Lab Manager Magazine – Plasma Source Created by PPPL Will Benefit Major Particle Accelerator Experiment
Lab Manager Magazine – Plasma Source Created by PPPL Will Benefit Major Particle Accelerator Experiment
23 March 2012
A major effort to study a mysterious substance that could enhance understanding of the cosmos and fusion energy has received a critical boost from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).
Scientists at PPPL have designed and delivered a crucial component for a device that can heat a spot of foil to 30,000 degrees Centigrade in less than a billionth of a second. The part will complete a linear accelerator that researchers at the E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are using to create a superheated state called “warm dense matter.”
Researchers are eager to study this substance, which is rarely seen on Earth but common throughout the universe. Warm dense matter can be found in the molten core of giant planets like Jupiter, and in the preliminary stages of fusion, a process that powers the sun and stars. Such matter intrigues physicists studying the cosmos and scientists including those at PPPL who are seeking to harness fusion to produce clean electric power.
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