Influence of external magnetic field on the etching of a steel ball in an aqueous solution of nitric acid

The effect of change of shape of a steel ball was revealed as a result of its etching in an aqueous solution of nitric acid under influence of an external magnetic field. The elongation of a ferromagnetic ball was observed along the direction of an external magnetic field while etching took place uniformly in all the directions without magnetic field application. The steel ball etching in a magnetic field is characterized by formation of three cylindrically symmetric regions with different etching rates and surface structures, divided from each other by clear borders (namely, the pole, equator and transition regions are formed). The non-monotone dependences of etching rate, surface structure of a sample and sample shape after etching on an external magnetic field are observed.