Effect of Horizontal and Vertical Magnetic Fields on Rayleigh?Taylor Instability

Abstract

A general equation studying the combined effect of horizontal and vertical magnetic fields on the stability of two superposed fluids has been obtained. The unstable and stable cases at the interface (z = 0) between two uniform fluids, with both the possibilities of real and complex n, have been. separately dealt with. Some new results are obtained. In the unstable case with real n, the perturbations are damped or unstable according as 2(k'-k~L2)_(<X2-<Xl)k is> or < 0 under the physical situation (35). In the stable case, the perturbations are stable or unstable according as 2(k2_k~L2)+(<Xl-<X2)k is > or < 0 under the same physical situation (35). The perturbations become unstable if HIlIH 1- (= L) is large. Both the cases are also discussed with imaginary n.