Researchers Recreate Planetary Turbulence in Laboratory Experiment

Scientists have successfully recreated an extreme, long-theorized form of planetary and stellar turbulence in a desktop-sized laboratory setting for the first time, offering new methods to study how distant worlds and Earth generate heat, movement, and magnetic fields.

Historically, researchers struggled to replicate this extreme turbulence in laboratories because boundary friction within experimental vessels throttles energy transfer, preventing researchers from capturing behaviors typical of large natural systems. According to Coventry University researchers, the international team demonstrated a specific fluid motion known as diffusivity-free turbulence. This process naturally occurs within the interiors of stars and planets, where it drives powerful currents and helps establish global magnetic fields.

Scientists Build Desktop Astrophysical Model

To bypass traditional experimental hurdles, the research team utilized liquid gallium—a metal remaining liquid near room temperature—housed inside a rotating experimental device. Rather than depending on conventional convection patterns, the scientists employed an exclusive style of rotating convection called oscillatory convection.

The team tracked three primary indicators of fluid behavior: heat transfer, internal temperature variations, and flow speed. Across all measurements, the empirical results closely matched long-standing theoretical predictions, while independent computer simulations further verified the findings.

The work indicates that this elusive diffusivity-free regime can manifest in relatively compact laboratory equipment, validating that desk-sized experiments can successfully model astrophysical processes occurring millions of miles away.

Collaborative Study Published in Journal

The research team includes Susanne Horn at Coventry University’s Research Centre for Fluid and Complex Systems, alongside Jewel Abbate and Jonathan Aurnou from the University of California, Los Angeles; Yufan Xu from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; Tobias Vogt from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf; and Keith Julien from the University of Colorado Boulder.

The collaborative study was published in Physical Review Letters and earned recognition as an Editors’ suggestion. The published findings establish a new experimental platform for exploring turbulent flows that govern the evolution of stars and planets, helping bridge the gap between theoretical models and real-world observations.