Observation of the processes of formation and growth of aggregates in a magnetic fluid by laser correlation spectroscopy

The laser correlation spectroscopy technique is applied to the study of magnetic fluids placed in a magnetic field. Colloidal solutions of magnetite in kerosene and water are used as samples. It is shown that switching on the field leads to the rapid appearance of large aggregates of nanoparticles of the dispersed solid phase, which continue to grow after that, and in a field of the order of hundreds of oersteds the average size of the aggregates increases three to five times with a characteristic time estimated in minutes.