Instability of a thermally inhomogeneous layer of weakly conducting liquid in an electric field

We give the results of a theoretical investigation of the hydrostatic stability of a plane horizontal layer of weakly conducting liquid for different constant temperatures and potentials on the thermally and electrically conducting capacitor plates bounding the layer. We found that the onset of electrothermal convection is of an oscillatory nature. The critical conditions for loss of stability were found.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 133–138, November–December, 1974.