Turbulent Conductivity Measurements in a Spherical Liquid Sodium Flow

Abstract

We report the first measurement of a reduction in the conductivity of liquid sodium due to turbulence in a spherical flow (the beta effect). The sodium is contained in a 0.15 m diameter sphere, typical flow speeds are about 1 m/s, and magnetic Reynold's numbers range from 1 to 8. We find a reduction from the molecular value of the conductivity of about 4%. Results are in rough agreement with simple predictions from mean-field electrodynamics.