Hydraulic presses crushing things have had a moment on the Internet. We have certainly enjoyed a seeing a lot of things get crushed here at PopularMechanics.com.

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But a recent video on PressTube shows a neodymium magnet withstanding 9,000 pounds per square inch of pressure (psi) without seeming to buckle a millimeter. These rare earth magnets have some of the strongest magnetic pull you can find, but are also incredibly brittle. (We have a few in the office, nearly all of them have some cracks in them from a few hours of messing around them.) So what allowed this magnet to withstand so much force? Was it, as some YouTube commenters guessed, the power of the magnet itself?

Jinfang Liu, COO of Electron Energy Corporation, one of the leading American manufacturers of rare earth magnets, says the answer is much simpler. "The compressive strength of these neodymium magnets is actually 130,000 psi," says Liu. These magnets can withstand a lot of weight, "especially if it's applied slowly and evenly." Since the upper and lower punches of the hydraulic press used in this video are flat, that pressure never gets applied to one specific point, allowing the magnet to hold up like a champ.

As for the idea that the magnet somehow repelled the press? "Magnetism is a physical property," says Liu. "It has nothing to do with mechanical properties like compressive strength." According to PressTube, the magnet actually did crack slightly once they managed to scrape it off their press. Regardless, you'll need a much bigger and stronger press (or much smaller magnets) to get that explosive payoff that hydraulic press videos so often provide.

Via: Digg

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