Abstract
Using a highly viscous magnetic fluid, the dynamics in the aftermath of the Rosensweig instability can be
slowed down by more than 2000 times. In this way we expand the regime where the growth rate is predicted to
scale linearly with the bifurcation parameter by six orders of magnitude, while this regime is tiny for standard
ferrofluids and cannot be resolved experimentally there. We measure the growth of the pattern by means of a
two-dimensional imaging technique, and find that the slopes of the growth and decay rates are not the same—a
qualitative discrepancy with respect to the theoretical predictions. We solve this discrepancy by taking into
account a viscosity which is assumed to be different for the growth and decay. This may be a consequence of the
measured shear thinning of the ferrofluid.
Download:
retarding_growth.pdf (PDF format, 1.7 MB)
List of publications