Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Structure of the wake of a magnetic obstacle
E V Votyakov1, Yu Kolesnikov, O Andreev
1Fakultät Maschinenbau, Technische Universität Ilmenau, PF 100565, 98684 Ilmenau, Germany. evgeny.votyakov@tu-ilmenau.de
Abstract:
We use a combination of numerical simulations and experiments to elucidate the structure of the flow of an electrically conducting fluid past a localized magnetic field, called magnetic obstacle. We demonstrate that the stationary flow pattern is considerably more complex than in the wake behind an ordinary body. The steady flow is shown to undergo two bifurcations (rather than one) and to involve up to six (rather than just two) vortices. We find that the first bifurcation leads to the formation of a pair of vortices within the region of magnetic field that we call inner magnetic vortices, whereas a second bifurcation gives rise to a pair of attached vortices that are linked to the inner vortices by connecting vortices.
Related Concept Videos
Potential Due to a Magnetized Object
The vector...
Force On A Current Loop In A Magnetic Field
Magnetic Fields
A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences...
Magnetic Field Of A Current Loop
Torque On A Current Loop In A Magnetic Field
Consider a rectangular current-carrying loop containing N turns of wire, placed in a uniform magnetic field. The net force on a current-carrying loop...
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions