To a person who is far from scientific discoveries, who said goodbye to physics or chemistry at school, many things seem unusual. Using in everyday life, for example, electrical appliances, we do not think about how exactly they work, taking the benefits of civilization for granted. But when it comes to something that goes beyond everyday perception, even adults are amazed, like children, and begin to believe in miracles.

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How, besides magic, can explain the appearance of volumetric figures, flowers and pyramids, magical pictures, replacing each other from a seemingly ordinary liquid? But it's not magic, science provides a rationale for what is happening.

What is a ferrofluid?

We are talking about a ferrofluid - a colloidal system consisting of water or other organic solvent containing the smallest particles of magnetite, and any material that contains iron. Their size is so small that it is even difficult to imagine: they are ten times thinner than a human hair! These microscopic indicators of magnitude allow them to be evenly distributed in the solvent using thermal motion.

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For the time being, while there is no external influence, the liquid is calm, resembling a mirror. But one has only to bring a directed magnetic field to this "mirror", as it comes to life, showing the viewer amazing volumetric pictures: magical flowers bloom, moving figures grow on the surface, changing under the influence of the field.

Depending on the strength and direction of the influence of the magnetic field, the pictures change before our eyes - from light, barely noticeable ripples appearing on the surface of the liquid, through needles and peaks that change their sharpness and inclination and grow into flowers and trees.

The ability to create colorful pictures with the help of illumination, truly mesmerizing the observer, reveals an unknown world before him.

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Unfortunately, metal particles, although they are called ferromagnetic, in the full sense are not such, since they cannot maintain the resulting shape after the disappearance of the magnetic field. Since they do not have their own magnetization. In this regard, the use of this discovery, which, by the way, is not entirely new - it was made by the American Rosenzweig in the middle of the last century, has not found wide application.

How to make and where is ferromagnetic fluid used?

Ferrofluids are used in electronics, in the automotive industry, and I want to believe that their widespread use is not far off, and with the development of nanotechnology, they will be widely used. In the meantime, it is mostly fun for the delighted audience, spoiled by various types of spectacles.

Three-dimensional pictures make you follow them with bated breath, doubt whether this is a montage, and look for an explanation of what is happening, at least on the Internet. Who knows, maybe a little boy who today watches metal "living" flowers and figures with his mouth open will tomorrow find a fundamentally new application for this phenomenon, making a revolution in science and technology. But this is tomorrow, but for now - watch and enjoy!

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