Magnetic Putty Magic (Extended Cut) | Shanks FX | PBS Digital Studios from Joey Shanks on Vimeo.
I have got to get some of this stuff. What a cool toy. And if that’s not enough, let’s visit some more wonderfully psychedelic ferrofluid art:
I recommend watching that full screen.
The combination of microscopes and magnetic ferrofluid produces results that indistinguishable from magic—and stunning CGI—in this new short from chemist-turned macro photographer Linden Gledhill and Concept Zero founder Nikola Ilic. The only added ingredient Ferrofluid Magnified needs is a big bowl of something psychoactive, and you’re off to never neverland.
Gledhill is known for his stunning, pearlescent images of objects that are unexpectedly beautiful under a microscope, such as DNA and butterfly wings. He mixed ferrofluids, which are full of nanoscopic magnets, with solvents, gels, paints, flowers, and LED lighting for added trippiness. Prints on canvas from the film, which will fund the duo’s next collaboration, are available here.
You can see and read more about magnetic putty here, and about the ferrofluid art here.
That does look like something brains produce when they are tripping. Gorgeous!
There was a thing at the exploratorium back in the day -- a digital keyboard that played sounds and triggered electromagnets under a pool of ferrofluid. It was insanely cool.
Mmmmm ferrofluid. I have a couple containers of magnetic toner down in the lab, and some light oil. Now I’m tempted to go make a dogawful mess.
I tried to make some of this stuff for a project in high school, but it came out really grainy. You have to get the particles just the right size and have the right ratio of metal to oil to get it to work like it does in the pictures.
emergence@#2:
Right viscosity of oil, too, it seems. I tried some siloxane and it didn’t work very well. Baby oil’s not bad and it smells nice.
That is ultra cool, but it eerily reminds me of The Blob.
This reminds me of one of my childhoods experiments. I was electrolyting salt water in jam-jar with two nails as electrodes and a 4,5V battery. It produced hydrogen and oxygen and the solution went green (now I know that this was due to build up of FeCl2). However after a few days still the solution became transparent again and on the bottom of the jar collected a black goo. I tried a magnet and it was magnetic and followed the magnet around, sloshing and swirling under water. Really coool. The black goo was very probably particle sized FeO suspentsion.
Marcus, according to Make, vegetable oil works just fine, but you also need a surfactant, so add a bit of citric acid.