| A ferrofluid is a colloidal suspension of single-domain magnetic particles in a non-magnetic solvent. Its rich magnetic and hydrodynamic behaviors are of tremendous practical and academic interest. This thesis investigates ferrofluids both as a single component system and as part of composite system. In pure ferrofluids we focus on: particle correlations in the dilute, isotropic phase, spontaneous magnetization, and interplay between spontaneous magnetization and isotropic condensation. Issues we investigate in composite systems include: induced magnetic forces between ferrofluid droplets in ferrofluid emulsions, and magnetic anisotropy in ferrosmectics. The research described within improves our understanding of the statistical mechanics of model dipolar fluids. At the same time, we gain insight into behavior of real ferrofluids in complex fluid environments. |
