Electric field induced solidification

We present a description of electrorheological fluids in terms of an electric field induced phase transition at a critical electric field E _c. Theoretically, we find that as the applied field exceeds E _c, the osmotic pressure becomes negative and the liquid experiences a phase transition to a solid phase. E_c is experimentally determined as a function of concentration in one system. Our theoretically predicted phase diagram is in reasonable agreement with our experimental data.