ISSN:
1089-7666
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
Moffatt has argued [J. Fluid. Mech. 218, 509 (1990)] that it should be possible to control the motion of a metallic sphere immersed in a nonconducting fluid using the electromagnetic force and couple generated by means of a traveling and/or rotating magnetic field applied externally. Such a system has been realized experimentally: one or more aluminum spheres are placed in a vessel containing fluid (air, water, or silicone oil), the whole being placed in an inductor which provides an upward-traveling magnetic field. The spheres move in response to the induced electromagnetic forces, the motion being influenced by gravity, viscous drag, vessel boundary reaction, and collisions. A range of possible behaviors, stable, unstable, and chaotic, are identified and discussed. The term "electromagnetic billiards'' seems appropriate to describe this phenomenon.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.858809
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