Magneto‐fluid dynamics deals with the motion of electrically conducting gases and liquids in the presence of magnetic fields. The macroscopic description of such motions involves the coupling of the equations of hydrodynamics and Maxwell's equations. For velocities small compared to that of light, and if one neglects displacement and charge convection currents, the coupling in the equations of motion occurs through a Lorentz body force term—a term involving the current density j and the magnetic induction, B, viz., The requirement of Lorentz invariance effects the introduction of the coupling into Maxwell's equations, so that one calculates j from the generalized Ohm's law where σ is the fluid conductivity, E the electric field intensity and V the fluid velocity. Both and are basically nonlinear terms, whence the already uncomfortable situation with nonlinearities in hydrodynamics is quite considerably aggravated. Linearization on the one hand and “simple” experiments on the other must be invoked to convey a physical feeling for the phenomena to be expected from this coupling.
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December 1960
December 01 1960
Experiments in magneto‐fluid dynamics
R. A. Alpher
R. A. Alpher
General Electric Research Laboratory, Schenectady, N.Y.
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Physics Today 13 (12), 26–31 (1960);
Citation
R. A. Alpher; Experiments in magneto‐fluid dynamics. Physics Today 1 December 1960; 13 (12): 26–31. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3056741
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