HomePhysics & MechanicsFerrofluid Interface: Fourier-Mode Dispersion

Ferrofluid Interface: Fourier-Mode Dispersion

Interactive 2D Fourier-mode model of a ferrofluid/air interface: each angular perturbation mode grows or decays according to a real magnetic-vs-tension dispersion relation, and a cubic (Landau) saturation term selects the finger spacing you can watch emerge live.

Physics & Mechanics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version
2d-ferrofluid-magnetic-instability ↗ Open standalone

This is the 2D counterpart to the 3D Hele-Shaw ferrofluid grid simulation. Instead of a cellular-automaton lattice, it represents the fluid/air boundary as a sum of angular Fourier modes and integrates each mode's amplitude directly from a magnetic-vs-tension dispersion relation, with a cubic saturation term that selects a stable finger spacing once growth saturates. The result is the same physical competition — magnetic surface energy elongating the interface, surface tension shortening it — computed as an explicit ODE system rather than approximated by local growth probabilities, so you can watch the dominant wavenumber shift live as you move the field and tension sliders.

⚙ Under the hood

A 2D Fourier-mode solver for the same ferrofluid Hele-Shaw instability: each angular boundary mode grows or decays under a real magnetic-vs-tension dispersion relation with cubic (Landau) saturation, so you watch the dominant finger-spacing wavenumber emerge from the ODEs themselves.

ferrofluidmagnetismpattern-formationinstabilityfluid-dynamicshele-shawfourier-modesdispersion-relation

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install

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