ROLE OF SURFACE INTERACTIONS IN STRATIFICATION OF MAGNETIC FLUIDS.

In an earlier publication by the author the average-field approximation provided a basis for the formulation of a thermodynamic model that showed the possibility of phase stratification of a magnetic fluid (MF). Stratification of an MF into concentrated and dilute phases is possible if the magnetodipole interaction parameter of the colloidal particles is greater than some critical value, which, generally speaking, depends on the external field strength. This dependence is given in this paper.