(414g) From Filaments to Coils: Controlling the Dynamics of Linked Colloidal Particle Chains

The deformations and dynamics of semi-flexible filaments in response to external forces and their surrounding fluid leads to non-reciprocal orbits, which have significant potential for application in microfluidic scale propulsion and fluid manipulation. In order to harness these phenomena, we must understand the competition of various elastic, hydrodynamic, and external forces on the filament, particularly in the semi-flexible regime. We thus investigate these dynamics experimentally through the use of a tunable, colloidal particle chain system; when the paramagnetic chains are driven by an external, rotating magnetic field, multiple dynamical regimes are observed. By pairing these experiments with Brownian dynamics simulations, we elucidate, predict, and begin to optimize semi-flexible fiber behavior as a function of the dimensionless Mason and magnetoelastic numbers of the system.