The Tayler instability at low magnetic Prandtl numbers

The Tayler instability is a kink type instability which appears when an axial current in a cylinder crosses a certain critical value. It has been discussed as a main ingredient of the Tayler-Spruit stellar dynamo model, but may also play a role as a size-limiting factor in large-scale liquid metal batteries. We discuss several theoretical aspects and the first experimental evidence of the Tayler instability in liquid metals.