Micro-convection caused by ponderomotive forces of the self-magnetic field of a magnetic fluid in the Hele-Shaw cell under the action of a vertical homogeneous magnetic field is studied both experimentally and numerically. It is shown that a non-potential magnetic force at magnetic Rayleigh numbers greater than the critical value causes fingering at the interface between the miscible magnetic and non-magnetic fluids. The threshold value of the magnetic Rayleigh number depends on the smearing of the interface between fluids. Fingering with its subsequent decay due to diffusion of particles significantly increases the mixing at the interface. Velocity and vorticity fields at fingering are determined by particle image velocimetry measurements and qualitatively correspond well to the results of numerical simulations of the micro-convection in the Hele-Shaw cell carried out in the Darcy approximation, which account for ponderomotive forces of the self-magnetic field of the magnetic fluid. Gravity plays an important role at the initial stage of the fingering observed in the experiments.

The micro-convection caused by the ponderomotive forces of the self-magnetic field in a magnetic fluid is studied here both numerically and experimentally. The theoretical approach based on the general Brinkman model substantially improves the description with respect to the previously proposed Darcy model. The predictions of both models are here compared to finely controlled experiments. The Brinkman model, in contrast to the Darcy model, allows us to describe the formation of mushrooms on the plumes of the micro-convective flow and the width of the fingers. In the Brinkman approach, excellent quantitative agreement is also obtained for the finger velocity dynamics and the velocity maximal values as a function of the magnetic Rayleigh number. The diffusion coefficient of particles of the water-based magnetic colloid determined by the threshold field strength value of the micro-convection is significantly larger than the diffusion coefficient of individual particles. This result is confirmed by independent measurements of the diffusion coefficient at the smearing of the diffusion front.

Filamentous polyelectrolytes in aqueous solution aggregate into bundles by interactions with multivalent counterions. These effects are well documented by experiment and theory. Theories also predict a gel phase in isotropic rodlike polyelectrolyte solutions caused by multivalent counterion concentrations much lower than those required for filament bundling. We report here the gelation of Pf1 virus, a model semiflexible polyelectrolyte, by the counterions Mg2+, Mn2+ and spermine4+. Gelation can occur at 0.04% Pf1 volume fraction, which is far below the isotropic-nematic transition of 0.7% for Pf1 in monovalent salt. Unlike strongly crosslinked gels of semiflexible polymers, which stiffen at large strains, Pf1 gels reversibly soften at high strain. The onset strain for softening depends on the strength of interaction between counterions and the polyelectrolyte. Simulations show that the elasticity of counterion crosslinked gels is consistent with a model of semiflexible filaments held by weak crosslinks that reversibly rupture at a critical force.