Henri B énard and pattern-forming instabilities

Publication date: November–December 2017 Source:Comptes Rendus Physique, Volume 18, Issues 9–10 Author(s): Stéphan Fauve The first quantitative experimental study of thermal convection has been performed by Henri Bénard, who presented his results in two articles published in the Comptes rendus in 1900. After describing the first experiments of Bénard and the ones he performed later with his students, we discuss some theoretical steps that led to the full understanding of Bénard's experiments more than fifty years later. We then shortly review some more recent aspects of pattern-forming instabilities that are directly related to the experimental work conducted by Bénard and his students.
Source: Comptes Rendus Physique - Category: Physics Source Type: research