Advancing Plasma Science
Physicists at PPPL and Princeton University have developed a rigorous new method for modeling the accretion disk that fuels the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The method provides a much-needed foundation for simulation of the extraordinary processes involved.
PPPL scientists, working in collaboration with researchers in South Korea and Germany, have developed a theoretical framework for improving the stability and intensity of particle accelerator beams. Scientists use the high-energy beams to unlock the ultimate structure of matter. Physicians use medical accelerators to produce beams that can zap cancer cells.
Researchers at PPPL and Princeton University have proposed a groundbreaking solution to a mystery that has puzzled physicists for decades. At issue is how magnetic reconnection, a universal process that sets off solar flares, northern lights and cosmic gamma-ray bursts, occurs so much faster than theory says it should.
Plasma, the hot ionized gas that fuels fusion reactions, can also create super-small particles used in everything from pharmaceuticals to tennis racquets. These nanoparticles, which measure billionths of a meter in size, can revolutionize fields from electronics to energy supply, but scientists must first determine how best to produce them.
