A team of South Korean researchers has delivered experimental proof of “multi-scale coupling” in plasma, demonstrating how microscopic events can lead to big changes in this state of matter, Interesting Engineering reported.
The experiment seeks to explain how kinetic turbulence at the particle scale affects an entire plasma system, which has long been a challenge in plasma physics.
The results could help advance knowledge in developing more stable fusion reactors that offer the promise of a near-limitless and carbon-free energy resource.
If successful, fusion power could reduce pollution and lower energy costs for everyone, while serving as an ideal complement to other sustainable sources such as solar and wind.
Plasma is the “fourth state of matter” alongside solids, liquids, and gases. When a neutral gas is superheated, some of its electrons are freed from atoms or molecules, and the gas changes state to become plasma.
Within a plasma flow, there are free negative electrons and positive ions, which make it an electrically conductive fluid that’s able to react to electric and magnetic fields.
The study of these behaviors is called magnetohydrodynamics (MHD).
The team’s research aimed to show a causal link between microscopic activity and macroscopic structural changes, which existing magnetohydrodynamic theories that treat plasma as a single conductive fluid fail to explain, according to the report.
“The experiment is conducted using two flux ropes in a three-dimensional helical magnetic field configuration in the Versatile Experiment Spherical Torus,” the study explained.
“Two separate electron beams are launched along magnetic field lines and form individual flux ropes with a drift velocity higher than the ambient Alfvén velocity, effectively driving magnetic turbulence through beam-driven instabilities.”
The micro-turbulence injected into the beams eventually led the two separate flux ropes to merge into a single, larger structure.
“Experimental observations, including the appearance of energetic particles, increased ion temperature and changes in the characteristics of the flux ropes, suggest that beam-driven turbulence drives three-dimensional reconnection,” the researchers shared.
“3D reconnection by increasing turbulent power in non-MHD regime is observed for the first time, to our knowledge.”
These findings provide a more detailed understanding of plasma stability, which could help in the development of new fusion reactor designs.
Containing and controlling plasma within magnetic fields is an essential component in the fusion process, especially in stellarator reactors, where more complex fields are employed.
The quest to achieve successful and continuous fusion reactions that can provide the world with clean, sustainable energy is still ongoing, but discoveries like these can help push the technology over the finish line.
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