https://phys.org/physics-news/plasma/ en-us The latest news on physics of plasma Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have found a way to make plasma more effective for its wide-ranging uses, from antimicrobial applications to surface conditioning in the semiconductor industry. They mapped the production of atomic oxygen, a key ingredient of oxygen plasma, while a high voltage was applied across oxygen gas. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-dark-plasma-regions-reveal-overlooked.html Plasma Physics Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:40:01 EDT news707996281 Inside some fusion energy systems, particles hotter than the core of the sun can become unruly in a few thousandths of a second, far faster than any human operator can react. A new software framework developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University hands those split-second decisions to artificial intelligence (AI), while keeping the machine safe and humans firmly in charge of the goals. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pacman-ai-framework-fusion-safely.html Plasma Physics Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:00:08 EDT news707581261 Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have found that implosions designed for inertial fusion energy (IFE) can tolerate significant imperfections before performance abruptly declines, a finding that could inform the design of fuel targets for future fusion power plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fusion-reactions-survive-flaws.html Plasma Physics Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:00:01 EDT news706803482 Fusion reactors, devices that generate energy by fusing light atomic nuclei at extremely high temperatures, could contribute to ongoing efforts aimed at producing electricity more sustainably. The extreme environment inside these devices, however, can damage materials that surround the superheated, electrically charged plasma where the nuclear fusion reaction takes place. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tungsten-fusion-reactors.html Condensed Matter Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:40:01 EDT news705839207 Future fusion power plants aim to recreate the heart of a star here on Earth to power our future energy needs. While the core fusion plasma will burn at hundreds of millions of degrees, the surrounding structural components must handle sudden, punishing heat loads that rival the extreme temperatures faced by spacecraft upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere. Copper and its alloys are primary candidates for handling these intense heat fluctuations, making it vital to understand exactly how the metal behaves when pushed to its melting point. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-copper-behavior-insights-future-fusion.html Condensed Matter Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:20:03 EDT news705842131 In a new Nature Physics study, researchers accelerated electrons to more than twice the energy predicted by the traditional dephasing limit for laser-plasma accelerators operating over the same distance. This was made possible by a specially engineered laser pulse called a flying focus, which counteracts a longstanding limitation known as "dephasing." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-flying-focus-laser-key-limitation.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 08 Aug 2026 15:40:03 EDT news705318688 Researchers from the U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO), the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, and the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) in the U.S. have made a discovery in solar physics. New images of the sun's surface taken with the world's largest solar telescope, the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, built and operated by the NSO in Hawaii, along with sophisticated computer simulations, reveal tiny plasma vortices that had never before been visible. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiny-vortices-sun-surface.html General Physics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news705066601 Using a combination of laser cooling techniques and strong magnetic fields, researchers at Colorado State University have for the first time created an ultracold neutral plasma with electrons cooled to temperatures measured to be within one degree Kelvin. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-boundaries-ultracold-neutral-plasmas.html General Physics Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:20:06 EDT news705061261 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 neutrons that are used in a range of applications spanning medicine, research and national security. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-materials-fusion-reaction.html General Physics Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:40:06 EDT news704037601 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 the thickness and density of a plasma target so that a pulse passing through it retains its attosecond duration and high intensity. The results will help improve the design of plasma-based sources of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation used to study ultrafast processes in matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-plasma-attosecond-electrons.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:00:01 EDT news703946941 Plasma pinches: From pursuits of nuclear fusion to an attractive point source of accelerated protons for proton radiography. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-plasma-radial-proton-crisp-imaging.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:00:01 EDT news702737542 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 a rotating, spring-shaped laser pulse, opening new possibilities for fusion energy, particle acceleration, astrophysics and beyond. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-kind-laser-avenues-plasma.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:00:07 EDT news701962082 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 internal heat flow, structure and magnetic field. Understanding these processes and how these materials behave under extreme conditions is essential to building accurate models of planetary evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-laser-helium-pressures.html General Physics Wed, 24 Jun 2026 19:50:01 EDT news701539261 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 behavior of electrons in warm dense matter are inaccurate. Warm dense matter is challenging to study, but also is of key importance for a plethora of research, including the investigation of planetary interiors, materials science and laser fusion experiments. The study is published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-upends-beliefs-electrons-dense.html Plasma Physics Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:20:06 EDT news701359922 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 of clean energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nuclear-fusion-lightning.html Plasma Physics Mon, 22 Jun 2026 15:40:06 EDT news701354339 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 processes, as well as advance critical areas such as materials science and energy research. