Scientists are always looking for new ways to measure materials, especially when they are very small. In their 2025 paper, “Using magnetic torque for characterization of flexural rigidity of microfibers,” Dr. Artis Brasovs and Dr. Konstantin G. Kornev describe a clever new method for testing the stiffness of microfibers.
Flexural rigidity is how much a fiber resists bending. Knowing this is important for designing filters, textiles, sensors, and even medical materials. The problem is that traditional ways of testing are hard to apply to fibers only a few micrometers wide.
Dr. Brasovs and Dr. Kornev’s solution was to use magnetism. They attached a tiny magnetic tip to one end of a microfiber and placed it in a uniform magnetic field. The magnetic tip tries to align with the field, which bends the fiber like a diving board with a weight on the end. As the fiber bends, it curves into a nearly perfect arc.
By photographing the arc and measuring its radius, the researchers could calculate how stiff the fiber is. A stiff fiber bends less (large arc radius), while a flexible one bends more (small arc radius). This method is relatively simple and avoids the complex equipment used in other tests.
The study shows that the bending shape and radius strongly depend on the fiber’s rigidity, confirming the method works. While the technique requires adding a magnetic tip, it may open new possibilities for studying very small fibers in an easier and more accurate way.
This research provides a valuable tool for materials science. Measuring the stiffness of microfibers can lead to stronger textiles, better sensors, and advanced medical devices.
Citation: Brasovs, A., & Kornev, K. G. (2025). Using magnetic torque for characterization of flexural rigidity of microfibers. Extreme Mechanics Letters.
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