A laboratory plasma is an ionized gas produced and confined under controlled experimental conditions to study fundamental plasma behavior and simulate space, astrophysical, or fusion-relevant environments. It is generated by applying electric fields, electromagnetic waves, lasers, or discharge currents to a neutral gas, creating a quasi-neutral mixture of ions, electrons, and neutrals characterized by collective interactions and long-range Coulomb forces. Laboratory plasmas span regimes from low-temperature, weakly ionized discharges to high-temperature, magnetically confined fusion plasmas, enabling investigation of transport, turbulence, wave–particle interactions, reconnection, and plasma–surface or plasma–material interactions under reproducible, diagnosable conditions.
From long‑distance transport to chemical preservatives, most cut flowers come with a hidden environmental cost—something a new Griffith University experiment aims to rethink.
Plants & Animals
May 16, 2026
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The mechanism that can cause a rapidly expanding plasma—the superhot state of matter harnessed in fusion energy systems—to spontaneously generate its own magnetic fields was identified through a new set of simulations. This ...
General Physics
May 5, 2026
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You're on the fourth human mission to Mars, and you're told the Odyssey spacecraft designed to take you there will be the smoothest ride you'll ever take. It features a newly christened electric propulsion engine which was ...
Space Exploration
May 1, 2026
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For the first time, a research team has demonstrated, in a metal-wall environment, a plasma regime that simultaneously achieves partial divertor detachment, an edge-localized-mode (ELM)-free high-confinement mode (H-mode), ...
Plasma Physics
Apr 29, 2026
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A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to the test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. On Feb. 24, for the first ...
Space Exploration
Apr 28, 2026
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If you walk across the open yard in front of the Physics, Math and Astronomy building at the University of Texas at Austin, you'll see a 17-story tower and a huge L-shaped building. What you won't see is what's underneath ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 20, 2026
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23
When laser flashes hit matter, electrons are knocked off their orbits around the atomic nuclei. This can generate extremely hot plasmas composed of charged particles—ions and electrons. Researchers at HZDR have now observed ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 14, 2026
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To operate fusion systems safely and reliably, scientists need to monitor plasma fuel conditions and measure properties like temperature and density that can affect fusion reactions. Making these measurements requires specialized ...
Plasma Physics
Mar 2, 2026
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Scientists have long seen a puzzling pattern in tokamaks, the doughnut-shaped machines that could one day reliably generate electricity from fusing atoms. When plasma particles escape the core of the magnetic fields that ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 17, 2026
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76
Harnessing the power of the sun holds the promise of providing future societies with energy abundance. To make this a reality, fusion researchers need to address many technological challenges. For example, fusion reactions ...
General Physics
Feb 13, 2026
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