H. Keith Moffatt – författare

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) studies the interaction between the flow of an electrically conducting fluid and magnetic fields. It involves such diverse topics as the evolution and dynamics of astrophysical objects, thermonuclear fusion, metallurgy and semiconductor crystal growth, etc. Although the first ideas in magnetohydrodynamics appeared at the beginning of the last century, the "explosion" in theoretical and experimental studies occurred in the 1950s-60s.

This state-of-the-art book aims at revising the evolution of ideas in various branches of magnetohydrodynamics (astrophysics, earth and solar dynamos, plasmas, MHD turbulence and liquid metals) and reviews current trends and challenges.

Helmholtz''s seminal paper on vortex motion (1858) marks the beginning of what is now called topological fluid mechanics.After 150 years of work, the field has grown considerably. In the last several decades unexpected developments have given topological fluid mechanics new impetus, benefiting from the impressive progress in knot theory and geometric topology on the one hand, and in mathematical and computational fluid dynamics on the other.

This volume contains a wide-ranging collection of up-to-date, valuable research papers written by some of the most eminent experts in the field. Topics range from fundamental aspects of mathematical fluid mechanics, including topological vortex dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics, integrability issues, Hamiltonian structures and singularity formation, to DNA tangles and knotted DNAs in sedimentation. A substantial introductory chapter on knots and links, covering elements of modern braid theory and knot polynomials, as well as more advanced topics in knot classification, provides an invaluable addition to this material.