https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A Sydney Ph.D. student has recreated a tiny piece of the universe inside a bottle in her laboratory, producing cosmic dust from scratch. The results shed new light on how the chemical building blocks of life may have formed long before Earth existed. Linda Losurdo, a Ph.D. candidate in materials and plasma physics in the School of Physics, used a simple mix of gases—nitrogen, carbon dioxide and acetylene—to mimic the harsh and dynamic environments around stars and supernova remnants. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-student-cosmic-lab-life-earth.html Astronomy Mon, 02 Feb 2026 09:40:02 EST news689247438 When a gas is highly energized, its electrons get torn from the parent atoms, resulting in a plasma—the oft-forgotten fourth state of matter (along with solid, liquid, and gas). When we think of plasmas, we normally think of extremely hot phenomena such as the sun, lightning, or maybe arc welding, but there are situations in which icy cold particles are associated with plasmas. Images of distant molecular clouds from the James Webb Space Telescope feature such hot–cold interactions, with frozen dust illuminated by pockets of shocked gas and newborn stars. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-icy-hot-plasmas-fluffy-electrically.html Plasma Physics Mon, 08 Dec 2025 10:02:59 EST news684410561 A team of researchers from the Max Born Institute (MBI) in Berlin and DESY in Hamburg has demonstrated a plasma lens capable of focusing attosecond pulses. This breakthrough substantially increases the attosecond power available for experiments, opening up new opportunities for studying ultrafast electron dynamics. The results have now been published in Nature Photonics. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-plasma-lens-focus-attosecond-pulses.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 05 Nov 2025 14:05:03 EST news681573901 A group led by researchers at Nagoya University and Meijo University in Japan has developed a disinfection technology that uses low-temperature plasma generated by electricity to cultivate environmentally friendly hydroponically grown crops. This innovative technology sterilizes the crops, promoting plant growth without the use of chemical fertilizers. Their findings appear in Environmental Technology & Innovations. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-disinfection-tech-temperature-plasma-coli.html Biotechnology Tue, 27 Feb 2024 09:20:52 EST news628248049 Plasma is an ionized gas—that is, a gas containing electrons, ions, atoms, molecules, radicals, and photons. It is often called the fourth state of matter, and surprisingly, it permeates everything. Plasmas, which are artificially generated by transmitting energy to a gas, are found in the fluorescent tubes that light kitchens, but they have also allowed mobile phones to become smaller and smaller. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-decontamination-plasma-jet.html Plasma Physics Wed, 24 Jan 2024 16:31:01 EST news625336258 It has been believed that Hall thrusters, an efficient kind of electric propulsion widely used in orbit, must be large to produce a lot of thrust. Now, a new study from the University of Michigan suggests that smaller Hall thrusters can generate much more thrust—potentially making them candidates for interplanetary missions. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-plasma-thrusters-satellites-powerful-previously.html Space Exploration Tue, 24 Jan 2023 16:12:34 EST news593799151 Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have proposed the source of the sudden and puzzling collapse of heat that precedes disruptions that can damage doughnut-shaped tokamak fusion facilities. Coping with the source could overcome one of the most critical challenges that future fusion facilities will face and bring closer to reality the production on Earth of the fusion energy that drives the sun and stars. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-scientists-fusion-energy-sun-stars.html Plasma Physics Tue, 27 Sep 2022 17:17:47 EDT news583517863 If you see the northern lights overhead, chances are you are in a chilly, polar climate. But the cold-weather delights—also known as aurora borealis—high above you are actually an important source of heat. A new NASA mission hopes to fly through an active aurora to study this energy exchange process up close. The launch window for Ion-Neutral Coupling during Active Aurora, or INCAA mission, opens at the Poker Flat Research Range in Poker Flat, Alaska, on March 23. https://phys.org/news/2022-03-cold-polar-nasa-rocket-aurora.html Astronomy Mon, 21 Mar 2022 15:01:01 EDT news567093658 Clean and limitless energy supply can be provided by creating the process powering the sun called nuclear fusion. Recreating the sun on Earth has been proven to be immensely complex and challenging. Ray Chandra investigated the physics behind different ways to protect the surface of the walls of fusion reactors from the extremely hot plasma inside. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-sun-simulations.html Plasma Physics Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:13:22 EST news564826400 A study by KAIST researchers revealed that an ionized gas jet blowing onto water, also known as a 'plasma jet," produces a more stable interaction with the water's surface compared to a neutral gas jet. This finding reported in the April 1 issue of Nature will help improve the scientific understanding of plasma-liquid interactions and their practical applications in a wide range of industrial fields in which fluid control technology is used, including biomedical engineering, chemical production, and agriculture and food engineering. