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Plasma Physics news
Making mini-lightning in a block of plastic
Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers have discovered ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 5, 2026
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National report supports measurement innovation to aid commercial fusion energy and enable new plasma technologies
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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Laser-within-a-laser delivers MeV X-ray radiography in picoseconds
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the hottest place on Earth for the briefest of moments during an experiment. Now, it can be one of the brightest places thanks to the Advanced Radiographic ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 2, 2026
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Plasma rotation simulations could help fusion reactors survive decades of use
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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X-ray platform images plasma instability for fusion energy and astrophysics
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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Could electronic beams in the ionosphere remove space junk?
A possible alternative to active debris removal (ADR) by laser is ablative propulsion by a remotely transmitted electron beam (e-beam). The e-beam ablation has been widely used in industries, and it might provide higher overall ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 9, 2026
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Extreme plasma acceleration in monster shocks offers new explanation for fast radio bursts
In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, scientists have performed the first global simulations of monster shocks—some of the strongest shocks in the universe—revealing how these extreme events in magnetar ...
When lasers cross: A brighter way to measure plasma
Measuring conditions in volatile clouds of superheated gases known as plasmas is central to pursuing greater scientific understanding of how stars, nuclear detonations and fusion energy work. For decades, scientists have ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 5, 2026
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Machine learning accelerates plasma mirror design for high-power lasers
Plasma mirrors capable of withstanding the intensity of powerful lasers are being designed through an emerging machine learning framework. Researchers in Physics and Computer Science at the University of Strathclyde have ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 2, 2026
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The infant universe's 'primordial soup' was actually soupy, study finds
In its first moments, the infant universe was a trillion-degree-hot soup of quarks and gluons. These elementary particles zinged around at light speed, creating a "quark-gluon plasma" that lasted for only a few millionths ...
General Physics
Jan 28, 2026
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'Spectral slimming' yields ultranarrow plasmons in single metal nanoparticles
Researchers have developed a new strategy to overcome a long-standing limitation in plasmonic loss by reshaping light–matter interactions through substrate engineering.
Optics & Photonics
Jan 27, 2026
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New code connects microscopic insights to the macroscopic world
In inertial confinement fusion, a capsule of fuel begins at temperatures near zero and pressures close to vacuum. When lasers compress that fuel to trigger fusion, the material heats up to millions of degrees and reaches ...
General Physics
Jan 22, 2026
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EAST achieves new plasma confinement regime using small 3D magnetic perturbations
A research group has achieved a new plasma confinement regime using small 3D magnetic perturbations that simultaneously suppress edge instabilities and enhance core plasma confinement in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 21, 2026
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Velocity gradients prove key to explaining large-scale magnetic field structure
All celestial bodies—planets, suns, even entire galaxies—produce magnetic fields, affecting such cosmic processes as the solar wind, high-energy particle transport, and galaxy formation. Small-scale magnetic fields are ...
General Physics
Jan 21, 2026
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Laser pulse 'sculpting' unlocks new control over particle acceleration
In high-intensity laser–matter interactions, including laser-induced particle acceleration, physicists generally want to work with the highest possible focused laser peak power, which is the ratio of energy per unit area ...
Optics & Photonics
Jan 9, 2026
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A new way to view shockwaves could boost fusion research
At the heart of our sun, fusion is unfolding. As hydrogen atoms merge to form helium, they emit energy, producing the heat and light that reach us here on Earth. Inspired by our nearby star, researchers want to create fusion ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 8, 2026
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Going further with fusion, together
At 4 a.m., while most of New Jersey slept, a Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) physicist sat at his computer connected to a control room 3,500 miles away in Oxford, England. Years of experience running fusion experiments ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 7, 2026
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Researchers build plasma accelerator that boosts electron energy and brightness at the same time
Researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have designed innovative technology that can generate both high-energy and high-brightness ...
General Physics
Jan 6, 2026
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Tokamak experiments exceed plasma density limit, offering new approach to fusion ignition
Researchers working on China's fully superconducting Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) have experimentally accessed a theorized "density-free regime" for fusion plasmas, achieving stable operation at densities ...
Plasma Physics
Jan 1, 2026
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Measuring how materials hotter than the sun's surface conduct electricity
Warm dense matter is a state of matter that forms at extreme temperatures and pressures, like those found at the center of most stars and many planets, including Earth. It also plays a role in the generation of Earth's magnetic ...
Plasma Physics
Dec 19, 2025
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More news
Tabletop particle accelerator could transform medicine and materials science
Magnetized plasmas offer a new handle on nanomaterial design
New AI enhances the view inside fusion energy systems
Other news
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Chemical shifts help track molecules breaking apart in real time
Where wells run deep, biodiversity runs thin
Scientists control 'free-flowing' electric currents with light
A new model defines an upper limit to planetary radiation belt intensity
Telomere breaks provide new insights into chaotic chromosome mutations
Precisely measuring quantum signals in large spin ensembles
Bacteria have a secret engineering trick to keep themselves in shape
