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Light of the World. — Be the Light.
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R!€k¥ M |
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A wild twist on a modern technology could unleash nuclear fusion. Overall, the experiment represents steps forward in understanding fundamental physics.
The experiment used a high-power laser, known as Gekko XII, at the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University. Originally designed for fusion experiments, this laser is powerful enough to vaporize a piece of plastic if it is focused on it. Or, more accurately, it is powerful enough to turn it into plasma.
That is just what the researchers did. They zapped a small piece of plastic with Gekko XII that sat on top of a magnet emitting a weak magnetic field. The laser blast, which only lasted for about 500 picoseconds, created a high-energy plasma that distorts an already weak magnetic field over the sample. That combination of a weak magnetic field and plasma created a situation known as a “pure electron outflow.”
This phenomenon is thought to play a significant role in other, much larger astrophysical phenomena, such as solar flares and magnetic storms on the sun’s surface. In these larger-scale instances, the electron dynamics of the area create what is known as a magnetic reconnection, where the magnetic field of a feature connects back with the base magnetic connection of the body it is emanating from.
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