Electrothermal instability

The electrothermal instability (also known as ionization instability, non-equilibrium instability or Velikhov instability in the literature) is a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability appearing in magnetized non-thermal plasmas used in MHD converters. It was first theoretically discovered in 1962 and experimentally measured into a MHD generator in 1963 by Evgeny Velikhov.

"This paper shows that it is possible to assert sufficiently specifically that the ionization instability is the number one problem for the utilization of a plasma with hot electrons."

— Dr. Evgeny Velikov, at the 7th International Conference on Ionization Phenomena in Gases, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1965).
Not to be confused with the magnetoacoustic instability discovered by the same author.
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