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-plasma-jets-stabilize-splash.html General Physics Thu, 01 Apr 2021 09:13:56 EDT news536487233 Producing biogas from the bacterial breakdown of biomass presents options for a greener energy future, but the complex composition of biomass comes with a long list of challenges. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-plasma-biomass-biogas-easier.html Plasma Physics Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:00:05 EDT news519977221 A test firing of Europe's Helicon Plasma Thruster, developed with ESA by SENER and the Universidad Carlos III's Plasma & Space Propulsion Team (EP2-UC3M) in Spain. This compact, electrodeless and low voltage design is ideal for the propulsion of small satellites, including maintaining the formation of large orbital constellations. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-image-plasma-propulsion-small-satellites.html Space Exploration Mon, 07 Sep 2020 08:50:03 EDT news518685719 One way that scientists seek to bring to Earth the fusion process that powers the sun and stars is trapping hot, charged plasma gas within a twisting magnetic coil device shaped like a breakfast cruller. But the device, called a stellarator, must be precisely engineered to prevent heat from escaping the plasma core where it stokes the fusion reactions. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have demonstrated that an advanced computer code could help design stellarators that confine the essential heat more effectively. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-scientists-tool-fusion-devices.html Plasma Physics Thu, 25 Jun 2020 03:38:44 EDT news512275119 All efforts to replicate in tokamak fusion facilities the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars must cope with a constant problem—transient heat bursts that can halt fusion reactions and damage the doughnut-shaped tokamaks. These bursts, called edge localized modes (ELMs), occur at the edge of hot, charged plasma gas when it kicks into high gear to fuel fusion reactions. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-proven-method-stabilizing-efforts-fusion.html Plasma Physics Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:50:44 EDT news511631439 A major roadblock to producing safe, clean and abundant fusion energy on Earth is the lack of detailed understanding of how the hot, charged plasma gas that fuels fusion reactions behaves at the edge of fusion facilities called "tokamaks." Recent breakthroughs by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have advanced understanding of the behavior of the highly complex plasma edge in doughnut-shaped tokamaks on the road to capturing the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars. Understanding this edge region will be particularly important for operating ITER, the international fusion experiment under construction in France to demonstrate the practicality of fusion energy. https://phys.org/news/2020-05-discovery-edge-fusion-plasma-power.html Plasma Physics Fri, 22 May 2020 10:25:39 EDT news509361936 Researchers have found that injecting pellets of hydrogen ice rather than puffing hydrogen gas improves fusion performance at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, which General Atomics operates for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The studies by physicists based at DOE's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) compared the two methods, looking ahead to the fueling that will be used in ITER, the international fusion experiment under construction in France. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-fusion-hydrogen-ice-pellets-effective.html Plasma Physics Tue, 10 Mar 2020 16:16:48 EDT news503075802 Electric solid propellants are being explored as a safer option for pyrotechnics, mining, and in-space propulsion because they only ignite with an electric current. But because all of these applications require high heat, it's important to understand how the high temperatures change the propellants' chemistry. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and NASA used a computer model that simulates the thermochemical properties of high temperature materials to predict the thermochemistry of a new high-performance electric solid propellant. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-electric-solid-propellant.html Materials Science Wed, 12 Feb 2020 08:38:54 EST news500719131 Billions of years ago, in the center of a galaxy cluster far, far away (15 billion light-years, to be exact), a black hole spewed out jets of plasma. As the plasma rushed out of the black hole, it pushed away material, creating two large cavities 180 degrees from each other. In the same way you can calculate the energy of an asteroid impact by the size of its crater, Michael Calzadilla, a graduate student at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI), used the size of these cavities to figure out the power of the black hole's outburst. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-astronomers-violent-black-hole-outburst.html Astronomy Tue, 24 Dec 2019 08:45:32 EST news496399527 A major issue with operating ring-shaped fusion facilities known as tokamaks is keeping the plasma that fuels fusion reactions free of impurities that could reduce the efficiency of the reactions. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found that sprinkling a type of powder into the plasma could aid in harnessing the ultra-hot gas within a tokamak facility to produce heat to create electricity without producing greenhouse gases or long-term radioactive waste. