  An analytical method within the frame of linear stability theory is presented
for the normal field instability in magnetic fluids. It allows to calculate the
maximal growth rate and the corresponding wave number for any combination of
thickness and viscosity of the fluid. Applying this method to magnetic fluids
of finite depth, these results are quantitatively compared to the wave number
of the transient pattern observed experimentally after a jump--like increase of
the field. The wave number grows linearly with increasing induction where the
theoretical and the experimental data agree well. Thereby a long-standing
controversy about the behaviour of the wave number above the critical magnetic
field is tackled.
