Ferrofluid Sculpture
Ferrofluid Morpho Towers from Jason Peters on Vimeo.
Morpho Towers–Two Standing Spirals is a 2007 installation that consists of two ferrofluid sculptures that moves synthetically to music.
The two iron spiral towers stand on a large plate holding ferrofluid, also known as liquid magnets. When the music starts, the magnetic field around the tower is strengthened. Spikes of ferrofluid are formed at the bottom of the plate and move up, trembling and rotating around the edge of the iron spiral, forming a constantly musically-driven sculpture.
Do It Yourself
To make your own ferrofluid there are several different ways to do it. You can use any of the following techniques.
1. Toner Ink Ferrofluid
You need: toner ink (from an office supply store), olive oil and a rare earth magnet
2. Steel Wool Ferrofluid
You need: steel wool cleaning pad, 9-volt battery, scrap metal (or old cheese grater), olive oil and a magnet
3. Magnaflux Ferrofluid
You need: Magnaflux iron powder, olive oil and a magnet
Steps to make ferrofluid (same for all techniques)
Take your iron powder and mix with oil until it reaches a thin consistency. Use a rare earth magnet to move the liquid and watch the forms you can create just by activating magnetic fields and watching the black liquid respond.
When you’ve made your ferroliquid, shoot the video of your liquid iron sculpture, set it to music and then send it to REALscience. We’ll post your creations on the site.
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