How do quark-gluon-plasma fireballs explode into hadrons?
Quark gluon plasma (QGP) is an exciting state of matter that scientists create in a laboratory by colliding two heavy nuclei. These collisions produce a QGP fireball. The fireball expands and cools following the laws of hydrodynamics, which govern ho.....»»
Tracking plasma progression in a picosecond: Physicists develop ultra-fast laser method to study high-density plasmas
In a few picoseconds (trillionths of a second), a small, thin piece of copper momentarily becomes dense plasma, specifically a state called warm dense matter, warm being a relative term—the metal is nearly 200,000 degrees Fahrenheit. With the short.....»»
Nuclear theorists turn to supercomputers to map out matter"s building blocks in 3D
Deep inside what we perceive as solid matter, the landscape is anything but stationary. The interior of the building blocks of the atom's nucleus—particles called hadrons that a high school student would recognize as protons and neutrons—are made.....»»
Cooler weather helps, but Los Angeles fires still out of control
Cooler weather on Thursday aided firefighters battling out-of-control blazes around Los Angeles, but officials warned the fast-moving fires were unpredictable and could suddenly explode......»»
If Colorado voters ban mountain lion hunting, would the feline"s population explode or stabilize on its own?
For decades, licensed hunters have killed hundreds of Colorado mountain lions every year to control the state's population of the elusive feline......»»
Decoding the language of cells with the power of proteomics
Hundreds of millions of years ago, single cells joined forces to become multicellular organisms. At the foundation of this multicellular world is the cell surface: the plasma membrane surrounding each cell, where individual units meet and communicate.....»»
Repurposing pencil lead as an optical material using plasma
Optical materials are essential in many modern applications, but controlling the way a material reflects light on its surface is costly and difficult. Now, in a recent study, researchers from Japan found a simple and low-cost way of tuning the reflec.....»»
Quenching the intense heat of a fusion plasma may require a well-placed liquid metal evaporator
Inside the next generation of fusion vessels known as spherical tokamaks, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) envisioned a hot region with flowing liquid metal that is reminiscent of a subterranean.....»»
Scientists propose gliding arc discharge plasma seawater sterilization technology for mariculture
Atmospheric pressure plasma technology has demonstrated vast potential in microbial inactivation due to its unique advantages, including no chemical residue, environmental friendliness, high treatment efficiency, low energy consumption and ease of us.....»»
Neutron-star mergers illuminate the mysteries of quark matter
Neutron stars are the remnants of old stars that have run out of nuclear fuel and undergone a supernova explosion and a subsequent gravitational collapse. Although their collisions—or binary mergers—are rare, when they do occur, these violent eve.....»»
The Perseids are here. Here"s how to see the "fireballs" of summer"s brightest meteor shower
The Perseids are back to dazzle the sky with bursts of light and color......»»
Image: Doomed star Eta Carinae
Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when—it may be next year, it may be 1 million years from now. Eta Carinae's mass—about 100 times greater than our sun—makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova......»»
Observations confirm plasma bubble origin of persistent radio emissions from fast radio bursts
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are one of the most recent open mysteries of modern astrophysics. Within a few milliseconds, these powerful events release an immense amount of energy, among the highest observable in cosmic phenomena......»»
Space hurricanes swirl in the Southern Hemisphere, mostly in summer
Space hurricanes are a recently discovered geomagnetic phenomenon in which plasma interacts with Earth's magnetosphere, the area of space dominated by Earth's magnetic field. Spiral arms of plasma, hundreds of kilometers long, stretch across the sky.....»»
Madison Symmetric Torus operates stable plasma at 10 times the Greenwald Limit
If net-positive fusion energy is to ever be achieved, density is key: the more atomic nuclei crashing into each other, the more efficient the reaction will be. Nearly 40 years ago, Martin Greenwald identified a density limit above which tokamak plasm.....»»
Ever see a star explode? You"re about to chance very soon
Every clear night for the last three weeks, Bob Stephens has pointed his home telescope at the same two stars in hopes of witnessing one of the most violent events in the universe—a nova explosion a hundred thousand times brighter than the sun......»»
High-energy collision study reveals new insights into quark-gluon plasma
In high-energy physics, researchers have unveiled how high-energy partons lose energy in nucleus-nucleus collisions, an essential process in studying quark-gluon plasma (QGP). This finding could enhance our knowledge of the early universe moments aft.....»»
New measurement of the top quark from LHC data
Researchers from the School of Physics & Astronomy have been involved in an important new measurement of the top quark made using data provided by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)......»»
Belle II experiment reports the first direct measurement of tau-to-light-lepton ratio
The Belle II experiment is a large research effort aimed at precisely measuring weak-interaction parameters, studying exotic hadrons (i.e., a class of subatomic particles) and searching for new physical phenomena. This effort primarily relies on the.....»»
Researchers develop model to study heavy-quark recombination in quark-gluon plasma
Researchers from the HEFTY Topical Collaboration investigated the recombination of charm and bottom quarks into Bc mesons in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). They have developed a transport model that simulates the kinetics of heavy-quark bound states t.....»»
BMW recalls nearly 400,000 U.S. vehicles for faulty airbags; NHTSA warns on using replacements
BMW of North America is recalling about 394,029 vehicles in the U.S. over concerns that airbags might explode during deployment. NHTSA also warned consumers about using replacement airbags......»»