This black stuff is called ferrofluid . Ferrofluid is pretty much nano particles of magnetic material suspended in a carrier fluid and a surfactant to keep it from getting clumpy. When there is no magnet around this fluid is fairly thin and quite messy but once you get the right magnetic alignment, these strange shapes emerge. I don’t happen to have very strong magnets, so I did what I could including getting all over everything ! This stuff has a mind of it’s own if you’re not paying attention to where your magnets are lol
Ferrofluid has many other uses besides making an interesting subject for photography. They are used in speakers, the aerospace field, medicine ( as contrast agents ) and many kinds of optics. Pretty multi purpose stuff huh?
interesting
I've designed nanostructures using this stuff. A very brief overview is here:
nanotechnology | hendersonjase
And a preview of my published article in the Journal of Applied Physics is here:
documents | hendersonjase
This is what is inside my ferrofluid cooled speakers.
That's been around for quit some time !
Thanks +Rachael Alexandra for the tip to http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=70_71
I've been meaning to buy a Neodymium magnet for work so I might buy some ferrofluid too.
Very cool, +Rachael Alexandra.
if you miss us on Sunday, you can always tag with #ScienceEveryday ;)
+Susan Porter I totally agree, thanks and thank you for sharing!
+Chris Bagley As amazing of stuff as it is, taking pictures of it is a trip for sure. What seems like a pretty easy task to accomplish turns out to not be. I have it staining my deck where it spilled, got a lovely ferrofluid shower a couple times but the images of it we're worth the effort for sure.
+Allison Sekuler Thanks and yay I'm on #sciencesunday !! I've been wanting to post these for some time but a Sunday comes and goes and I get distracted and then I wait another week and I finally got to it ! I love it when the worlds of science and art commingle. Many of the non-floral photos I take are inspired by at home science experiments :D
very cool images +Rachael Alexandra – thanks for tagging #ScienceSunday ;)
Amazing stuff an a very cool image +Rachael Alexandra!
Very cool!