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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Fabrication, Operation and Flow Visualization in Surface-acoustic-wave-driven Acoustic-counterflow Microfluidics
Published on: August 27, 2013
Observation of axisymmetric solitary waves on the surface of a ferrofluid
E Bourdin1, J-C Bacri, E Falcon
1Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes (MSC), Université Paris Diderot, CNRS (UMR 7057) 10 rue A. Domon and L. Duquet, 75 013 Paris, France.
Abstract:
We report the first observation of axisymmetric solitary waves on the surface of a cylindrical magnetic fluid layer surrounding a current-carrying metallic tube. According to the ratio between the magnetic and capillary forces, both elevation and depression solitary waves are observed with profiles in good agreement with theoretical predictions based on the magnetic analogue of the Korteweg-de Vries equation. We also report the first measurements of the velocity and the dispersion relation of axisymmetric linear waves propagating on the cylindrical ferrofluid layer that are found in good agreement with theoretical predictions.
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