INFLUENCE OF ELECTRIC-FIELD ON ROTATING SPIRAL WAVES IN THE BELOUSOV-ZHABOTINSKY REACTION

Wave propagation in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction is very sensitive to an external electric field because of the ionic nature of reacting species, such as bromide and catalyst. We show that the anisotropy of wave propagation, induced by an electric field, leads to a drift of spiral waves. The rate of drift of the spiral wave core depends on the intensity of the applied electric field. The drift vector is characterized by two components. One parallel to the electric field always points toward the positive electrode; the other perpendicular to the electric field vector has a sip dependent on the direction of rotation of the spiral wave.