Gallery: Dreamy Images Reveal Beauty in Physics

By Stephanie Pappas
published

Magnetic Fluid

Ferrofluid magnetized with temperature gradient.

(Image credit: Aleksandra A. Bozhko, Aleksander S. Sidorov, Gennady F. Putin (Perm State National Research University, Perm, Russia) and Sergey A. Suslov (Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia))

A magnetic fluid is called a ferrofluid. Here, magnetic fields and temperature conspire to disrupt the flow of a ferrofluid, creating linear patterns. [Read full story]

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.