Abstract
The problem of distribution of thermal stresses and temperature is considered in a perfectly conducting half-space, in contact with a vacuum, permeated by an initial magnetic field when the bounding plane is suddenly heated to a constant temperature. The problem is in the context of generalized magnetothermoelasticity with one relaxation time. The solution is obtained using the method of potentials. Laplace transform techniques are used to derive the solution in the Laplace transform domain. The inversion process is carried out using asymptotic expansions valid for small values of time. Numerical computations for the temperature and stress distributions are carried out and represented graphically. A comparison is made with the results obtained in the absence of a magnetic field.