http://phys.org/physics-news/plasma/ en-us Phys.Org provides the latest news on physics of plasma A longstanding joke holds that practical fusion power is about 20 years away—and always will be. One simple phenomenon explains why practical, self-sustaining fusion reactions have proved difficult to achieve: Turbulence in the superhot, electrically charged gas, called plasma, that circulates inside a fusion reactor can cause the plasma to lose much of its heat. This prevents the plasma from reaching the temperatures needed to overcome the electrical repulsion between atomic nuclei—which, in turn, prevents those nuclei from fusing together. But in order to tame that turbulence, scientists first must understand it. http://phys.org/news286441345.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:20:03 EST news286441345 An international team of plasma physicists has used one of the world's most powerful lasers to create highly unusual plasma composed of hollow atoms. http://phys.org/news283417257.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:01:11 EST news283417257 (Phys.org) —Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) in Japan have developed a rapid method for meeting a key challenge for fusion science. The challenge has been to simulate the diagnostic measurement of plasmas produced by twisting, or 3D, magnetic fields in fusion facilities. While such fields characterize facilities called stellarators, otherwise symmetric, or 2D, facilities such as tokamaks also can benefit from 3D fields. http://phys.org/news282385164.html Physics - Plasma Physics Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:30:02 EST news282385164 U.S. Naval Research Laboratory research physicists and engineers from the Plasma Physics Division, working at the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) transmitter facility, Gakona, Alaska, successfully produced a sustained high density plasma cloud in Earth's upper atmosphere. http://phys.org/news281013720.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:22:23 EST news281013720 (Phys.org)—The hand-held scanners, or tricorders, of the Star Trek movies and television series are one step closer to reality now that a University of Missouri engineering team has invented a compact source of X-rays and other forms of radiation. The radiation source, which is the size of a stick of gum, could be used to create inexpensive and portable X-ray scanners for use by doctors, as well as to fight terrorism and aid exploration on this planet and others. http://phys.org/news276873802.html Physics - Plasma Physics Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:23:30 EST news276873802 Scientists have used powerful X-rays from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, to study and measure, in atomic detail, a key process at work in extreme plasmas like those found in stars, the rims of black holes and other massive cosmic phenomena. http://phys.org/news274533916.html Physics - Plasma Physics Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:00:32 EST news274533916 (Phys.org)—Though not often considered beyond the plasma television, small-scale microplasmas have great utility in a wide variety of applications. Recently, new developments have begun to capitalize on how these microplasmas interact with liquids in applications ranging from killing bacteria for sterilizing a surface to rapidly synthesizing nanoparticles. http://phys.org/news269622317.html Physics - Plasma Physics Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:05:29 EST news269622317 A new study improves our understanding of plasma sources, a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionised and which are used for example in plasma display panels. These results revealed by physicists from the University of Greifswald, Germany, Robert Wild and Lars Stollenwerk, and are about to be published in the European Physical Journal D. http://phys.org/news269176924.html Physics - Plasma Physics Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:22:18 EST news269176924 (Phys.org)—The Madison Symmetric Torus, a leading piece of equipment in plasma physics research for more than 20 years, recently gained a new capability with the installation of a neutral beam injector. http://phys.org/news267958895.html Physics - Plasma Physics Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:01:48 EST news267958895 Researchers at a recent worldwide conference on fusion power have confirmed the surprising accuracy of a new model for predicting the size of a key barrier to fusion that a top scientist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has developed. http://phys.org/news264694612.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:17:35 EST news264694612 The first controlled studies of extremely hot, dense matter have overthrown the widely accepted 50-year old model used to explain how ions influence each other's behavior in a dense plasma. The results should benefit a wide range of fields, from research aimed at tapping nuclear fusion as an energy source to understanding the inner workings of stars. http://phys.org/news263489058.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:24:45 EST news263489058 Throughout the universe more than 99 percent of matter looks nothing like what's on Earth. Instead of materials we can touch and see, instead of motions we intuitively expect like a ball rolling down a hill, or a cup that sits still on a table, most of the universe is governed by rules that react more obviously to such things as magnetic force or electrical charge. It would be as if your cup was magnetized, perhaps attracted to a metal ceiling above, and instead of resting, it floats up, hovering somewhere in the air, balanced between the upward force and the pull of gravity below. http://phys.org/news261849373.html Physics - Plasma Physics Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:56:48 EST news261849373 A University of Washington lab has been working for more than a decade on fusion energy, harnessing the energy-generating mechanism of the sun. But in one of the twists of scientific discovery, on the way the researchers found a potential solution to a looming problem in the electronics industry. http://phys.org/news260113933.html Physics - Plasma Physics Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:52:59 EST news260113933 JILA researchers are using a laser frequency comb -- a technique for making extraordinarily precise measurements of frequency -- to identify specific molecules in gases. The project is helping biomedical researchers evaluate a novel instrument that kills harmful bacteria without the use of liquid chemicals or high temperatures. http://phys.org/news258897579.html Physics - Plasma Physics Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:00:27 EST news258897579 A group of Chinese and Australian scientists, including CSIRO, have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant. The handheld plasma flashlight could be used in ambulance emergency calls, natural disaster sites, military combat operations and many other instances where treatment is required in remote locations. http://phys.org/news254652423.html Physics - Plasma Physics Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:47:48 EST news254652423 (Phys.org) -- Physicists have discovered a possible solution to a mystery that has long baffled researchers working to harness fusion. If confirmed by experiment, the finding could help scientists eliminate a major impediment to the development of fusion as a clean and abundant source of energy for producing electric power. http://phys.org/news254420504.