Wl. Luo, PERIODIC STRUCTURES AND SCALING LAWS IN A MAGNETIC COLLOID, Nuovo cimento della Societa italiana di fisica. D, Condensed matter,atomic, molecular and chemical physics, biophysics, 16(8), 1994, pp. 1199-1204
Phase separation was found in an eicosane-based ferrofluid in zero app
lied field. Upon applying a magnetic field, the-condensed phase breaks
up to form a lattice of periodic columns. The periodicity lambda scal
es with the layer thickness L. Two scaling regimes were found. When th
ickness is small, where no branching is observed, lambda proportional
to L(1/2). In the large-thickness regime, a tree type of structure dev
elops at the tail of each column, and the columns are separated by sid
e bands while the scaling relation crosses over to lambda proportional
to L(2/3).