HYDROMAGNETIC KELVIN-HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY SURFACE WAVES AND GEOMAGNETIC MICROPULSATIONS. Final Report

Technical Report · Fri Jun 15 04:00:00 EDT 1962

OSTI ID:4712402

Sen, A K

The most general form of hydromagnetic KelvinHelmholtz discontinuity in ideal incompressible fluids was considered. The stability of the hydromagnetic flow of two uniform infinite streams with planar interface exhibiting this type of discontinuity was analyzed in detail. Necessary criteria for its stability were obtained. A disturbance of the stable interface propagates as hydromagnetic surface waves. Instability of the interface leads to growing surface waves. A new theory is developed of geomagnetic micropulsations, in which the solar windexosphere interface is viewed as a surface of hydromagnetic Kelvin-Helmholtz discontinuity. The sunlit side of this interface is unstable under most conditions of solar activity. In the course of this work, a critical examination of the single fluid approximations of the plasma equations was made. A rigorous derivation of the boundary conditions in an ideal incompressible hydromagnetic fluid is given. 66 references. (auth)

• Research Organization: Columbia Univ., New York. School of Engineering
• NSA Number: NSA-17-018289
• OSTI ID: 4712402
• Report Number(s): AFOSR-2764; AD-283988; CU-20-6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ATMOSPHERE
COSMIC RADIATION
FLUIDS
GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND METEOROLOGY
GEOPHYSICS
HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
PLASMA
PULSES
STABILITY
SUN
SURFACES