title: Magnetically induced spreading and pattern selection in thin ferrofluid drops.
abstract: We report an experimental study of a fingering pattern formation which occurs during the spreading of an immiscible thin ferrofluid drop subjected to a radial magnetic field. Our results indicate that this ferrohydrodynamic system works as a magnetic analog of conventional spin coating, where centrifugal driving is replaced with a magnetic body force induced by the radial applied field. In this context, a magnetically tunable pattern selection mechanism is proposed in which the shape and number of the arising fingered structures can be properly controlled.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China. chingyao@mail.nctu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Ching-Yao
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: W-L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Miranda