The interfacial stability of a ferromagnetic fluid

A normal magnetic field has a destabilizing influence on a flat interface between a magnetizable and a non-magnetic fluid. Stabilizing influences are provided by interfacial tension and gravity if the lighter fluid is uppermost. The critical level of magnetization for onset of the instability is derived for a fluid having a non-linear relation between magnetization and magnetic induction. Experiments using a magnetizable fluid, which contains a colloidal suspension of ferromagnetic particles, at interfaces with air and water are made and cover a wide range of density differences. Measurements confirm the prediction for critical magnetization, and it was found that, after onset, the interface took a new form in which the elevation had a regular hexagonal pattern. The pattern was highly stable, and the measured spacing of peaks agreed reasonably with that derived from the critical wave-number for the instability of a flat interface.