Find the podcast at the origin of this transcription in Science or Fiction. © Futura
Let’s already take stock of the famous composition of blood.
Blood, the vital fluid of our body
Blood, you know, is THE liquidliquid vital that irrigates your body. Blood is a liquid connective tissue that is made up of several elements. Already, the plasma. It is the liquid part, consisting mainly of water, proteins such as albumin, for example, salts mineralsminerals and various moleculesmolecules organic. Then, we have the famous red blood cells, which you will certainly have already heard of. These are cells responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, and the carbon dioxidecarbon dioxide in the opposite direction. They contain thehemoglobinhemoglobina protein rich in ferfer.
This belief does not come from nowhere, there is iron in the blood!
Exactly… For the iron in any case, the rest, we’ll come to that later. In binderbinder to oxygen, the iron turns red, which gives this colorcolor to our blood. We also have the white blood cellswhite blood cellsother cells that play an essential role in the body’s defense against infections. It is thanks to these globules that we have a immunityimmunitythat is to say the ability to fight infections and diseases. And finally, there are the padspadscellular fragments that are involved in coagulationcoagulation you sang
A story of magnetism?
If we come back to hemoglobin, this is where we find the iron, then we have a history of magnetismmagnetismNo ? First of all, it should be noted that without iron, our body could not function properly. Moreover, the deficienciesdeficiencies iron are quite common and can lead to anemia. It is important to do regular tests, especially when you feel tired, to check that you are not deficient in iron, and if necessary, take some supplements to increase its levels.
But we must also remember that in an adult, there are approximately 3 to 4 grams of iron in the body. So you will see that this story of magnetism is not very convincing. And yet, I can understand why we ask ourselves the question, when we know that certain materials, such as iron, are attracted by magnetsmagnets due to the alignment of their atomsatoms. This alignment creates a magnetic fieldmagnetic field specific to materialmaterialwhich interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet. This is also how Magneto, in theuniverseuniverse Marvel, can manipulate metal with such ease. Except that if you know anything about the story, you know that Magneto is a mutant.
Unlike Magneto, you cannot draw someone’s blood using magnetic forces. And there are several reasons for this difference. Already, the very structure of hemoglobin. In hemoglobin, the iron atoms are linked to a very complex protein structure. This structure prevents iron atoms from aligning in a way that creates strong magnetism. It’s as if the iron atoms are locked in a molecular cage, basically, and that prevents any manifestation of their magnetic properties. We add to that what we call diamagnetismdiamagnetism water. I told you, plasma is made up mainly of water, a diamagnetic substance. This means that when it is subjected to a magnetic field, it will generate an opposing magnetic field, a bit as if it wanted to repel the external magnetic field. This phenomenon, even if it is weak, will help to counterbalance the potential attraction of iron. In short, if we combine the effects of the different components of the blood, we come to the conclusion that the iron remains quietly in its place and will not undergo an irrepressible attraction as soon as we approach a magnetic field.
In the end, a simple belief
This numerous experiments have been carried out to study the interaction between blood and magnets. You know the results: the blood is not ferromagneticferromagnetic. This allows you to use the IRMIRM without any worryworryBesides ! They use powerful magnetic fields to produce detailed images of the body’s interior. But if the blood was strongly magnetic, it would be a big mess, and it would significantly disrupt these tests… or the patient’s condition.
So why does the idea of blood being attracted to magnets persist? When you think about it, it’s actually quite absurd.
But, this can be explained by several factors. The role of iron in the blood is often simplified, which can lead to misunderstanding. Magnetic phenomena have always fascinated humanity, and the idea that our own bodies can be influenced by these forces is quite attractive, it must be admitted. And then, well, you know the song: in Science ou Fictionthe legends and popular beliefs that we discuss tend to persist over the years, even the most bizarre ones! Well in any case, if you dream of lifting carscars like Magneto with your blood, you will unfortunately have to turn to comics or video gamesvideo games !
