Three dimensional imaging of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction using magnetic resonance

The combination of 3D magnetic resonance imaging data with polygon based computer graphic display software is ideally suited to the study of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction in extended volumes. In this paper we present the first true three dimensional visualization of experimental data from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. The time evolution of a twisted scroll wave like isoconcentration surface and its organizing filament are demonstrated for a manganese-catalyzed B-Z mixture. These techniques extend the experimental study of the B-Z reaction as a class of pattern-forming systems to the third dimension. The limitations of the technique are discussed.