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Physicists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) have hurled electrons into related particles with all the energy that they could master from the 1960s up until the 2000s. They have made discoveries that won three Nobel Prizes and infused electrons with energy that could reach billions of electronvolts. But now Chinese scientists have used a much powerful tool that helps discovered something in the Crab Nebula that challenges previous theories.
High in the mountains of southwest China, a colossal facility picked up two showers of particles produced by a single high-energy beam of light, which is a gamma-ray, that they believe originated from the Crab Nebula.
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Observatory lifts veil on nebula secret By ZHANG ZHIHAO | China Daily | Updated: 2021-07-09 09:02 Share
Scientists discover powerful particle accelerator at heart of exploded star
An international team led by Chinese scientists has found proof that the Crab Nebula is an ultra-powerful particle accelerator that can accelerate an electron to 2.3 peta-electron volts－more than 230 times higher than the most powerful accelerator on Earth－according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday.
Expert said the new data is approaching the theoretical limit of classical electrodynamics in astrophysics and provides key insights on the origin of ultra-high-energy particles, something that has puzzled scientists for decades. The study was led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of High Energy Physics.
Chinese scientists observation of Crab Nebula challenges classical theories - Buz & Tech News sina.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sina.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.