Researchers of the Plasma-Astrophysics section at the KU Leuven have discovered a new type of turbulence in the outer layers of the sun: uniturbulence. Contrary to existing theories, this turbulence is not caused by a collision of waves coming from different directions, but in fact by waves travelling in one direction.
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PhD student Norbert Magyar made the discovery by accident when studying the magnetic fields in the sun's corona. KU Leuven believes this to be an important find in the field of physics. After all, it means that turbulence can occur more easily than previously believed. Clearly in space it takes only one wave, and not two as presumed until now.
Turbulence is an everyday phenomenon: ranging from water running from a tap to an unstable aircraft. However, it is very hard to describe it precisely in mathematical terms. These researchers from Leuven have now been useful in helping to solve the mystery.
