Scientists at Amherst College and Aalto University have created, for the first time a three-dimensional skyrmion in a quantum gas. The skyrmion was predicted theoretically over 40 years ago, but only now has it been observed experimentally.
In an extremely sparse and cold quantum gas, the physicists have created knots made of the magnetic moments, or spins, of the constituent atoms. The knots exhibit many of the characteristics of ball lightning, which some scientists believe to consist of tangled streams of electric currents. The persistence of such knots could be the reason why ball lightning, a ball of plasma, lives for a surprisingly long time in comparison to a lightning strike. The new results could inspire new ways of keeping plasma intact in a stable ball in fusion reactors.
'It is remarkable that we could create the synthetic electromagnetic knot, that is, quantum ball lightning, essentially with just two counter-circulating electric currents. Thus, it may be possible that a natural ball lighting could arise in a normal lightning strike,' says Dr Mikko Möttönen, leader of the theoretical effort at Aalto University.
Möttönen also recalls having witnessed a ball lightning briefly glaring in his grandparents' house. Observations of ball lightning have been reported throughout history, but physical evidence is rare.
The dynamics of the quantum gas matches that of a charged particle responding to the electromagnetic fields of a ball lightning.
The skyrmion is created first by polarizing the spin of each atom to point upward along an applied natural magnetic field. Then, the applied field is suddenly changed in such a way that a point where the field vanishes appears in the middle of the condensate. Consequently, the spins of the atoms start to rotate in the new direction of the applied field at their respective locations. Since the magnetic field points in all possible directions near the field zero, the spins wind into a knot.
The knotted structure of the skyrmion consists of linked loops, at each of which all the spins point to a certain fixed direction. The knot can be loosened or moved, but not untied.
'What makes this a skyrmion rather than a quantum knot is that not only does the spin twist but the quantum phase of the condensate winds repeatedly,' says Hall.
If the direction of the spin is changing in space, the velocity of the condensate responds just as would happen for a charged particle in a magnetic field. The knotted spin structure thus gives rise to a knotted artificial magnetic field that exactly matches the magnetic field in a model of ball lightning.
'More research is needed to know whether or not it is also possible to create a real ball lightning with a method of this kind. Further studies could lead to finding a solution to keep plasma together efficiently and enable more stable fusion reactors than we have now,' Möttönen explains.
Explore further:
Scientists confirm existence of quantum knots and create them in a quantum-mechanical field
More information:
W. Lee, A.H. Gheorghe, K. Tiurev, T. Ollikainen, M. Möttönen, and D.S. Hall, Synthetic Electromagnetic Knot in a Three-Dimensional Skyrmion, Science Advances 4, eaao3820 (2018). advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/3/eaao3820
Parsec
3.5 / 5 (4) Mar 02, 2018I have no feeling that this will lead to fusion reactors in my lifetime. But it certainly gives me a very confident feeling that eventually, fusion power will be a reality.
Paul0001
4 / 5 (4) Mar 02, 2018gkam
1.8 / 5 (5) Mar 02, 2018rrwillsj
2 / 5 (4) Mar 02, 2018Obviously visual proof that EU woo is true!
An alliteration a day, is my way to play.
NoLeads
2.3 / 5 (3) Mar 02, 2018jokes aside, the electric model is winning the race hands down, feet up, and a bottomless jug of beer in hand. (i had one more joke apparently)
but hey, that's what happens when you chose cause over effect.
it's magnificent i must say.
+gkam indeed!
gculpex
3.7 / 5 (3) Mar 02, 2018This could lead to a new type of weapon, unlimited projectiles!
PTTG
3 / 5 (2) Mar 02, 2018Mimath224
1 / 5 (1) Mar 02, 2018You'll have to get out of bed much earlier, so to speak, Ha!
https://www.wired...alls-of/
Or how about Marauder, US research into to plasma type guns.
However, I do agree that if civil research discovers the underlying principles then such weapons would quickly become military hardware.
gkam
1 / 5 (4) Mar 03, 2018Got their attention.
rrwillsj
1 / 5 (2) Mar 03, 2018I've been a passenger on those old MATS flying outhouses. Transiting storms. The skin of the planes leaked like a sieve. Lightning was visible through the holes in the skin and thundered loudly!
Your father's C47 hauling fuel did not explode, obviously. Was there any damage to the control or radio electronics?
Cause that is my question. The phenomena known as ball lightning does not act upon materials as electrical discharges I have experienced. For instance, no scorch marks on vegetation or people. No melted puddles of metal, sand, etc.
Could Ball Lightning be some phenomena other than electrical? Maybe magnetic but not electrical discharge?
Is it possible that the term ball lightning is confusing the evidence, That maybe there is more than one type of visible occurrence? And poor reporting is confusing the multiple realities of these events?
katesisco
3 / 5 (2) Mar 03, 2018gkam
1 / 5 (4) Mar 03, 2018Whys
1 / 5 (1) Mar 03, 2018Vampires can't be photographed and there are no photos of vampires, thus vampires must be real. :D
rrwillsj
1 / 5 (2) Mar 04, 2018Most reported sightings of phenomena such as ball lightning, St. Elmo's ire and similar events seem to occur in marshes. Cold and damp and the gases produced by rotting vegetation triggering a visual effect different than the electrical static of propeller blades in precipitation at altitude?
Turgent
1 / 5 (2) Mar 04, 2018So the Red Ball Express hauled gas to the planes and then the Red Ball Express then reloaded the gas onto trucks and drove it to the tanks. Just like the Berlin Airlift, right?
BS you're a liar.
Patton stopped because the fuel was held north for the British. Patton's movement was stopped by Ike.
Or was he carrying hydrazine for the X-15?
gkam
1 / 5 (4) Mar 05, 2018My god, get a grip. Then look up the 440th Troop Carrier Wing. The pictures of their work in the Battle of the Bulge are in their publication.
BTW, there is a C-47 emplaced now on Point du Hoc, with the number 9X under the window. There could not have been more than a few with that number out of the tens of thousands flying then. It was the squadron of my father.
rrwillsj
1 / 5 (2) Mar 05, 2018... he told me it formed on the propeller tips and broke loose to come in the right window. It bounced twice or three times and hit the door to the cockpit and broke into a flash.
Does anyone know, if during that period, the C-47 cockpit windows were glass. safety-glass, plexi-glass or some other material?
Perhaps, as you used to see on cars. A small side-ventilator window was cranked open?
Cause, isn't glass an insulator?
So if what is believed to have been an electrical discharge? May have been an unrecognized phenomena, with similar characteristics. But could cross through clear glass?
JongDan
not rated yet Mar 06, 2018https://doi.org/1....62.7181