Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/iii/paper-345/2/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 345 2 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The exact mixture equation of state is . Keeping first-order terms in the small particle volume fraction and thermal expansion givesThe omitted term is . The downward solid-volume particle deposition flux is ; the corresponding particle mass flux is . Uniform vertical mixing and constant layer depth implyFor , set . Thenand henceThe heated particle-laden layer loses its stable density stratification when this contrast vanishes. For , solving for the neutral-buoyancy time givesThe layer is neutral at and statically unstable for . The subsequent uniformly mixed lower-layer solution cannot represent the resulting overturning.
If , then , , and the continuous limit is . If , the layer stays denser than its surroundings at every finite time and becomes neutral only asymptotically when ; thus . These limiting cases must replace the printed formula when its denominator vanishes.
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