On the stability of parallel flows with parallel magnetic fields

Abstract

Abstract The first part of the paper is a physical discussion of the way in which a magnetic field affects the stability of a fluid in motion. Particular emphasis is given to how the magnetic field affects the interaction of the disturbance with the mean motion. The second part is an analysis of the stability of plane parallel flows of fluids with finite viscosity and conductivity under the action of uniform parallel magnetic fields. We show that, in general, three-dimensional disturbances are the most unstable, thus disagreeing with the conclusion of Michael (1953) and Stuart (1954). We show how results obtained for two-dimensional disturbances can be used to calculate the most unstable three-dimensional disturbances and thence we prove that a parallel magnetic field can never completely stabilize a parallel flow.