Faraday rotation and chain formation in magnetic fluids

The Faraday rotation in Fe/sub 3/O/sub 4/ particle magnetic fluids with different concentrations has been measured. The results show that Faraday rotation increases with concentration and tends to saturate at higher fields for higher concentrations. The role of chain formation in Faraday rotation has been investigated by studying samples with the same concentration but with different surfactant contents and by studying the effect of the sample thickness. The results suggest that chain formation has an important role. >