Micrograph of the surface of ferrofluid, taken with episcopic lighting and Normarski Interference Contrast (DIC). Ferrofluids are colloidal liquids co

---

Micrograph of the surface of ferrofluid, taken with episcopic lighting and Normarski Interference Contrast (DIC). Ferrofluids are colloidal liquids consisting of nanoscale ferromagnetic, or ferrimagnetic, particles suspended in a fluid, usually an oil. Each tiny particle is thoroughly coated with a surfactant to inhibit clumping. One application of ferrofluids is to keep dust off of the drive shafts of magnetic disk drives, which it does by creating a liquid seal held in place by magnetic fields. Object size; mm.

---

Size: 4781px × 3655px
Photo credit: © ALFRED PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: colloidal, contrast, damping, dic, ferro, ferrofluid, ferromagnetic, fields, interference, light, liquid, lubricant, magnet, magnetic, magnitized, micrograph, nano, nanoscale, normarski, particle, seal, supermagnetic, superparamagnetic, surface, suspension