Stability of Electrically Conducting Rotating Fluid in the Presence of a Horizontal Magnetic Field

Abstract

The Rayleigh instability of an incompressible, finitely conducting, inviscid fluid of variable density is investigated under the influence of an horizontal magnetic field. Due to finite conducting of the fluid, it is found that potentially stable or unstable configuration retains its character. It may further be noted that the stratification can be stabilized for a certain wave-number range in the absence of finite resistivity. The effect of finite resistivity is this to wipe out the aforesaid range of wave-number for which the system is stabilized otherwise.