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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. E » Volume 71 » Issue 5
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Phys. Rev. E 71, 055202(R) (2005) [4 pages]

Hexagons become the secondary pattern if symmetry is broken

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Bert Reimann1, Reinhard Richter1, Holger Knieling1, Rene Friedrichs2, and Ingo Rehberg1
1Physikalisches Institut, Experimentalphysik V, Universität Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
2FNW∕ITP, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität, D-39016 Magdeburg, Germany

Received 26 October 2004; published 20 May 2005

Pattern formation on the free surface of a magnetic fluid subjected to a magnetic field is investigated experimentally. By tilting the magnetic field, the symmetry can be broken in a controllable manner. When increasing the amplitude of the tilted field, the flat surface gives way to liquid ridges. A further increase results in a hysteretic transition to a pattern of stretched hexagons. The instabilities are detected by means of a linear array of magnetic Hall sensors and compared with theoretical predictions.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.71.055202
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.71.055202
PACS:
47.54.+r, 47.20.Ma, 75.50.Mm
 
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