Abstract
The first test of a theory of viscosity has been possible using experimental results published recently by Dunlop1. This has been accomplished by actually calculating the moment produced as a function of time and temperature. Good agreement is obtained between theory and experiment for all the important parameters which describe viscosity except for the time dependence of the viscosity coefficients. However, the possibility exists that the latter may not be correct. It is also apparent that the average value of the viscosity coefficient is strongly dependent on the grain size distribution. This was predicted theoretically by Walton2, but is in disagreement with other theoretical treatments3. It has been possible to explain why the moment acquired in a field of 10 Oe is resistant to demagnetization. This has important implications for experiments which are sensitive to the presence of viscous moments, such as palaeointensity determinations.
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Walton, D. Viscous magnetization. Nature 305, 616–619 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/305616a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/305616a0
