There are some days, I wake up in the morning and find that scientists have done something that makes my inner 12-year-old absolutely giddy. This is one of those days. Scientists working at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have built the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, and used it to simulate the matter inside of stars.
X-ray lasers, as you might imagine, work much the same as the visible light lasers we’re all familiar with. Only instead of amplifying visible light, it amplifies photons in the X-ray spectrum. Because of the different wavelengths, this requires some different engineering to accomplish. The end result is pretty much the same though – except, of course, X-rays are more dangerous to people than visible light.
This X-ray laser was aimed at a piece of aluminum foil, and in less than a trillionth of a second, the laser heated the foil up to 2 million degrees celsius (3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit). At these temperatures, the aluminum foil because plasma – the fourth state of matter where atoms are free-flowing, like in a gas, but can also be affected by magnetic fields. This is the state of matter that exists in most stars throughout the Universe.
The equipment setup at the lab not only allows for the plasma to be created, but its properties can also be measured very closely, allowing the scientists to directly observe how matter behaves when its in its plasma state. That could have some fascinating applications down the road – possibly even the ability to recreate the fusion processes that exist within stars to be harnessed for energy needs.
All in all, this is a fascinating project, satisfying both my adult-self’s love of high-level physics and my 12-year-old self’s love of lasers.
Oh, who am I kidding? My adult self loves lasers, too.
Source: www.forbes.com
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