Tag

Plasma Physics

All articles tagged with #plasma physics

science9 days ago•7 min saved

High-Speed Imaging Reveals Lithium Pathways in Fusion Reactor Heat Management

Tokamak Energy has used a 16,000 fps color camera to observe lithium impurities in the ST40 spherical tokamak, aiming to solve the critical challenge of divertor heat exhaust. The footage shows how lithium transitions from neutral atoms to ions, tracing magnetic field lines and cooling the plasma edge. This data supports the 'X-point radiator' concept, which uses impurities to radiate heat away before it damages reactor components, with early results showing reduced heat loads on divertors.

via ScienceAlert|

#divertor-heat-load #fusion-energy #lithium-impurity

space1 month ago•10 min saved

Tiny Enceladus Casts a Half-Million-Kilometre Electromagnetic Wake

A 2026 peer‑reviewed analysis of Cassini data shows Saturn’s moon Enceladus—only about 504 km across—leaving an electromagnetic Alfvén‑wing disturbance that extends at least 504,000 km downstream in Saturn’s magnetosphere, a lower bound implying a connected system linking Enceladus’s plume, the surrounding plasma torus, and Saturn’s ionosphere. The wake is an inferred electromagnetic structure rather than a literal tail, with waves, currents and reflections that broaden the moon–magnetosphere interaction; future missions could map it in three dimensions. No evidence of life is claimed.

via Space Daily|

#alfven-wing #cassini #enceladus

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Alfvén-Driven Flows Quiet Turbulence, Boosting Tokamak Fusion Prospects

Experiments on the DIII-D tokamak show that Alfvén eigenmodes can drive shear flows that suppress plasma turbulence, improving heat confinement and potentially boosting fusion performance. Using the Motional Stark Effect diagnostic, researchers observed AE-driven changes in magnetic structure consistent with self-regulating currents, suggesting a pathway to more efficient confinement—though practical application remains years away; study published in Physical Review Letters.

via ScienceAlert|

#alfven-eigenmodes #fusion #plasma-physics

science4 months ago•4 min saved

Jupiter's Foreshock Reveals a Universal Particle Accelerator

New Juno data show electrons in Jupiter's foreshock gaining relativistic speeds, revealing a natural, large-scale accelerator that may unify how shock-driven particle acceleration works across the universe; the framework will be tested by upcoming missions like Europa Clipper and Juice.

via Gizmodo|

#astrophysics #jupiter #planetary-science

space-and-spaceflight4 months ago•18 min saved

Pencil-Sized Plasma Gun Aims to Sanitize Spacewear

A University of Alabama in Huntsville team has developed a pencil-sized cold-plasma “laundry gun” that blasts fabrics with a plasma jet to kill bacteria and odors, potentially keeping astronauts’ clothes cleaner in space. While proof-of-concept and small-scale, the technology could one day sterilize spacesuits and tools for long missions; researchers plan to increase the device size and add filters to reduce ozone byproducts as they work toward practical use in space.

via Gizmodo|

#astronaut-health #microbiology #plasma-physics

science4 months ago•7 min saved

China Demonstrates Plasma Regime That Cuts Divertor Heat and Eliminates ELMs

Researchers on the EAST tokamak demonstrated a Detached divertor and Turbulence-dominated Pedestal (DTP) regime by precise light impurity seeding, achieving partial divertor detachment, full ELM suppression, and a boosted pedestal temperature with sustained confinement for about one minute, offering a path to reduce divertor heat while maintaining strong fusion performance.

via SciTechDaily|

#divertor #elms #fusion-energy

science7 months ago•3 min saved

Giant X-rays Map Fusion Plasma Instabilities in Unprecedented Detail

SLAC researchers used giant x-ray lasers to image current filamentation instabilities in dense fusion plasma, capturing 500-femtosecond-scale evolution and revealing magnetic fields near 1,000 teslas, aiding understanding and modeling of fusion reactor behavior.

via Gizmodo|

#filamentation-instability #fusion-energy #plasma-physics

space7 months ago•9 min saved

Parker Solar Probe Reveals the Hidden Heating of the Solar Wind

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, flying closer to the Sun than any prior mission (within 3.8 million miles of the surface), uses a new ALPS analysis tool to map how energy heats and accelerates the solar wind, addressing the coronal heating puzzle and improving space-weather forecasts while providing insights into plasma behavior across the cosmos.

via SciTechDaily|

#parker-solar-probe #plasma-physics #solar-wind

world9 months ago•2 min saved

MIT Fusion Lab Director Nuno Loureiro Fatally Shot in Brookline

Nuno Loureiro, a prominent plasma physicist and head of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was tragically shot and killed at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, in an apparent homicide, shocking the scientific community and highlighting recent tragedies involving US universities.

via Nature|

#fusion #homicide #mit

science9 months ago•3 min saved

MIT Plasma Science Director Nuno Loureiro Passes Away at 47

Nuno Loureiro, a renowned MIT professor and director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, has passed away at 47. He made significant contributions to plasma physics and fusion research, advancing understanding of plasma behavior and astrophysical phenomena, and was highly regarded as a mentor and scientist. His work brought fusion energy closer to reality and influenced astrophysics, earning numerous awards and recognition.

via MIT News|

#fusion-science #mit #nuno-loureiro

science11 months ago•4 min saved

Scientists Recreate Cosmic Fireballs at CERN to Uncover Gamma-Ray Mysteries

Scientists at CERN recreated cosmic jet conditions using particle accelerators to investigate missing gamma-rays from blazars, finding that plasma beam instabilities are too weak to explain the phenomenon, which supports the idea of relic magnetic fields in intergalactic space. This experiment provides new insights into cosmic jet physics and the universe's magnetic history.

via Space|

#black-holes #cern #cosmic-fireballs

science1 year ago•4 min saved

Seoul Scientists Achieve Breakthrough in Fusion Energy with Plasma Chain Reaction

Researchers at Seoul National University have demonstrated multiscale coupling in plasma, revealing how microscopic magnetic ripples can induce large-scale structural changes, with significant implications for fusion energy technology and understanding cosmic phenomena, marking a major breakthrough in plasma physics.

via Rude Baguette|

#cosmic-phenomena #fusion-energy #interdisciplinary-research

science1 year ago•2 min saved

Scientists Achieve Breakthrough in Pursuit of Limitless Nuclear Energy

South Korean researchers have experimentally demonstrated how microscopic plasma turbulence can lead to large-scale structural changes, a breakthrough that could advance the development of stable, limitless fusion energy as a clean power source.

via yahoo.com|

#fusion-reactors #magnetohydrodynamics #nuclear-energy

science1 year ago•5 min saved

Magnetic Flux Ropes Observed Across Cosmic and Human Scales

Researchers at Caltech have discovered a new stable equilibrium state of braided magnetic flux ropes, called a double helix, which applies to structures from solar prominences to nebulae, and developed a mathematical model that accurately describes their behavior across vastly different scales, from laboratory experiments to light-year-sized astrophysical phenomena.

via Phys.org|

#astrophysical-structures #double-helix #magnetic-flux-ropes

science1 year ago•4 min saved

First Simulation of Shadow Realm at Black Hole's Edge

Scientists using supercomputer simulations, led by Andrew Chael, have modeled the environment around the supermassive black hole in M87, revealing new details about the plasma and magnetic fields near the event horizon, and showing that the black hole's shadow and photon ring can change over time due to chaotic plasma flows.

via ScienceAlert|

#black-hole #event-horizon-telescope #m87