Bubble growth in the presence of a magnetic field

The problem of the growth of a bubble in the presence of a magnetic field is examined under the assumption that the process is heat transfer controlled. The work reveals the existence of a new nondimensional number which physically represents the ratio of the ponderomotive forces over pressure forces computed on the basis of length-scale and time related to the coefficient of thermal diffusion. It is found that for a spherical magnetic field, growth of the bubble remains parabolic in time but the rate of growth is slower. Heat-transfer estimates are also made in the fashion of Forster and Zuber indicating that heat transfer in nucleate boiling is reduced in the presence of magnetic fields. In a numerical example, this reduction is more substantial for potassium than it is for mercury.