Imagination has no limits

After looking at the Morpho Towers video, most of us would be thinking: "No way that could be real..must be some kind of 3D animation or special effects..it's impossible for the liquid to move in such a way!"

But it IS real, there are no special effects, animatronics or whatsoever. I shall attempt to explain what happened in the video in as simple a manner as possible.

Firstly, the silver liquid you see is called ferrofluid, a kind of slippery oil that contains iron oxide particles-which are responsive to the presence of magnets.

The ferrofluid is attracted to the magnetic field, and at the same time the magnetic field is attracted to the ferrofluid. This helps to shape the ferrofluid into concentrated columns. Surface tension in the oil causes each column to pull in on itself, forming sharp spikes.

The following photos (from the internet) shows a magnet being brought closer to the underside of ferrofluid, from top to bottom:

The magnet will pull iron oxide particles out of the oil, forming a clump of magnetic dust near the magnet. Iron oxide in the ferrofluid will not be pulled out of the fluid due to the presence of surfactants, which is active on the surface between the oil and the magnetic specks.

One end of the surfactant molecule holds on to the iron oxide, while the other holds on to the oil. When completely surrounded by surfactants, the particles will not be able to clump together. This means that wherever the iron oxide goes, the oil will follow.

Using this knowledge, the artists who made this video placed two spiral towers on a large plate containing ferrofluid. When the music starts, the magnetic field around the tower is strengthened.

The body of the tower was made using a new technique which utilizes one electromagnet, and its iron core is extended and sculpted. The ferrofluid covers the sculpted surface of the iron.

Movement of the spikes in the fluid is controlled on the surface by adjusting the power of the electromagnet. The iron body is shaped as a helical cone so that the fluid can move to the top of the cone when the magnetic field has enough strength.

Nowadays, ferrofluids are commonly used for commercial applications such as car suspensions and CDs. The artists were revolutionary in the sense that they applied the dynamic qualities of ferrofluid in the fine arts scene, with the aid of a computer to manipulate electromagnetic fields in the sculpture.

A bit of information on the artists:

SACHIKO KODAMA:

• Born in 1970.
• Has a strong interest in both science and the arts.
• Graduated from the Physics course in the Faculty of Science at Hokkaido University.
• Studied Plastic and Mixed Media in the Fine Arts Department of University of Tsukuba.
• Completed her Master's and Doctoral Program in Art and Design at Uni. of Tsukuba.
• Studied Computer Graphics and Holography Art in her doctoral research.

YASUSHI MIYAJIMA:

• Works with Sony Computer Science Laboratories (CSL).
• Contributed by synchronizing the ferrofluid movement to the musical playback in real time (using time series metadata).

Quote from Kodama in an interview with Patricia Faure Gallery:

"I am using a liquid material in this piece, and the liquid is moving like a creature. I met this material when I was studying Computer Graphics and Holography. When I met this material, I was so amazed, I thought I could make a new style of art."

Interesting, eh?