Determination of the Soret coefficient of magnetic particles in a ferrofluid from the steady and unsteady part of the separation curve

Experiments on the particle separation in a vertical thermodiffusion column are used to investigate the separation (Soret effect) in ferrofluids. The use of a two-sectional column with internal walls of low thermal capacity allows analyzing the initial part of the unsteady separation curves as well as the steady state regime. The Soret coefficient calculated from the measurements of the separation dynamics agrees well with the one found from the steady separation limit reached in long-time experiments especially if the solutal buoyancy is low.