Category Physics

Magnetic perturbations in a fusion plasma are shown. Credit: Gerrit Kramer

Physicists led by Gerrit Kramer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have conducted simulations that suggest that applying magnetic fields to fusion plasmas can control instabilities known as Alfvén waves that can reduce the efficiency of fusion reactions. Such instabilities can cause quickly moving charged particles called “fast ions” to escape from the core of the plasma, which is corralled within machines known as tokamaks. Controlling these instabilities leads to higher temperatures within tokamaks and thus more efficient fusion processes.

“Controlling and suppressing the instabilities helps improve the fast-ion confinement and plasma performance,” said Kramer, a r...

A new class of gas-fired heat pump water heaters, based on a novel semi-open sorption concept, could replace the evaporator in a traditional devices with a vapor-permeable membrane that more efficiently absorbs and transfers heat for residential applications. Credit: ORNL

Scientists from Dept of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Florida has developed a novel method that could yield lower-cost, higher-efficiency systems for water heating in residential buildings. The theory behind the newly termed “semi-open” natural gas-fired design reduces the cost and complexity of traditional closed gas-fired systems by streamlining, and even eliminating, certain components.

“When applied, the new concept could result in better than 100% energy efficiency, because the system d...

Physicists at the Institute for Nuclear Research in Debrecen, Hungary, say this apparatus — an electron-positron spectrometer — has found evidence for a new particle.

Recent findings indicating the possible discovery of a previously unknown subatomic particle may be evidence of a fifth fundamental force of nature. “If true, it’s revolutionary,” said Prof. Jonathan Feng. “For decades, we’ve known of 4 fundamental forces: gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. If confirmed by further experiments, this discovery of a possible fifth force would completely change our understanding of the universe, with consequences for the unification of forces and dark matter.”

The UCI researchers came upon a mid-2015 study by experimental nuclear physicists at the Hungarian...

Acoustic levitation of a polystyrene sphere, the first spherical object to be acoustically levitated that is larger than the acoustic wavelength. Credit: Andrade et al. ©2016 AIP Publishing

In a new study, researchers have demonstrated the acoustic levitation of a 50-mm (2″) solid polystyrene sphere using ultrasound—acoustic waves that are above the frequency of human hearing. It is one of the first times that an object larger than the wavelength of the acoustic wave has been acoustically levitated. Previously, this has been achieved only for a few specific cases, such as wire-like and planar objects. In the new study, the levitated sphere is 3.6 times larger than the 14-mm acoustic wavelength used here.

“Acoustic levitation of small particles at the acoustic pressure nodes of a standin...