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-powder-gas-safer-effective-star.html Plasma Physics Mon, 23 Dec 2019 16:16:39 EST news496340190 Scientists who use magnetic fields to bottle up and control on Earth the fusion reactions that power the sun and stars must correct any errors in the shape of the fields that contain the reactions. Such errors produce deviations from the symmetrical form of the fields in doughnut-like tokamak fusion facilities that can have a damaging impact on the stability and confinement of the hot, charged plasma gas that fuels the reactions. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-magnetic-bottle-fusion-power-earth.html Plasma Physics Tue, 06 Aug 2019 03:19:23 EDT news484280357 Physicists recently investigated the behavior of particles in a dusty plasma at a temperature below 2 degrees K. The experiment showed that at extremely low temperatures, nanoclusters can form in the plasma, and the synthesis of polymer fibers takes place. The results of the experiment can be used to create new materials with desired and controlled properties. The results of this study are published in Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-physicists-particle-self-organization-ultracold-dusty.html Plasma Physics Thu, 28 Mar 2019 08:57:24 EDT news472982232 Rice University physicists have created the world's first laser-cooled neutral plasma, completing a 20-year quest that sets the stage for simulators that re-create exotic states of matter found inside Jupiter and white dwarf stars. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-ultracold-simulators-super-dense-stars.html Plasma Physics Thu, 03 Jan 2019 14:00:01 EST news465732919 Methane gas released from landfills has long been a topic of interest for alternative energy. One issue, however, is that landfill gases contain numerous contaminants, such as volatile methyl siloxanes, whose silica deposits put extra wear and tear on the natural gas generators when they combust. One group has demonstrated a promising new application of plasma technology capable of removing such compounds. https://phys.org/news/2018-11-experimental-plasma-path-landfill-gas.html Plasma Physics Tue, 06 Nov 2018 14:51:59 EST news460738314 Findings recently published by a Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) space scientist shed new light on predicting the thermodynamics of solar flares and other "space weather" events involving hot, fast-moving plasmas. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-scientist-explores-space-weather.html Space Exploration Mon, 22 Oct 2018 10:12:17 EDT news459421928 Breakthrough new research shows that ionization-induced self-channeling of a microwave beam can be achieved at a significantly lower power of the microwave beam and gas pressure for radially nonuniform plasma with minimal on-axis density than in the case of plasma formed as the result of gas ionization. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-intense-microwave-pulse-ionizes-channel.html Plasma Physics Tue, 09 Oct 2018 15:15:13 EDT news458316907 Inside your home and office, low-voltage alternating current (AC) powers the lights, computers and electronic devices for everyday use. But when the electricity comes from remote long-distance sources such as hydro-power or solar generating plants, transporting it as direct current (DC) is more efficient—and converting it back to AC current requires bulky and expensive switches. Now the General Electric (GE) company, with assistance from scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), is developing an advanced switch that will convert high- voltage DC current to high-voltage AC current for consumers more efficiently, enabling reduced-cost transmission of long-distance power. As a final step, substations along the route reduce the high-voltage AC current to low-voltage current before it reaches consumers. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-power-grid-advanced-plasma-efficient.html Plasma Physics Thu, 16 Aug 2018 18:01:03 EDT news453661254 Thermodynamics provides insight into the internal energy of a system and the energy interaction with its surroundings. This relies on the local thermal equilibrium of a system. The application of classical thermodynamics to systems in disequilibrium is challenging. These include granular gas and materials, hard sphere packing in 3-D, and plasma systems. https://phys.org/news/2018-02-recreating-outer-space-plasma-lab.html Plasma Physics Thu, 15 Feb 2018 06:49:48 EST news437899777 University of Alabama at Birmingham physicists have taken the first step in a five-year effort to create novel compounds that surpass diamonds in heat resistance and nearly rival them in hardness. https://phys.org/news/2017-12-diamond-steppingstone-materials-plasma-physics.html Condensed Matter Mon, 11 Dec 2017 13:04:05 EST news432219836 Researchers from the University of Liverpool have made a significant breakthrough in the direct conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) into liquid fuels and chemicals which could help industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions whilst producing valuable chemical feedstocks. https://phys.org/news/2017-10-breakthrough-co2-ch4-liquid-fuels.html Materials Science Fri, 06 Oct 2017 12:22:49 EDT news426511351 Jonathan Ng, a Princeton University graduate student at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), has for the first time applied a fluid simulation to the space plasma process behind solar flares northern lights and space storms. The model could lead to improved forecasts of space weather that can shut down cell phone service and damage power grids, as well as to better understanding of the hot, charged plasma gas that fuels fusion reactions. https://phys.org/news/2017-09-team-unique-simulation-magnetic-reconnection.html Plasma Physics Fri, 08 Sep 2017 13:02:28 EDT news424094543