A Liquid Sodium Laboratory Model of the Earth

9903162 Lathrop这个项目试图通过在液态钠中仔细控制的实验来理解液态金属流动(发电机作用)产生的磁场。目标是更好地描述和更好地理解发电机理论，该理论试图解释地球和其他天体的磁场产生。研究计划是继续现有的两个钠实验，同时建设和探索一个新的旋转对流实验。这个新的实验包括一个旋转的内外球面边界，中间有对流的液态钠。此外，研究人员将对这些实验和加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的加里·格拉茨迈尔进行的数值模拟进行直接比较。这些比较将对现代地球外核模拟中使用的模型假设进行直接测试。

9903162 Lathrop This project seeks to understand magnetic field generation by the flow of liquid metals (dynamo action) through carefully controlled experiments in liquid sodium. The goal is to better characterize and to better understand the dynamo theory that seeks to explain magnetic field generation for the Earth and other astrophysical bodies. The research plan is to continue work on two existing sodium experiments, while constructing and exploring a new rotating convection experiment. This new experiment consists of a rotating inner and outer spherical boundary with convecting liquid sodium in between. Additionally, the investigators will undertake a direct comparison between these experiments and numerical simulations to be performed by Gary Glatzmaier at the University of California, Santa Cruz. These comparisons will afford a direct test of the model assumptions used in modern simulations of the earth's outer core.