Radiative Transfer Effects on the Thermal Instability of a Fluid Spherical Shell

Abstract

The thermal instability of an incompressible fluid spherical shell heated within when the fluid absorbs and emits thermal radiation is considered. Two asymptotic cases of the radiative transfer equation (i) when the fluid is optically thin and (ii) when it is optically thick have been examined. It is observed that radiative transfer for the transparent medium has a stabilising effect on the fluid motion, whereas for opaque medium the fluid behaves like the nonradiative case