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Plasma Physics news
Researchers address material challenges to make commercial fusion power a reality
Imagine if we could take the energy of the sun, put it in a container, and use it to provide green, sustainable power for the world. Creating commercial fusion power plants would essentially make this idea a reality. However, ...
Plasma Physics
18 hours ago
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Multi-fidelity modeling boosts predictive accuracy of fusion plasma performance
Fusion energy research is being pursued around the world as a means of solving energy problems. Magnetic confinement fusion reactors aim to extract fusion energy by confining extremely hot plasma in strong magnetic fields.
Plasma Physics
Dec 12, 2024
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Milestone 10-GeV experiment shines light on laser-plasma interactions
Scientists have used a pair of lasers and a supersonic sheet of gas to accelerate electrons to high energies in less than a foot. The development marks a major step forward in laser-plasma acceleration, a promising method ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 11, 2024
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Researchers reveal the mechanism of runaway electron generation in tokamak fusion reactors
A research team has clarified the mechanism behind the generation of runaway electrons during the startup phase of a tokamak fusion reactor. The paper, "Binary Nature of Collisions Facilitates Runaway Electron Generation ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 5, 2024
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Approaching the unexplored 'plasma phase-space' with data science
Fusion energy is being researched and developed as a new source of electric power that will contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society. At the National Institute for Fusion Science, research on magnetically ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 4, 2024
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Astrophysicists find evidence that Alfvén waves lead to heat generation in the magnetosphere
A small team of astrophysicists at the University of California, Los Angeles, working with colleagues from the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Colorado, Boulder, has found evidence that Alfvén waves in ...
X-ray diffraction enables measurement of in-situ ablation depth in aluminum
When laser energy is deposited in a target material, numerous complex processes take place at length and time scales that are too small to visually observe. To study and ultimately fine-tune such processes, researchers look ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 25, 2024
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Aligning the quantum property known as spin for fusion fuels could make it easier to generate electricity economically
A different mix of fuels with enhanced properties could overcome some of the major barriers to making fusion a more practical energy source, according to a new study.
Plasma Physics
Nov 19, 2024
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ATLAS observes top quarks in lead–lead collisions
At a talk held at CERN this week, the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reported observing top quarks in collisions between lead ions, marking the first observation of this process in interactions between ...
General Physics
Nov 15, 2024
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New family of optimized magnetic fields could display enhanced fusion plasma confinement
Physicists have been trying to design fusion reactors, technologies that can generate energy via nuclear fusion processes, for decades. The successful realization of fusion reactors relies on the ability to effectively confine ...
Kinetic Alfvén waves may be key to mystery of solar corona heating
Syed Ayaz, a researcher at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), has published a paper in Scientific Reports that builds on an earlier first-of-its-kind study that examined kinetic Alfvén waves (KAW) as a possible ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 14, 2024
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Study identifies promising materials for fusion reactors
Nuclear fusion could be an ideal solution to mankind's energy problem, guaranteeing a virtually limitless source of power without greenhouse gas emissions. But there are still huge technological challenges to overcome before ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 5, 2024
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Ensuring a bright future for diamond electronics and sensors by perfecting the growth process
Researchers are developing new ideas about the best ways to make lab-grown diamonds while minimizing other forms of carbon, such as soot. These diamonds aren't destined for rings and necklaces, though. These are the kinds ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 5, 2024
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For heating plasma in fusion devices, researchers unravel how electrons respond to neutral beam injection
Heating a plasma for fusion research requires megawatts of power. One approach that research tokamaks use to achieve the necessary power input is neutral beam injection (NBI). With NBI, fast neutral particles are generated ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 25, 2024
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Nuclear fusion energy requires heat- and radiation-resilient materials to be reliable, says nuclear engineer
Fusion energy has the potential to be an effective clean energy source, as its reactions generate incredibly large amounts of energy. Fusion reactors aim to reproduce on Earth what happens in the core of the sun, where very ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 21, 2024
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In a fusion device plasma, a steep ion temperature gradient slows the growth of magnetic islands
Future fusion power plants will require good plasma confinement to sustain reactions and generate energy. One way to contain plasma for fusion reactions is to use a tokamak, a device that applies magnetic fields to "bottle" ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 15, 2024
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Researchers uncover role of plasma waves in mysterious heating of sun's corona
There is a profound mystery in our sun. While the sun's surface temperature measures around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, its outer atmosphere, known as the solar corona, measures more like 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, about ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 11, 2024
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New AI models of plasma heating lead to important corrections in computer code used for fusion research
New artificial intelligence (AI) models for plasma heating can do more than was previously thought possible, not only increasing the prediction speed 10 million times while preserving accuracy, but also correctly predicting ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 9, 2024
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Neural networks boost fusion research with rapid ion temperature and rotation velocity predictions
In fusion experiments, understanding the behavior of the plasma, especially the ion temperature and rotation velocity, is essential. These two parameters play a critical role in the stability and performance of the plasma, ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 8, 2024
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Stopping off-the-wall behavior in fusion reactors
Fusion researchers are increasingly turning to the element tungsten when looking for an ideal material for components that will directly face the plasma inside fusion reactors known as tokamaks and stellarators. But under ...
Plasma Physics
Oct 7, 2024
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