Magnetically driven flow in a liquid-metal battery

This paper explores the fluid mechanics of liquid-metal batteries. It reaches the extraordinary conclusion that weak, stray magnetic fields, no larger than the terrestrial magnetic field, can drive turbulent motion within such a battery. This motion can have the beneficial effect of mixing, but if too violent, it will disrupt the operation of the battery. Stray magnetic fields significantly larger than the terrestrial field are generated when batteries are connected to form clusters within energy storage facilities.