Collaboration VKS : CEA – ENS Lyon – ENS Paris -
What is the origin of the earth magnetic field and of its instabilities?
Many research teams aim at understanding of the origin and behavior of the magnetic field of planets and stars. The VKS1 collaboration (gathering researchers at CEA, CNRS, Ecoles normales supérieures in Lyon and Paris) has succeeded in generating a magnetic field from a highly turbulent liquid sodium flow in a laboratory experiment. Although the extreme conditions specific to astrophysical and geophysical media are out of reach in the laboratory, the observed magnetic field shares remarkable similarities with cosmic fields. Their observations are reported in the January 26th issue of Physical Review Letters (see also the "Physical review Focus").
- The scientific paper and the "Physical review Focus" :
Generation of a Magnetic Field by Dynamo Action in a Turbulent Flow of Liquid Sodium
R. Monchaux, M. Berhanu, M. Bourgoin, M. Moulin, Ph. Odier, J.-F. Pinton, R. Volk,
S. Fauve, N. Mordant, F. Pétrélis, A. Chiffaudel, F. Daviaud, B. Dubrulle, C. Gasquet,
L. Marié, and F. Ravelet, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, (2007) 044502.
- The WEB site of the VKS collaboration.
- The CEA-CNRS-ENS press release (and its french version : communiqué de presse commun CEA-CNRS-ENS).
23/02/2007 : With the CEA team of , the collaboration of physicists of the CEA-CNRS-ENS Lyon and Paris, comes to observe that the field, like the magnetic field of the Earth, reverses spontaneously.
See the second DRECAM/SPEC highlight : The dynamics of the Earth’s magnetic field reproduced in the laboratory
2nd outstanding result! See the associated scientific paper :
Magnetic field reversals in an experimental turbulent dynamo
M. Berhanu, R. Monchaux, S. Fauve, N. Mordant, F. Pétrélis, A. Chiffaudel, F. Daviaud, B. Dubrulle, C. Gasquet, L. Marié, and F. Ravelet, M. Bourgoin, Ph. Odier, M. Moulin, J.-F. Pinton, R. Volk, Europhysics Letters, 77 2007 59001.
