utter geekiness.

Since 2001, SharkDefense has been working on a chemical shark repellent. According to Herrmann, he and Stroud were playing around with powerful rare-earth magnets in 2005, when he dropped one next to their shark research tank in Oak Ridge, New Jersey. The lemon and nurse sharks inside instantly darted to the opposite wall.

Bewildered, the two scientists began to investigate.

So Stroud and Herrmann took their investigations to the Bimini Biological Research Station in the Bahamas, because, from a logical standpoint, who wouldn't want to conduct research in the Bahamas? What they found out was that sharks are vehemently opposed to rare-earth mineral magnets. Not only do the magnets make the sharks shoot to the opposite side of the pool like an unsociable party guest, but they can also rouse the sharks from states of tonic immobility. (It would seem that sharks, like turtles and pillbugs, become immobile when you turn them upside-down. This is, to me, some fascinating new terminology: I'd always attributed any immobility I've encountered to date much more to the gin than the tonic. *rimshot*)

This phenomenon is reportedly being attributed to the magnets' overloading the sharks' sensory systems, and it's pretty powerful stuff. That said, what the gentlemen behind this discovery want to warn you of is that strapping a ton of magnets to your head the next time you go diving probably isn't going to save you from becoming a ravenous shark's chum bucket.

Before you rush out to buy neodymium magnets to create your own shark-repelling gear, Herrmann cautions that the magnets appear to have an effective range of only 10 inches. Also, you'd need to align the magnetic poles outward and keep the magnets from clicking together, and once you had the necessary 10 to 20 pounds of magnets all over your body, you'd sink. So, at a cost of about $5 a magnet, you could theoretically turn yourself into a $400 shark-safe anchor at the bottom of the sea.

Natch. Rather than using magnets to repelling sharks from yourself personally (you selfish shark-haters), the SharkDefense team hopes to use this new technology to build more humane underwater fences and smarter fishing nets: in essence, protecting the sharks from their biggest enemies -- us.

In parting, here's a video of a shark thrashing out of upside-down sleep at the sense of a magnet (I'd say "at the sight of...," but the magnet's behind a barrier, so the shark doesn't even know what hit it.)



Fascinating! Happy shark week, everyone!


_DictionaryGirl_ would like to go on the record stating that she cannot be accused of biting off TheCoolerKing's style, because she totally started drafting this yesterday.

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/news/geek/22027/Magnets-Natures-Shark-Repellant/