Slow-motion footage reveals how a fascinating swirling mass of iron fillings ...

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Captivating slow motion footage shows millions of tiny iron fillings swirling and dancing around a large magnet after being thrown towards it in a series of arty tricks. 

The mesmerising video, which is set to music, shows tiny iron beads being poured onto a bouncy blue surface before a magnet is then dropped into the pool, causing them to artfully swish and circulate around it.

The tiny beads move rapidly around the magnet as it bounces up and down creating the enchanting swishing effect they make while they fly around the magnetic fields. 

In the footage, magnetite sand glitters around the array of magnets, which are dropped into the beads and, in other shots, even coating the entire block. 

The footage was captured by Mirko Pafundi, whose YouTube channel, Magnetic Games, shows a collection of experiments and tricks with magnets.

Mr Pafundi, 44, from Italy, said the project gave him the most satisfaction of anything he's ever worked on, as the 'dancing powder' makes for an engrossing spectacle when shot in slow motion.  

He plans to add similar slow-motion videos to his channel, which has garnered more than 270 million views altogether.

'I was quite satisfied with the final result of the slow motion video. 'Soon I will do a video on all the ways to view magnetic fields – it will be a compilation of the various videos I have made previously,' he said. 

'The strength of magnets is scientifically explainable, but there's also something magical about their interaction with the world.' Mr Pafundi's channel is so successful his magnetic videos have now become his full-time job.