Latest news with #SLACNationalAcceleratorLaboratory
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Record Smashing Electron Beam Delivers a Petawatt of Power in an Instant
Physicists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US have shattered the record for most powerful beam of electrons, cramming an ultra-high current of around 100,000 amps into an instant. At around five times the field strength of what could be achieved previously, the mind-blowing amount of energy in the beam's electric field at SLAC's FACET-II linear accelerator could push the boundaries on experimentation, leading to new discoveries in everything from astrophysics to materials science. The team's new technique for steering millimeter-long chains of electrons along a magnetic track allows them to squeeze the race down into a photo finish that delivers more than a petawatt of power in one million-billionth of a second. Particle accelerators have been a vital tool for physicists for nearly a century, using oscillating electromagnetic fields to nudge charged particles up to velocities that come within a whisker of the speed of light. As the particles change direction their own field shines with high-energy X-ray photons that can illuminate materials for high-resolution imagery. Place another wall of electromagnetism in front of this beam, the energy from the colliding fields could shake a variety of shiny new particles from the quantum foam itself. To create more intense flashes or light, or bigger collisions, more energy is needed; either by pushing the particles ever faster, or by ensuring all their energy is delivered in a shorter period of time. Since the electrons are already traveling at near top velocities as they surf on waves of electromagnetism, more speed isn't possible. By the same reasoning, forcing electrons at the back of the pack to press down on their accelerator and catch up to those in front isn't a solution. But there is another trick. Though they're all racing at the same speed, the accelerator's electrons are distributed along the slope of an electromagnetic wave as they surf down the tunnel, with some at the 'bottom' and some at the 'top'. Those at the top have more energy whenever they swerve. To force those at the bottom to slow, the researchers needed a way for them to pump the brakes a touch. One way commonly used to manage such a situation is the use of a magnetic obstacle that causes lower energy particles to take a slightly longer path, much as a chicane on an actual race track would force a less powerful car to carefully weave left and right while a car with more grunt could push straight through. By deflecting particles according to their energy level, the chain of electrons could bunch up and – in theory – pack a greater punch. There's just one problem. Every swerve on the track forces the electrons to shed precious energy in the form of a high-frequency X-ray photon. To help replace the lost energy, the team inserted into the middle of the chicanes a second magnetic device called an undulator, which pushed the electrons back and forth quickly in another direction. At the same time, a flash of light from a sapphire laser was introduced to control the spread of electrons. The timely mix of undulations and light shaped the distribution of the chain as it was repeatedly sped up and compressed, replacing a portion of the lost energy while forcing a number of the electrons to overlap within a space barely a third of a micrometer long. The end result was a powerful lightning in a bottle created with a technique that could be improved upon in future, potentially confining more high-speed electrons to an even smaller space. This research was published in Physical Review Letters. Sunken Continents Near Earth's Core Could Unbalance Our Magnetic Field Earth's Core Could Be Hiding a Vast Reservoir of Primordial Helium Physicists Create Lab-Grown Diamond Even Harder Than Natural
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Record Smashing Electron Beam Delivers a Petawatt of Power in an Instant
Physicists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US have shattered the record for most powerful beam of electrons, cramming an ultra-high current of around 100,000 amps into an instant. At around five times the field strength of what could be achieved previously, the mind-blowing amount of energy in the beam's electric field at SLAC's FACET-II linear accelerator could push the boundaries on experimentation, leading to new discoveries in everything from astrophysics to materials science. The team's new technique for steering millimeter-long chains of electrons along a magnetic track allows them to squeeze the race down into a photo finish that delivers more than a petawatt of power in one million-billionth of a second. Particle accelerators have been a vital tool for physicists for nearly a century, using oscillating electromagnetic fields to nudge charged particles up to velocities that come within a whisker of the speed of light. As the particles change direction their own field shines with high-energy X-ray photons that can illuminate materials for high-resolution imagery. Place another wall of electromagnetism in front of this beam, the energy from the colliding fields could shake a variety of shiny new particles from the quantum foam itself. To create more intense flashes or light, or bigger collisions, more energy is needed; either by pushing the particles ever faster, or by ensuring all their energy is delivered in a shorter period of time. Since the electrons are already traveling at near top velocities as they surf on waves of electromagnetism, more speed isn't possible. By the same reasoning, forcing electrons at the back of the pack to press down on their accelerator and catch up to those in front isn't a solution. But there is another trick. Though they're all racing at the same speed, the accelerator's electrons are distributed along the slope of an electromagnetic wave as they surf down the tunnel, with some at the 'bottom' and some at the 'top'. Those at the top have more energy whenever they swerve. To force those at the bottom to slow, the researchers needed a way for them to pump the brakes a touch. One way commonly used to manage such a situation is the use of a magnetic obstacle that causes lower energy particles to take a slightly longer path, much as a chicane on an actual race track would force a less powerful car to carefully weave left and right while a car with more grunt could push straight through. By deflecting particles according to their energy level, the chain of electrons could bunch up and – in theory – pack a greater punch. There's just one problem. Every swerve on the track forces the electrons to shed precious energy in the form of a high-frequency X-ray photon. To help replace the lost energy, the team inserted into the middle of the chicanes a second magnetic device called an undulator, which pushed the electrons back and forth quickly in another direction. At the same time, a flash of light from a sapphire laser was introduced to control the spread of electrons. The timely mix of undulations and light shaped the distribution of the chain as it was repeatedly sped up and compressed, replacing a portion of the lost energy while forcing a number of the electrons to overlap within a space barely a third of a micrometer long. The end result was a powerful lightning in a bottle created with a technique that could be improved upon in future, potentially confining more high-speed electrons to an even smaller space. This research was published in Physical Review Letters. Sunken Continents Near Earth's Core Could Unbalance Our Magnetic Field Earth's Core Could Be Hiding a Vast Reservoir of Primordial Helium Physicists Create Lab-Grown Diamond Even Harder Than Natural
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Stanford scientists work to create a high-definition movie of the cosmos
MENLO PARK, Calif. - It will be what is called "the greatest movie of the universe ever made." It is an ambitious project involving scientists at Stanford University which will map our changing cosmos every night for an entire decade. High in the mountains of Chile, what is known as the Vera C. Rubin observatory is currently under construction at an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet. Inside the observatory is a camera built at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and shipped to the mountaintop from California. "It is the world's largest digital camera. We are actually in the Guinness Book of World Records," said Dr. Aaron Roodman, a professor of particle and astrophysics at SLAC and deputy director of the observatory, which is jointly run with the National Science Foundation. "People are going to use the images to study dark energy, dark matter, the expansion of the universe, how galaxies form, how the solar system formed," Dr. Roodman said. According to SLAC, each single image will be able to capture a slice of the sky about 45 times the size of the full moon. By scanning the sky every night for over a decade, the camera will be able to capture faint objects and objects that change in position or brightness. "Over 10 years, we expect to see every part of the Southern Hemisphere sky almost a thousand times," Dr. Roodman said. In the end, scientists hope to create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the changing cosmos. SLAC said in a news release that this is the "most comprehensive data-gathering mission in the history of astrophysics." The Rubin Observatory is expected to come online later in 2025.
