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Plasma Physics news
Materials surrounding a fusion reaction can dramatically increase how often it occurs
Fusion at high temperatures powers the sun and, if harnessed, could provide a potential source of energy here on Earth. But controlling fusion reactions has other benefits. The process also generates subatomic particles called ...
General Physics
Jul 23, 2026
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Plasma design rules show how to preserve attosecond flashes for observing electrons
Researchers at Skoltech, together with a colleague from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working within the joint SIOM–Skoltech laboratory, have determined how to select ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 22, 2026
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Plasma agriculture makes strides toward super-seeding conventional methods
Occasionally, the sun unleashes powerful flares and coronal mass ejections, which hurl plasma and energetic particles into space. On the infant Earth, this solar activity drove cascades of atmospheric chemical reactions that ...
Plasma Physics
Jul 15, 2026
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Reimagining the furnace: How a new magnetic design could supercharge industrial plasma
Imagine trying to trap a miniature star inside a machine without letting it touch the walls or burn itself out. This is the central, high-stakes challenge of high-temperature plasma engineering.
X-pinch plasma achieves radial proton acceleration for crisp imaging
Plasma pinches: From pursuits of nuclear fusion to an attractive point source of accelerated protons for proton radiography.
Optics & Photonics
Jul 8, 2026
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First-of-a-kind laser spring opens up new avenues for plasma control
When a high-intensity laser interacts with plasma, the charged particles typically oscillate back and forth like waves on the ocean. But what if the laser itself could twist like a whirlpool? Researchers have now demonstrated ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 29, 2026
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155
Laser experiments push helium to record shock pressures
Deep inside gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, hydrogen and helium coexist under pressures millions of times greater than Earth's atmosphere. Under those conditions, helium may separate from hydrogen and influence a planet's ...
General Physics
Jun 24, 2026
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Experiment upends beliefs on how electrons actually behave in warm dense matter
Researchers at European XFEL, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Rostock University and other collaborating institutions have used high-precision experiments to demonstrate that the most widely used models for the ...
Plasma Physics
Jun 22, 2026
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129
Modeling nuclear fusion at lightning speed
As we scour and scorch the Earth for deeper wells of energy, investors and government agencies are pouring billions into nuclear fusion research. The hope is that fusion may ultimately provide a virtually limitless source ...
Plasma Physics
Jun 22, 2026
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Diamond-based particle detector captures one-picosecond electron bursts for high-rate beam diagnostics
Physicists at UC Santa Cruz and other institutes across California and New Mexico have developed a detection system that will allow next-generation particle accelerators to better reveal fundamental biological and chemical ...
General Physics
Jun 18, 2026
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103
Circular polarization could cut laser backscatter in fusion experiments
Experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) require breathtaking precision. Each of the 192 lasers is focused to a width of a few millimeters to enter a 3-millimeter hole at the ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 18, 2026
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Fusion reactors could be monitored for covert plutonium production
In the next few decades, many physicists are hopeful that nuclear fusion could become a realistic source of practically limitless energy. But before this can happen, it will be critical to ensure that reactors cannot be covertly ...
New buried-growth process enables 2D arrays of position- and orientation-controlled diamond qubits
Researchers at Kanazawa University, in collaboration with Diamond and Carbon Applications (Germany), have developed a buried-growth process for nitrogen–vacancy (NV) centers in diamond using microwave plasma chemical vapor ...
Plasma Physics
Jun 9, 2026
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Better helium reporting to improve fission and fusion materials modeling
Standardizing calculations of the helium byproducts generated in advanced fission and fusion energy system materials can increase reactor safety and longevity, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering ...
General Physics
May 20, 2026
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Mostly empty foam overturns assumptions of electron beam stopping
When physicists fire beams of fast electrons at materials, they often need to know exactly how much energy those electrons will lose as they travel through. Through new research published in Physical Review Letters, a team ...
Understanding how lasers can rapidly magnetize fusion plasmas
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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Laser-plasma accelerators can preserve polarization of Helium-3 ions
Particle accelerators such as those at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva are typically highly complex large-scale devices. In these ring-shaped facilities, which are often several kilometers ...
Plasma Physics
Apr 30, 2026
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Tokamak regime sustains stable fusion plasma for one minute while easing heat loads
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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Team develops modulator for compact photonic integrated circuits
Researchers at Skoltech have developed an ultra-compact electro-optic modulator based on silicon photonics and plasmonics that enables high-efficiency optical signal control within a small device footprint. The development ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 28, 2026
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DuctGPT demonstrates how AI can accelerate discovery of next-generation fusion materials
Scientists at Ames National Laboratory developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that accelerates discovery of materials needed for next-generation fusion energy systems. The tool, DuctGPT, combines advanced AI with ...
Plasma Physics
Apr 27, 2026
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More news
A new route for plasma-based particle accelerators
Laser-plasma 'mirror' unlocks a new path to extreme light intensities
Laser-plasma accelerator drives free-electron laser for record 8 hours
Machine learning accelerates analysis of fusion materials
Building desktop particle accelerators to unlock new realms of research
ALICE sees new sign of primordial plasma in proton collisions
Making mini-lightning in a block of plastic
Laser-within-a-laser delivers MeV X-ray radiography in picoseconds
Could electronic beams in the ionosphere remove space junk?
When lasers cross: A brighter way to measure plasma
Machine learning accelerates plasma mirror design for high-power lasers
New code connects microscopic insights to the macroscopic world
Laser pulse 'sculpting' unlocks new control over particle acceleration
A new way to view shockwaves could boost fusion research
Going further with fusion, together
Fossilized wood reveals 300 million years of Earth's history