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-diamond-based-particle-detector-captures.html General Physics Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:00:02 EDT news701015641 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 top or bottom of a 2-centimeter (0.8-inch) gold canister known as a hohlraum. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-circular-polarization-laser-backscatter-fusion.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:50:01 EDT news701019421 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 misused to produce materials for nuclear weapons. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-fusion-reactors-covert-plutonium-production.html General Physics Sat, 13 Jun 2026 13:00:03 EDT news700233543 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 with collaborators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its management contractor UT-Battelle. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-helium-fission-fusion-materials.html General Physics Wed, 20 May 2026 17:40:05 EDT news698508541 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 led by Ke Jiang at Shenzhen Technology University in China has found that porous, mostly empty foam materials can stop high-current electron beams far more effectively than denser materials—overturning many previous assumptions about how these beams interact with solid materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-foam-overturns-assumptions-electron.html General Physics Wed, 13 May 2026 12:00:01 EDT news697886187 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 improves our understanding of naturally occurring plasmas in our universe and advances the development of fusion systems based on an approach called direct-drive inertial fusion. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-lasers-rapidly-magnetize-fusion-plasmas.html General Physics Tue, 05 May 2026 11:20:07 EDT news697193762 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 in length, magnets and radio-frequency cavities are used to accelerate elementary particles. An alternative approach is now emerging: compact laser–plasma accelerators that can be built and operated at a fraction of the cost. These accelerators can achieve acceleration gradients up to around 1,000 times higher than those of conventional accelerators. Researchers at HHU contributed significantly to this development. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-laser-plasma-polarization-helium-ions.html Plasma Physics Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:20:02 EDT news696770265 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), and high pedestal performance. This integrated regime was sustained on a minute scale and the work is published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tokamak-regime-sustains-stable-fusion.html Plasma Physics Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:10:08 EDT news696701401 An international team of physicists has achieved a significant advance in laser science, demonstrating for the first time a practical route to dramatically boosting the intensity of high-power laser light. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-laser-plasma-mirror-path-extreme.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:00:14 EDT news695979301 Plasma, the fourth state of matter, consists of a gas in which electrons are no longer bound to atoms, which allows electricity to flow freely. When beams of particles moving close to the speed of light travel through plasma, they disturb electrons and drive so-called plasma waves. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-route-plasma-based-particle.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 22 Apr 2026 10:40:05 EDT news696071586 Picture two materials sandwiched together. The boundary between them may appear flat, but, in reality, it is full of tiny bumps and dents. Suddenly, the materials are hit with a shockwave. If that wave hits a bump in the material interface, it slows down. If it hits a dent, it accelerates forward. This imbalance creates fast, narrow jets of material—called the Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-voids-fusion-stable-powerful.html General Physics Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:00:03 EDT news695572592 Scientists have directly observed muonic molecules in resonance states for the first time, using a high-resolution X-ray detector, a new Science Advances study reports. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-muonic-molecules-critical-muon-catalyzed.html Plasma Physics Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:40:02 EDT news695643962 For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that a laser-plasma accelerator can reliably drive a free-electron laser for more than eight hours. Published in Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, the result was achieved by a team led by Finn Kohrell at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in collaboration with Texas-based company Tau Systems—and could soon make the technology vastly more accessible for a broad range of applications in industry and research. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-laser-plasma-free-electron-hours.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:40:03 EDT news695554789 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 this ionization process in more detail than ever before. To do so, they combined two state-of-the-art lasers: the X-ray free-electron laser and the high-intensity optical laser ReLaX at the HED-HiBEF experiment station at the European XFEL in Schenefeld, near Hamburg. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, deliver fundamental insights into the interaction of high-energy lasers and matter under extreme conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-copper-blasted-million-degree-plasma.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:40:04 EDT news695384221 Using high-intensity lasers, researchers have taken an important step toward miniaturization of particle accelerators by demonstrating free-electron laser amplification at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths (27–50 nm), with an acceleration length of only a few millimeters. By generating high-quality, monoenergetic electron beams (i.e. beams where all the electrons have nearly the same energy), they have achieved a key milestone toward compact accelerator technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-desktop-particle-realms.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:40:01 EDT news694254901