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Updated: Feb 21, 2026

Magnetic Tweezers for the Measurement of Twist and Torque
Published on: May 19, 2014
Buckling of elastic filaments by discrete magnetic moments
Horst-Holger Boltz1, Stefan Klumpp2
1Institute for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany. horst-holger.boltz@phys.uni-goettingen.de.
Abstract:
We study the buckling of an idealized, semiflexible filament along whose contour magnetic moments are placed. We give analytic expressions for the critical stiffness of the filament below which it buckles due to the magnetic compression. For this, we consider various scenarios of the attachment of the magnetic particles to the filament. One possible application for this model are the magnetosome chains of magnetotactic bacteria. An estimate of the critical bending stiffness indicates that buckling may occur within the range of biologically relevant parameters and suggests a role for the bending stiffness of the filament to stabilize the filament against buckling, which would compromise the functional relevance of the bending stiffness of the used filament.
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