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Kickstart "Ferrite," the Next-Level Lava Lamp

By Ray Hu - January 18, 2012

in Materials | Kickstarter

David Markus is one of the five lucky design students that we featured in our "Design for (Your) Product Lifetime" series with Autodesk Sustainability Workshop. The young designer is set to complete his in June and he's got several interesting projects to show for his time at the Savannah College of Art and Design, including "Ferrite," an interactive liquid sculpture.Ferrofluid is an extraordinary material with unique ferromagnetic properties. Although dozens of applications for it have been found—from hard drives to loudspeakers—its most impressive is arguably as an interactive display.

Ferrofluid displays capture the best qualities of ferrofluid, both as a liquid and as a ferromagnetic substance. By applying magnetic fields of different strengths, different shapes and formations begin to appear in this otherworldly black liquid. By suspending it in a clear liquid, even more interactive qualities are exposed.

Lest the renderings and stills fail to convey its elegance, see "Ferrite" in action after the jump:

The project is successfully funded on Kickstarter: the smaller, 4.25”-tall "Ferro" sculpture starts at $100, while the full-size, 8.5”-tall "Ferrite" comes in at $150. Each consists of a "crystal-clear" glass tube in a machined aluminum enclosure—the former features cage-like bars, while the latter looks something like a graduated cylinder—and both come with accessory magnets to manipulate the ferrofluid. Check it out on Kickstarter.

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Nathan B

12 years ago

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This looks pretty cool! It would be even cooler if it were actually a magnetic 'lava-lamp' that displayed lighted, automated patterns without any human interaction.
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Duncan

12 years ago

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I'd buy one. I love it when people do exciting new things with interesting new materials.
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Taylor

12 years ago

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It looks like if the clear liquid had a greater weight (just slightly under the lighter than the ferrofluid), it would really create a stunning visual effect. Those dramatic droplets would stick around even longer.
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Garret Bohl

12 years ago

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Wow this is so cool! Ferrofluid looks amazing and I really like his product design. I might have to purchase one of these sometime.
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