# Moses effect

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Magnetic effect

Direct (A) and inverse (B) Moses effects.

In [physics](/source/Physics), the **Moses effect** is a phenomenon of deformation of the surface of a [diamagnetic](/source/Diamagnetism) liquid by a [magnetic field](/source/Magnetic_field).[1][2] The effect was named after the biblical figure [Moses](/source/Moses), inspired by the mythological [*crossing of the Red Sea*](/source/Crossing_the_Red_Sea) in the [Old Testament](/source/Old_Testament).[2]

The rapid progress in the development of [neodymium magnets](/source/Neodymium_magnet), supplying magnetic fields as high as c. 1 [T](/source/Tesla_(unit)), allows simple and inexpensive experiments related to the Moses effect and its visualization.[3][4][5] The application of magnetic fields on the order of magnitude of 0.5-1 T results in the formation of the near-surface "well" with a depth of dozens of micrometers. In contrast, the surface of a [paramagnetic](/source/Paramagnetism) liquid is raised by the magnetic field. This effect is called as the inverse Moses effect.[1] It is usually latently suggested that the shape of the well arises from the interplay of magnetic force and [gravity](/source/Gravity) and the shape of the near-surface well is given by the following equation:

- h ( r ) = χ | B ( r ) | 2 2 ρ g μ 0 {\displaystyle h(r)={\frac {\chi |\mathbf {B} (r)|^{2}}{2\rho g\mu _{0}}}}

where *χ* and *ρ* are the [magnetic susceptibility](/source/Magnetic_susceptibility) and [density](/source/Density) of the liquid respectively, **B** is the magnetic field, *g* is the [gravity acceleration](/source/Standard_gravity), and *μ0* is the [magnetic permittivity](/source/Magnetic_permittivity) of vacuum.[6] Actually, the shape of the near surface well depends also on the [surface tension](/source/Surface_tension) of the liquid. The Moses effect enables trapping of floating diamagnetic particles and formation of [micro-patterns](/source/Micropatterning).[7][8] The application of a magnetic field (*B*≅0.5 T) on diamagnetic liquid/vapor [interfaces](/source/Interface_(matter)) enables the driving of floating diamagnetic bodies and soap bubbles.[9][10]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Kitazawa, Koichi; Ikezoe, Yasuhiro; Uetake, Hiromichi; Hirota, Noriyuki (January 2001). "Magnetic field effects on water, air and powders". *Physica B: Condensed Matter*. 294–295: 709–714. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2001PhyB..294..709K](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001PhyB..294..709K). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/S0921-4526(00)00749-3](https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0921-4526%2800%2900749-3).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_2-1) Hirota, Noriyuki; Homma, Takuro; Sugawara, Hiroharu; Kitazawa, Koichi; Iwasaka, Masakazu; Ueno, Shoogo; Yokoi, Hiroyuki; Kakudate, Yozo; Fujiwara, Shuzo (1995-08-01). ["Rise and Fall of Surface Level of Water Solutions under High Magnetic Field"](http://stacks.iop.org/1347-4065/34/L991). *Japanese Journal of Applied Physics*. **34** (Part 2, No. 8A): L991–L993. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1995JaJAP..34L.991H](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995JaJAP..34L.991H). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1143/JJAP.34.L991](https://doi.org/10.1143%2FJJAP.34.L991). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [250847546](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:250847546).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Laumann, Daniel (September 2018). ["Even Liquids Are Magnetic: Observation of the Moses Effect and the Inverse Moses Effect"](https://doi.org/10.1119%2F1.5051143). *The Physics Teacher*. **56** (6): 352–354. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2018PhTea..56..352L](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018PhTea..56..352L). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1119/1.5051143](https://doi.org/10.1119%2F1.5051143). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0031-921X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0031-921X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Chen, Zijun; Dahlberg, E. Dan (March 2011). "Deformation of Water by a Magnetic Field". *The Physics Teacher*. **49** (3): 144–146. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2011PhTea..49..144C](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011PhTea..49..144C). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1119/1.3555497](https://doi.org/10.1119%2F1.3555497). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0031-921X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0031-921X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Dong, Jun; Miao, Runcai; Qi, Jianxia (2006-12-15). "Visualization of the curved liquid surface by means of the optical method". *Journal of Applied Physics*. **100** (12): 124914–124914–5. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2006JAP...100l4914D](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006JAP...100l4914D). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1063/1.2401315](https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.2401315). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0021-8979](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0021-8979).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Landau, L. D. (1984). *Electrodynamics of continuous media*. [Lifshit︠s︡, E. M.](/source/E._M._Lifshitz) (Evgeniĭ Mikhaĭlovich), [Pitaevskiĭ, L. P.](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L._P._Lifshitz&action=edit&redlink=1) (Lev Petrovich) (2nd ed., rev. and enl. ed.). Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Pergamon. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781483293752](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781483293752). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [625008916](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/625008916).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Kimura, Tsunehisa; Yamato, Masafumi; Nara, Akihiro (February 2004). "Particle Trapping and Undulation of a Liquid Surface Using a Microscopically Modulated Magnetic Field". *Langmuir*. **20** (3): 572–574. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1021/la035768m](https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fla035768m). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0743-7463](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0743-7463). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [15773077](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15773077).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Uemura, T.; Kimura, T.; Sugitani, M.; Kumakura, M. (2006-06-19). "Formation of Contact Holes on Bumps on Semiconductor Chip by Micro-Moses Effect". *Advanced Materials*. **18** (12): 1549–1551. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2006AdM....18.1549U](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AdM....18.1549U). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1002/adma.200600085](https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fadma.200600085). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0935-9648](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0935-9648). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [137545091](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:137545091).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Frenkel, Mark; Danchuk, Viktor; Multanen, Victor; Legchenkova, Irina; Bormashenko, Yelena; Gendelman, Oleg; Bormashenko, Edward (2018-06-05). "Toward an Understanding of Magnetic Displacement of Floating Diamagnetic Bodies, I: Experimental Findings". *Langmuir*. **34** (22): 6388–6395. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b00424](https://doi.org/10.1021%2Facs.langmuir.8b00424). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0743-7463](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0743-7463). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [29727191](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29727191).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Legchenkova, Irina; Chaniel, Gilad; Frenkel, Mark; Bormashenko, Yelena; Shoval, Shraga; Bormashenko, Edward (September 2018). ["Magnetically inspired deformation of the liquid/vapor interface drives soap bubbles"](https://doi.org/10.1680%2Fjsuin.18.00022). *Surface Innovations*. **6** (4–5): 231–236. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1680/jsuin.18.00022](https://doi.org/10.1680%2Fjsuin.18.00022). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2050-6252](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2050-6252).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Moses effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_effect) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_effect?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.