Study of Magnetorotational Instability in Liquid Gallium

Physics – Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

Rapid angular momentum transport in accretion disks has been a longstanding astrophysical puzzle. Molecular viscosity and hydrodynamic instabilities are inadequate to explain observationally inferred accretion rates. The magnetorotational instability (MRI) has been proposed as a dominant mechanism for fast angular momentum transport in electrically-conducting accretion disks ranging from quasars and X-ray binaries to cataclysmic variables and perhaps even protoplanetary disks. Despite its popularity, however, the MRI has never been demonstrated and studied in the laboratory. We have proposed a liquid gallium experiment in a short Couette flow geometry, where the required dimensions, angular velocities at the inner and outer cylinders, and axial magnetic field are predicted using local(H. Ji, et al.), Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 325, L1(2001). and global(J. Goodman and H. Ji, J. Fluid Mech. 462), 365(2002). theories. Prototype experiments using water have revealed the importance of Ekman circulation in the short Couette system. The measured velocity profile and spindown time are in excellent agreement with hydrodynamic simulations(A. Kageyama, et al.), submitted to Phys. Fluids (2003).. The new apparatus based on a revised design using multiple rings at each end of the flow is under construction. Possible physics insights gained from this experiment, such as the role of compressibility on the MRI saturation, will be discussed. This work is supported by DoE and NSF.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Study of Magnetorotational Instability in Liquid Gallium does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Study of Magnetorotational Instability in Liquid Gallium, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Study of Magnetorotational Instability in Liquid Gallium will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-914462

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.