DOE/Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
PPPL physicists Shurik Yatom and Sophia Gershman conducting low temperature plasma research prior to the pandemic. (Photo by Elle Starkman/Office of Communications)
From plasma technologies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic to heat-resistant Earth reentry vehicles, U.S. researchers are exploring innovative projects at the new Princeton Collaborative Low Temperature Plasma Research Facility (PCRF). The joint venture of the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University provides access to world-class diagnostics, computational tools, and expertise in plasma physics for characterizing low temperature plasmas (LTP) a rapidly expanding source of innovation in fields ranging from electronics to health care to space exploration.
New Findings Could Improve Understanding of Potentially Damaging Solar Storms Details
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When fast-moving particles from the sun strike the Earth’s magnetic field, they set off reactions that could disrupt communications satellites and power grids.
When fast-moving particles from the sun strike the Earth’s magnetic field, they set off reactions that could disrupt communications satellites and power grids. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have learned new details of this process that could lead to better forecasting of this so-called space weather.
The findings indicate how these regular blasts of fast-moving particles from the sun interact with the magnetic fields surrounding Earth in a region known as the magnetosphere. During these solar outpourings, the sun’s and Earth’s magnetic field lines collide. The field lines break and then reattach, releasing huge amounts o
DOE/Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Hong Qin and Ahmed Diallo. (Photos by Elle Starkman)
Hong Qin and Ahmed Diallo, physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), received the Lab s outstanding research awards for 2020 for their work in plasma physics to push forward advancements in fusion energy.
Qin received the Kaul Foundation Prize for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research and Technology Development for the recent development of structure-preserving algorithms for plasma physics. Diallo was named PPPL Distinguished Research Fellow for his groundbreaking studies of tokamak edge plasma dynamics and his development and utilization of novel plasma diagnostics. Each prize includes a $7,500 cash award. Steve Cowley, Laboratory director, presented the awards in a ceremony Dec. 18.
IMAGE: PPPL physicist Gerrit Kramer with conceptual image of SPARC fusion reactor. view more
Credit: Collage and Kramer photo by Elle Starkman/PPPL Office of Communications. SPARC image courtesy of Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
The U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is collaborating with private industry on cutting-edge fusion research aimed at achieving commercial fusion energy. This work, enabled through a public-private DOE grant program, supports efforts to develop high-performance fusion grade plasmas. In one such project PPPL is working in coordination with MIT s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) and Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a start-up spun out of MIT that is developing a tokamak fusion device called SPARC.
Last modified on Mon 28 Dec 2020 05.02 EST
If all goes as planned, the US will eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions from its electricity sector by 2035 – an ambitious goal set by President-elect Joe Biden, relying in large part on a sharp increase in wind and solar energy generation. That plan may soon get a boost from nuclear fusion, a powerful technology that until recently had seemed far out of reach.
Researchers developing a nuclear fusion reactor that can generate more energy than it consumes have shown in a series of recent papers that their design should work, restoring optimism that this clean, limitless power source will help mitigate the climate crisis.