Magnetohydrodynamics is the study of the magnetic properties and behaviour of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such magnetofluids include plasmas, liquid metals, salt water, and electrolytes. The word magnetohydrodynamics is derived from magneto- meaning magnetic field, hydro- meaning water, and dynamics meaning movement. The field of MHD was initiated by Hannes Alfvén, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1970.
Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves. He was originally trained as an electrical power engineer and later moved to research and teaching in the fields of plasma physics and electrical engineering. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the behavior of aurorae, the Van Allen radiation belts, the effect of magnetic storms on the Earth's magnetic field, the terrestrial magnetosphere, and the dynamics of plasmas in the Milky Way galaxy.
A magnetohydrodynamic drive or MHD accelerator is a method for propelling vehicles using only electric and magnetic fields with no moving parts, accelerating an electrically conductive propellant with magnetohydrodynamics. The fluid is directed to the rear and as a reaction, the vehicle accelerates forward.
Physical Review is a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1893 by Edward Nichols. It publishes original research as well as scientific and literature reviews on all aspects of physics. It is published by the American Physical Society (APS). The journal is in its third series, and is split in several sub-journals each covering a particular field of physics. It has a sister journal, Physical Review Letters, which publishes shorter articles of broader interest.
Physical Review Letters (PRL), established in 1958, is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal that is published 52 times per year by the American Physical Society. As also confirmed by various measurement standards, which include the Journal Citation Reports impact factor and the journal h-index proposed by Google Scholar, many physicists and other scientists consider Physical Review Letters to be one of the most prestigious journals in the field of physics.
Astrophysical plasma is plasma outside of the Solar System. It is studied as part of astrophysics and is commonly observed in space. The accepted view of scientists is that much of the baryonic matter in the universe exists in this state.
In magnetohydrodynamics, the magnetic Reynolds number (Rm) is a dimensionless quantity that estimates the relative effects of advection or induction of a magnetic field by the motion of a conducting medium to the magnetic diffusion. It is the magnetic analogue of the Reynolds number in fluid mechanics and is typically defined by:
The American Journal of Physics is a monthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics. The editor-in-chief is Beth Parks of Colgate University.
Open Astronomy is a peer-reviewed fully open access scientific journal, and currently published by De Gruyter Open. The journal was established in 1992 by the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy as Baltic Astronomy, obtaining its current title in 2017 when it converted to open access. The journal is devoted to publishing research, reviews and news spanning all aspects of astronomy and astrophysics. The editor in chief is Prof. Beatriz Barbuy.
Computational magnetohydrodynamics (CMHD) is a rapidly developing branch of magnetohydrodynamics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve electrically conducting fluids. Most of the methods used in CMHD are borrowed from the well established techniques employed in Computational fluid dynamics. The complexity mainly arises due to the presence of a magnetic field and its coupling with the fluid. One of the important issues is to numerically maintain the (conservation of magnetic flux) condition, from Maxwell's equations, to avoid the presence of unrealistic effects, namely magnetic monopoles, in the solutions.
Inspec is a major indexing database of scientific and technical literature, published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and formerly by the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), one of the IET's forerunners.
Plasma is one of four fundamental states of matter, characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, being mostly associated with stars, including the Sun. Extending to the rarefied intracluster medium and possibly to intergalactic regions, plasma can be artificially generated by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field.
Physical Review E is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal, published monthly by the American Physical Society. The main field of interest is collective phenomena of many-body systems. It is currently edited by Uwe C. Täuber. While original research content requires subscription, editorials, news, and other non-research content is openly accessible.
SPINbibliographic database is an indexing and abstracting service produced by the American Institute of Physics (AIP). The content focus of SPIN is described as the most significant areas of physics research. This type of literature coverage spans the major physical science journals and magazines. Major conference proceedings that are reported by the American Institute of Physics, member societies, as well as affiliated organizations are also included as part of this database. References, or citations, provide access to more than 1.5 million articles as of 2010. SPIN has no print counterpart.
The Stuart number (N), also known as magnetic interaction parameter, is a dimensionless number of fluids, i.e. gases or liquids.
Renzo Luigi Ricca is an Italian-born applied mathematician, professor of mathematical physics at the University of Milano-Bicocca. His principal research interests are in classical field theory, dynamical systems and structural complexity. He is known for his contributions to the field of geometric and topological fluid dynamics and, in particular, for his work on geometric and topological aspects of kinetic and magnetic helicity, and physical knot theory in general.
Physical Review Fluids is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published monthly by the American Physical Society. The journal focuses on fluid dynamics and also covers geophysical fluid dynamics, biofluid dynamics, nanofluidics and magnetohydrodynamics. Its lead editors are Eric Lauga and Beverley McKeon.
Harold Weitzner is an American applied mathematician and physicist whose primary research is plasma physics. He is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and has served as Director of the Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Division at Courant since 1981, succeeding Harold Grad. He has published over 120 research articles on the topics of plasma physics, magnetohydrodynamics, fluid mechanics, fractional equations and kinetics, and chaos.
René Moreau is a French scientist and professor emeritus at the Institut national polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG). He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences.
William Henry Matthaeus is an American astrophysicist and plasma physicist. He is known for his research on turbulence in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and astrophysical plasmas, for which he was awarded the 2019 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics.
