Tag Archives: Plasma physics

Measuring the Sun’s Opacity

Posted on November 15, 2025 by rberkowitz

Experiments with oxygen plasma at extreme densities and temperatures give new transparency to our picture of the Sun’s interior. Continue reading →

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Active Matter Breaks like an Amorphous Plastic

Posted on September 24, 2025 by rberkowitz

Shearing a dusty plasma with a laser shows how vibrational modes lead to weak points in an amorphous active system. Continue reading →

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Unusual Plasma Waves Above Jupiter’s North Pole

Posted on July 17, 2025 by rberkowitz

A spacecraft observes a new oscillation mode in the low-density plasma. Continue reading →

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Plasma Voids Drive Tokamak Turbulence

Posted on June 11, 2025 by rberkowitz

A model that includes propagating voids predicts the extent of plasma
turbulence in a tokamak. Continue reading →

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A New Twist on Stellarator Design

Posted on October 31, 2024 by rberkowitz

Breaking the problem into pieces makes it easier to design a fusion
reactor’s coils for optimum energy confinement. Continue reading →

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Filamentation Observed in Wakefield Acceleration

Posted on May 7, 2024 by rberkowitz

A particle-beam-generating method—called wakefield acceleration—uses proton bunches, which can fragment into high-density filaments as a result of their interactions with plasma, new experiments show. Continue reading →

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A Lab Plasma Rotates and Produces Jets

Posted on May 12, 2023 by rberkowitz

A spinning plasma ring mimics the rotating structure surrounding a black hole. Continue reading →

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High Expectations for Black Hole Simulations

Posted on February 11, 2022 by rberkowitz

Andrew Chael’s simulations identify black hole features that he hopes could be spotted by the next-generation Event Horizon Telescope. Continue reading →

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A simple magnetic field configuration could trigger solar eruptions

Posted on September 1, 2021 by rberkowitz

current, magnetic reconnection, and tension forces strong enough to hurl material into space. Continue reading →

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How a simple magnetic field configuration could trigger solar eruptions

Posted on August 4, 2021 by rberkowitz

The reconnection of single-looped field lines in the Sun’s corona can create tension forces strong enough to hurl material into space, according to a new simulation. Continue reading →

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