Student: Justin Boland
Advisor: Dr. Steven R. Lantz
Abstract: Cellular convection patterns on the sun's surface are observed to occur in several distinct sizes, the largest of which is called supergranulation. This pattern, with a horizontal scale of 30 Mm, is believed to be linked to the ionization of solar gases occurring at a comparable depth. We extended the capabilities of a magnetohydrodynamic linear stability code so that it can ultimately take into account the thermodynamic effects of ionization zones. The resources we used included IBM RS/6000 workstations, the IBM SP2 supercomputer at Cornell, the PV Wave Advantage scientific visualization software, and numerous coffee makers.
Cornell Theory Center
SPUR '97 picture page
Sun picture page
If you have questions or comments, email me at jsboland@utdallas.edu
