Dynamos: from an astrophysical model to laboratory experiments

Magnetic field generation and evolution in celestial bodies—the subject matter of the theory of the dynamo—held Ya B Zeldovich's interest for years. Over the time since then, the study of the dynamo process has developed from a part of astrophysics and geophysics to a self-contained domain of physics, with the possibility of laboratory dynamo physics experiments. We give some theoretical background and discuss laboratory dynamo experiments (including those conducted in Russia), as well as their impact on dynamo theory and its astrophysical applications.