Origin of field-dependent optical transmission of magnetic fluid films

The physical mechanism of the optical transmission of magnetic fluid films under perpendicular magnetic fields is investigated in this work. Under perpendicular magnetic fields, originally dispersed magnetic particles agglomerate to form magnetic columns. The liquid phase is transparent, whereas the columns are opaque. Hence, the liquid phase dominates the optical transmission of the magnetic fluid film. When the field strength is raised, more columns are formed, and the area of the liquid phase is reduced. This leads to the decrease in the optical transmission of the film under higher field strength. The variation in the concentration of the liquid phase under various field strengths also contributes to the transmission of the film. By taking account of the variations of the effective concentration and the area ratio of the liquid phase in the magnetic fluid film under magnetic fields, the resultant magnetic field dependence of the optical transmission was calculated and found to be consistent with the experimental results. This provides evidence for the origin of the field-dependent optical transmission of the magnetic fluid film under external fields.