Field-induced shaping of sessile paramagnetic drops

We use the electromagnetic stress tensor to describe the elongation of paramagnetic drops in uniform magnetic fields. This approach implies a linear relationship between the shape of the drops and the square of the applied field which we confirm experimentally. We show that this effect scales with the volume and susceptibility of the drops. By using this unified electromagnetic approach, we highlight the potential applications of combining electric and magnetic techniques for controlled shaping of drops in liquid displays, liquid lenses, and chemical mixing of drops in microfluidics.