The Karlsruhe Dynamo Experiment. A Mean Field Approach

At the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe an experiment is in preparation which it is hoped, in view of the geodynamo and other cosmic dynamos, that a homogeneous dynamo will be demonstrated and investigated. This experiment is discussed within the framework of mean-field dynamo theory. Results are presented concerning kinematic cylindrical mean-field dynamo models reflecting some features of the experimental device, as well as results of detailed calculations of the -effect that apply to arbitrarily high magnetic Reynolds numbers. On this basis estimates of the excitation conditions of the dynamo are given and predictions concerning the geometrical structure of the generated magnetic fields are made.