21 September 2013

The City in the Middle of the Crystal Sea


A miniature world of water, oil, crystal and iron, created by Christoper Brooks. The sea is a mixture of water and vegetable oil, and the crystals are sodium thiosulphate pentahydrate, which crystallizes very quickly when melted then cooled.

The shiny black oil is ferrofluid - a suspension of tiny iron particles in oil with a surfactant to hold it together. Magnets are placed out of shot to make the spikes.