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Instability of the Origami of a Ferrofluid Drop in a Magnetic Field

Timothée Jamin, Charlotte Py, and Eric Falcon
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 204503 – Published 11 November 2011
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Abstract

Capillary origami is the wrapping of a usual fluid drop by a planar elastic membrane due to the interplay between capillary and elastic forces. Here, we use a drop of magnetic fluid whose shape is known to strongly depend on an applied magnetic field. We study the quasistatic and dynamical behaviors of such a magnetic capillary origami. We report the observation of an overturning instability that the origami undergoes at a critical magnetic field. This instability is triggered by an interplay between magnetic and gravitational energies in agreement with the theory presented here. Additional effects of elasticity and capillarity on this instability are also discussed.

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  • Received 21 July 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.204503

© 2011 American Physical Society

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Magnetic Field Flips Miniature Origami

Published 11 November 2011

An improved version of a technique for folding tiny objects from a thin membrane uses a magnetic field to affect the shape. The membrane wraps around a droplet of fluid that distorts in response to the field.

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Authors & Affiliations

Timothée Jamin, Charlotte Py, and Eric Falcon*

  • Univ Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, MSC, UMR 7057 CNRS, F-75 013 Paris, France

  • *eric.falcon@univ-paris-diderot.fr

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 20 — 11 November 2011

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