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Published On: Nov 11, 2003 10:55 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Nov 11, 2003 10:55 PM
Solar flares
not on the sun though - in the lab!
Scientists have
simulated a solar flare in the lab, recreating the super-heated cloud of
electrically-charged gas seen on the Sun known as a
plasma.
It was part of an initiative to develop fusion power - the nuclear energy that keeps the Sun shining.
The plasma in the lab behaved like a miniature version of a solar flare.
Scientists hope they can create a flare at low energies in the lab, to enable them to study the explosive events that take place on the Sun's surface.
Magnetic
bottle
The work was carried out at the Culham Science Centre near Oxford, by scientists working on the Mega Amp Spherical Tokomak (Mast) project.
A tokomak is a magnetic bottle designed to confine a plasma.
The tokomak was invented by the Russians. In it, two magnetic fields are combined to hold the plasma.
Plasma filaments like the Sun but in the lab
The world's largest tokamak is called Jet,
the Joint European Torus. It is also at
Culham.
Using Jet, scientists have heated plasma to 300 million degrees - more than is needed to achieve fusion ignition. But magnetic confinement is easier if the plasma is kept small.
Mast keeps the plasma in a tighter configuration that is more energy efficient.
Using Jet, scientists have heated plasma to 300 million degrees - more than is needed to achieve fusion ignition. But magnetic confinement is easier if the plasma is kept small.
Mast keeps the plasma in a tighter configuration that is more energy efficient.
Solar flare
secrets
The scientists were interested in a phenomenon called edge-localised modes (ELM) - a particular instability that can form in a plasma.
Understanding ELMs is important for the design of future fusion reactors.
The researchers believe that when the plasma reaches a certain critical instability, ELMs form.
The chamber that confines a man-made sun
They also realised that ELMs, like solar
flares, are explosive events, which can eject particles and
energy.
Using Mast the researchers have carried out new measurements of ELMs, obtaining unprecedented detailed images of filamentary structures associated with them.
The filaments immediately reminded them of the huge plasma structures that loop over the Sun's surface.
Culham's Andrew Kirk said: "The similarities were striking. They looked like the filaments seen in detailed images of the Sun."
Co-researcher Howard Wilson was interested in the size of the filaments.
"Although Mast is only a few metres in size and the Sun over a million kilometres in size, when the physics of the plasma is taken into account the filaments seen in Mast and on the Sun are roughly the same size when measured relative to the gas that spawned them."
This means that the secrets of solar flares may be right in front of the scientists.
Rob Akers of Culham told BBC News Online: "We may be seeing a solar flare in miniature, taking place in the laboratory. Being able to study it in detail will help us understand what's going on at the Sun, where the plasma clouds are bigger and the energies greater."
Using Mast the researchers have carried out new measurements of ELMs, obtaining unprecedented detailed images of filamentary structures associated with them.
The filaments immediately reminded them of the huge plasma structures that loop over the Sun's surface.
Culham's Andrew Kirk said: "The similarities were striking. They looked like the filaments seen in detailed images of the Sun."
Co-researcher Howard Wilson was interested in the size of the filaments.
"Although Mast is only a few metres in size and the Sun over a million kilometres in size, when the physics of the plasma is taken into account the filaments seen in Mast and on the Sun are roughly the same size when measured relative to the gas that spawned them."
This means that the secrets of solar flares may be right in front of the scientists.
Rob Akers of Culham told BBC News Online: "We may be seeing a solar flare in miniature, taking place in the laboratory. Being able to study it in detail will help us understand what's going on at the Sun, where the plasma clouds are bigger and the energies greater."
Posted: Tue - November 11, 2003 at 10:52 PM