New Atlas

Energy Audio available

Nuclear fusion plasma could be stabilized against large eruptions – by causing lots of small ones

Michael Irving July 2, 2019

Nuclear fusion could be an essentially unlimited energy source, but large eruptions in the plasma can damage reactors. But now physicists have found a way to prevent those large eruptions, by triggering lots of small ones through the injection of tiny pellets of beryllium.

The researchers conducted the experiments in the DIII-D tokamak in San Diego

Space

Longer-lasting propulsion system designed for CubeSats

Ben Coxworth February 6, 2019

In recent years, shoebox-sized "CubeSats" have made satellite technology available to groups that could otherwise never afford it. A new propulsion system, developed at Indiana's Purdue University, could now also make the devices more reliable.

A pair of CubeSats, viewed from the International Space Station

Physics Audio available

Mini antimatter accelerator to open doors to particle physics mysteries

Michael Irving August 9, 2018

Particle accelerators have plenty to teach us, but these facilities involve kilometers of tunnels and equipment. Now, researchers at Imperial College London have developed a new way to accelerate antimatter particles using common equipment already found in many labs, in a much smaller space.

A simulation of antimatter particles being concentrated and accelerated into a positron beam

Physics

X-ray laser boils water into strange plasma state hotter than Earth's core

Michael Irving May 15, 2018

Waiting for water to boil is a minor inconvenience that we’ve all experienced. Maybe next time try the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, which has now been used to boil water to 100,000° C in 75 millionths of a billionth of a second, turning it into a new plasma-like state of matter in the process.

A simulated image of the water molecules after being struck with an intense X-ray pulse, as ...

Physics

Nanowire-zapping lasers unlock micro-scale nuclear fusion efficiency record

Michael Irving March 14, 2018

Researchers have broken the efficiency record for nuclear fusion on the micro-scale. Using an ultra-fast, high-powered laser, the results were about 500 times more efficient than previous experiments. The researchers blasted arrays of nanowires to create incredibly hot, dense plasmas.

The target chamber can be seen in the front of this image of the lab at ...

Physics

Quantum ball lightning forged in the lab for the first time

Michael Irving March 7, 2018

Ball lightning has been consistently reported for centuries, and yet we still know very little about it. Now, scientists have created quantum ball lightning by knotting together the magnetic spins of atoms, which could help unlock the secrets of the phenomenon, or make more stable fusion reactors.

An artist's rendition of quantum ball lightning, which a research team has managed to create in ...

Space

Astronomers find a new twist to mysterious radio signals from space

Michael Irving January 10, 2018

An international team of astronomers has found that a strange repeating fast radio burst is even odder than previously thought. The radio waves from FRB 121102 are being “twisted” to an extreme degree, indicating that highly-magnetized plasma could be interfering.

Neutron stars are a leading candidate for what's behind Fast Radio Bursts, and now an international ...

Physics

Stable plasma ring created in open air for the first time

Michael Irving November 13, 2017

A team of engineers from Caltech have created a stable ring of plasma in open air, using just a high-pressure jet of water and a crystal plate. The technique could, in the long run, unlock the potential for plasma to be used for storing energy.

Caltech engineers have created a stable ring of plasma in the open air

Energy

Google's machine learning algorithm gets human help in quest for fusion power

Rich Haridy July 25, 2017

Google and Tri Alpha Energy, the world’s largest private fusion company, have joined forces to use machine learning algorithms in an attempt to bring us closer to achieving the dream of clean, unlimited fusion power.

Google has been using its machine learning algorithms to help speed up progress in research that ...

Science

Paper-based plasma generators zap bacteria

Colin Jeffrey May 2, 2017

Scientists at Rutgers University have created paper-based plasma generators that could one day be worn on clothing or fitted to equipment to zap any bug they come into contact with, cheaply and easily.

Scientists have produced paper-based plasma generators that can kill microbes on contact