Lasers are useful for many things. They made CDs work (when they were still a thing). They also provide hours of entertainment for cats (and their people). But they can also create magnetic conditions similar to the surface of the Sun in a laboratory, according to new research from Osaka University scientists. And it can help a wide range of other scientific disciplines, ranging from solar astronomy to fusion.
The experiment used a high-power laser known as the Gekko XII at the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University. Originally designed for fusion experiments, this laser is powerful enough to vaporize a piece of plastic if focused on it. Or, more accurately, it’s powerful enough to turn it into plasma.
That’s exactly what the researchers did. They enclosed a small piece of plastic with a Gekko XII that sat on top of a magnet emitting a weak magnetic field. The laser burst, which lasted only about 500 picoseconds, created a high-energy plasma that distorted the already weak magnetic field on the sample. This combination of weak magnetic field and plasma created a situation known as “pure electron leakage”.
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UT video discussing building an artificial magnetosphere.
This phenomenon is believed to play a significant role in other, much larger astrophysical phenomena, such as solar flares and magnetic storms on the Sun’s surface. In these larger-scale cases, the electronic dynamics of the region creates what is known as magnetic reconnection, where the characteristic magnetic field couples back to the main magnetic coupling of the body from which it is emitted.
Recreating these features on a small scale in the lab has never been done before, but the Osaka researchers believe their electron leakage, created by the combination of a magnet and laser-induced plasma, may be the closest thing they’ll have to be able to study these phenomena on Earth.
Reducing solar physics-level phenomena to a more manageable size is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but pure electron flow is useful in other areas as well. As mentioned above, Gekko was originally designed to work on inertial fusion, which a better understanding of electron dynamics at the microscopic level could help control.
Another UT video discussing artificial magnetospheres.
Overall, the experiment represents steps forward in understanding fundamental physics and applies to much more macroscale phenomena. This shows that lasers, if used correctly, are useful for much more than convincing your dog to run into a wall.
Learn more: Sakai et al – Direct observations of pure electron leakage in magnetic reconnection Osaka University – Laser creates miniature magnetosphereUT – Absolutely crazy plan to give Mars an artificial magnetosphereUT – Magnetic bubble could protect astronauts from dangerous cosmic radiation
Lead image: Rendering of the GEKKO XII experiment. Credit – Sakai et al / Osaka University
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