Magnetic soap
Why are there magnetic soap?
To help clean up oil spils that are made by ship’s so animals underwater dont get so much oil on there skin.
The soap responds to magnets so the materials the soap dissolves are attracted all together and can then be removed quickly using a magnetic field.
Experts now hope to develop the soap so it can be used on a larger scale to gather up oil that has spilled into the ocean.
Scientists say the soap is still at the laboratory stages but they’re now looking at how to make it better.
How does it work?
The long molecules that make up soap attach themselves to oily, grimy surfaces.
The ends of these molecules behave differently – with one end attracted to water and the other repelled by it.
Because of this the soap molecules gather up into droplets with all the “water-loving” ends facing outwards – separating the grime from the water.
Haworth Primary School Year 4's Blog 
This sounds fantastic, I love science stories in the news, I am always reading this area on the BBC website.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment/
Hello Lara,
This seems like a very promising idea. Detergents can break down oil slicks but it tended to disperse the spill. If this works on larger scales, it would be possible to remove most of a spill from the environment. This is very interesting.
@RossMannell
Teacher, NSW, Australia