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:22:11 EST news254420504 (PhysOrg.com) -- A group of Chinese and Australian scientists have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant. http://phys.org/news252768702.html Physics - Plasma Physics Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:00:10 EST news252768702 Nowadays, ever smaller and more powerful computer chips are in demand. German physicists have discovered a new physical attraction that accelerates this progress. http://phys.org/news251981099.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:00:02 EST news251981099 January saw the biggest solar storm since 2005, generating some of the most dazzling northern lights in recent memory. http://phys.org/news248527061.html Physics - Plasma Physics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:00:04 EST news248527061 (PhysOrg.com) -- Collective, or coordinated behavior is routine in liquids, where waves can occur as atoms act together. In a milliliter (mL) of liquid water, 1022 molecules bob around, colliding. When a breeze passes by, waves can form across the surface. These waves are not present in the same volume of air, where only 1019 gas molecules randomly move about. http://phys.org/news247733019.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:44:14 EST news247733019 Ultra hot quark-gluon-plasma, generated by heavy-ion collisions in particle accelerators, is supposed to be the "most perfect fluid" in the world. Previous theories imposed a limit on how "liquid" fluids can be. Recent results at the Vienna University of Technology suggest that this limit can be broken -- making the world's "most perfect fluid" even more perfect. http://phys.org/news246021098.html Physics - Plasma Physics Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:11:51 EST news246021098 Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combatted in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the replication of adenoviruses. http://phys.org/news242305570.html Physics - Plasma Physics Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:00:01 EST news242305570 a leading design concept for producing nuclear fusion energy—can, under certain rare fault conditions, produce beams of very energetic "runaway" electrons that have the potential to damage interior surfaces of the device. In the event of such a fault, a tokamak-based nuclear fusion power plant will have to employ protection systems to prevent any damage. Now, scientists at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have demonstrated a new method for controlling these high-energy electrons. http://phys.org/news240167470.html Physics - Plasma Physics Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:50:02 EST news240167470 A fusion reactor operates best when the hot plasma inside it consists only of fusion fuel (hydrogen's heavy isotopes, deuterium and tritium), much as a car runs best with a clean engine. But fusion fuel reactions at the heart of magnetic fusion reactors also create leftovers—helium "ash." The buildup of this helium ash and other impurities can cool the hot plasma and reduce fusion power. Research at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center is providing new insight into the transport of these impurities in fusion plasmas in an effort to improve on the natural impurity exhaust process, producing cleaner plasmas and higher fusion power. http://phys.org/news240166952.html Physics - Plasma Physics Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:02:38 EST news240166952 Experiments discover a 3-D process by which magnetic reconnection can release energyfaster than expected by classical theories. http://phys.org/news240165754.html Physics - Plasma Physics Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:46:19 EST news240165754 Photos taken by the researchers show plasma arcs up to 60 meters long casting an eerie blue glow over buildings and trees at the High Voltage Laboratory at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. http://phys.org/news239997287.html Physics - Plasma Physics Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:55:14 EST news239997287 similar to the form created in neon signs, fluorescent tubes and TV displays – to create water that stays significantly antibacterial and can be used as a disinfectant for at least seven days after becoming plasma-active. http://phys.org/news239594086.html Physics - Plasma Physics Fri, 04 Nov 2011 02:55:05 EST news239594086 With the click of a computer mouse, a scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) sends 10,000 volts of electricity into a chamber filled with hydrogen gas. The charge heats the gas to 100,000 degrees Celsius. http://phys.org/news238752399.html Physics - Plasma Physics Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:07:35 EST news238752399 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new tool developed by nuclear engineers at Purdue University will be hitched to an experimental fusion reactor at Princeton University to learn precisely what happens when extremely hot plasmas touch and interact with the inner surface of the reactor. http://phys.org/news233561318.html Physics - Plasma Physics Fri, 26 Aug 2011 07:09:06 EST news233561318 An instrument developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has enabled a team at the EAST fusion experiment in China to observe--in startling detail--how a particular type of electromagnetic wave known as a radiofrequency (RF) wave affects the behavior of hot ionized gas. http://phys.org/news231754292.html Physics - Plasma Physics Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:11:48 EST news231754292