Normal Field Instability of a Ferrofluid in Microgravity — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Normal Field Instability of a Ferrofluid in Microgravity

Name: Jordan Rice
Major: Physics
Hometown: Kansas City
Faculty Sponsor: Kevin Crosby
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: WSGC

Name: Justin Barhite
Major: Physics and Math
Hometown: Green Bay
Faculty Sponsor: Kevin Crosby
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: WSGC

Name: Amelia Gear
Major: Physics and Studio Art
Hometown: South Milwaukee
Faculty Sponsor: Kevin Crosby
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: WSGC

Abstract

The objective of our mission is to observe the onset of normal field instability (NFI) in a ferrofluid suspension as a function of applied magnetic field and characterize the role of gravity in stabilizing the surface of the ferrofluid against deformation driven by magnetization. Answering this question is very important to the continuation of ferrofluid applications in the space sciences, as the NFI is the key event for the characteristics of a ferrofluid in the presence of an applied magnetic field. The microgravity time for the experiment was obtained during the free-fall portion of a sounding rocket’s trajectory. The results of our experiment were to model individual droplets of ferrofluid to that of an ellipsoid of revolution. Theoretical modeling of the ellipsoidal ferrofluid droplets shows a rough agreement with the observed behavior during flight.

Poster file