Re: [Phys-l] magnetized silverware in restaurants

[jbellina <jbellina@saintmarys.edu>]

Not sure why magnetized, but some stainless steels will be attracted  
by magnets, and some will not.  As I recall from 20 years ago, it  
depends on the whether they are mostly astinite or martensite...not  
sure of the spelling anymore.  So perhaps the alloy has changed to  
something which can be magnetic.

cheers,

Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. Ph.D.
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556

On Apr 23, 2006, at 1:11 PM, Michael J. Moloney wrote:

> A former student emailed me to inquire about why a fair amount of
> silverware in restaurants seems to be magnetized. (He lives in the
> Seattle area now.)  I'm not sure how he noticed, except perhaps
> balancing a fork on a spoon and seeing it attracted to a knife, or
> something like that.
>
> He thinks perhaps some new type of commercial dishwasher might be
> responsible.
>
> Any ideas (I don't have any) would be welcome.
>
> Mike
>
> --
> Mike Moloney, Physics & Optical Engineering Department
> Rose-Hulman Inst of Tech, 812 877 8302
> moloney@rose-hulman.edu   http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~moloney
>
>
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