Thermal Instability in Fluid Layers in the Presence of Horizontal and Vertical Temperature Gradients

In the horizontal crystal growth methods a horizontal temperature gradient is imposed upon a liquid material. Instances have been recorded when thermal convection has been found to occur in the liquid under these conditions. This report deals with a theoretical investigation on the occurrence of thermal instability in fluid layers subjected to both horizontal and vertical temperature gradients. The solutions obtained include the special case of thermal instability in fluid layers heated from below which has been well treated in the existing literature.