Atomistic simulation of heat and mass transfer near the convection threshold

The detailed behavior at the onset of Rayleigh-Bénard convection is examined using molecular-dynamics simulation of a hard-disk fluid in which the vertical temperature difference is increased gradually. The dependence of thermal flux and mass transfer rate on Rayleigh number just above onset is shown to be consistent with the assumption that the convective bifurcation is the analog of a second-order phase transition.