Magnetic induction was first proposed as a planetary heating mechanism by Sonnet and Colburn in 1968. In recent years this theory has lost favor as a plausible source of heating in the early Solar System. However, new models of proto-planetary disk evolution suggest that magnetic fields play an important role in solar system formation. In particular, the magneto-hydrodynamic behavior of proto-planetary disks is believed to be responsible for the net outward flow of angular momentum in the solar system. We are re-evaluating the plausibility of magnetic induction based on the intense magnetic field environments predicted by the most recent models of proto-planetary disk evolution.

In order to reevaluate the induction heating theory, the electro-magnetic properties of materials present during planetary accretion must be determined. Meteorites represent the most primitive matter in the Solar System. These objects come from asteroids, which are the remnants of terrestrial planet formation. We are performing laboratory experiments to determine the electromagnetic properties of these objects. We then use these data to determine the extent to which magnetic fields present in the proto-planetary disk affected the thermal history of terrestrial bodies.