Tag: physics

  • For the First Time Nuclear Fusion Created Ignition

    For the First Time Nuclear Fusion Created Ignition

    For the first time ever, a laser fusion experiment has successfully ignited nuclear fusion, creating more fusion energy than was required to heat the fusion fuel. The experiment at the National Ignition Facility in the United States has reached a new record high in terms of heating energy, marking the first time it has ever exceeded the fusion breakeven threshold. Even though there is still a good distance to go before fusion power plants can generate energy, this is a significant step forward for fusion research throughout the world.

    nuclear fusion created ignition 1
    In laser fusion, high-energy X-rays are produced by focusing laser beams in a tiny cavity, which subsequently ignite the fuel capsule. (Credit: LLNL)

    Since nuclear fusion is expected to become a major energy source, substantial resources are being devoted to its study. JET or the soon-to-be-built, large-scale reactor ITER are all test reactors that use magnetically contained and heated plasma for this purpose. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the United States’ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory uses microscopic hydrogen or deuterium-tritium pellets that are crushed by laser bombardment to bring about fusion.

    Finally, laser fusion produces more energy than is required to heat it.

    To date, however, not a single fusion technology has been able to achieve the so-called “break-even” threshold Q. This is the point at which the energy output by the plasma in a fusion reactor equals the energy input. In order to overcome this barrier, fusion must be ignited, which is a critical first step on the path to producing energy via nuclear fusion.

    Laser fusion achieves a crucial milestone

    nuclear fusion created ignition 2

    Researchers at the National Ignition Facility have finally succeeded in doing so. A new record of 3.15 megajoules of fusion energy was created in an experiment. Intense laser pulses were used to heat the deuterium and tritium nuclei to a temperature where the stored energy could be released, and this process only needed “just” 2.


    05 megajoules of heating energy.

    The energy output from a fusion reaction exceeded the input.

    It’s the first time the fusion plasma in NIF’s small fuel capsule has ignited and, in terms of heating energy, hit the breakeven threshold. It is one of humanity’s biggest scientific challenges to date to ignite nuclear fusion. The accomplishment is a credit to science, engineering, and, most significantly, the individuals who worked for it. This goal has motivated scientists for the last 60 years.

    Mechanisms of the laser fusion device

    fusion fuel cooling
    The deuterium and tritium fusion fuel are kept in a small capsule that is just a few millimeters in size and is kept cold by a cryogenic cooling mechanism, which is also seen here. (Credit: LLNL)

    The 192 high-powered neodymium lasers at the fusion plant at the National Ignition Facility are the primary source of energy. Their infrared light source is transformed into UV laser pulses with a narrowly focused 351-nanometer spectrum by a series of amplifiers and lenses. The fuel capsule in the middle of the reactor chamber, which is just a few millimeters in size, is struck with up to 500 trillion watts of energy from the pulsed and focused laser beams.

    Within a tiny chamber is a capsule made up of the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium; this is the fusion fuel. The fuel capsule is spared from the focused laser pulses, which instead hit the cavity’s inner walls. In that location, high-energy X-rays are produced and aimed at the fuel capsule from all angles. Therefore, the capsule material warms up to roughly 120 million degrees in a matter of billionths of a second and expands inward.

    The sudden increase in pressure causes the deuterium and tritium fuels to fuse. In order to achieve ignition, fusion energy must reach 1.3 megajoules, which this facility did in August 2021. After this point, fusion can continue to occur without any further energy being added. Since then, the physicists have successfully modified the cavity’s original form in order to focus more X-rays on the fuel capsule.

    Crucial steps forward in fusion research

    Today, fusion was successfully ignited. A self-sustaining fusion reaction occurred for a brief period of time (picoseconds) until the plasma thinned out again due to expansion and fusion ceased. Reaching the breakeven threshold is a major accomplishment for physicists at the National Ignition Facility, and it puts laser fusion at the top of this research area once again. Simply put, this breakeven threshold has not yet been reached by any other experiment or test reactor.

    Nuclear physicists point out that this finding is still far from the energy increase that would be required to create electricity. But 500 megajoules of electrical energy was used to power the lasers in order to provide 2.


    05 megajoules of heating energy to the target. And the 3.15 megajoules of fusion energy is still far less than what was previously required.

    In addition, the laser system used in this achievement had to be equipped with over 7,500 specialized lenses, each measuring several meters in length, in order to produce and direct laser energy towards the intended target. In the past, the NIF system has only been activated once per day. To be really effective, though, a laser fusion power plant would need to ignite as many as twenty times every second.

  • Antibubble: The Opposite of Bubble, and the Way It Works

    Antibubble: The Opposite of Bubble, and the Way It Works

    When a drop of water hits a soapy liquid, it might surround itself with a thin film of air and sink slowly with the soapy water. The success of this method is contingent upon the manner in which air is displaced at first contact with the liquids. A drop may appear as the antonym of a bubble. At first glance, this seems reasonable, but it’s not, for the simple reason that a bubble is a sphere of air encased in water, and hence exists in the air.

    An air-encased water ball would be the polar opposite of a bubble.

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    And “anti-bubbles” are actually real. They may form accidentally when droplets of a liquid are dropped into another.

    It is possible to produce antibubbles. You can make perfect soap bubbles in water by adding a few drops of dish detergent. A drinking straw submerged a few millimeters into the fluid will do this (1 gram of dish detergent per 1 liter of running water).

    Then, you finger the top shut and raise it a scant few millimeters above the surface. You may make an antibubble approximately 0.40 inches (1 centimeter) in diameter by uncovering the entrance and directing the filling so that it shoots out.

    How Does Antibubble Form?

    antibubbles image
    An underwater picture shows antibubbles being created by a jet strike. When you look closely, you can see that there is a thin layer of air around each globule, as shown by the black outline. (Credit: Nicolas Vandewalle)

    When you pop a soap bubble, you get a similar result. It is made when a thin film of soap is stretched by a current of air, and the resulting tubular structure contracts to form a sphere at a certain length.

    When a droplet is submerged in water, its brief drop is long enough to “transport” the layer of air compressed on collision with the surface of the liquid. As a result, the air film around the submerged area expands and then contracts, creating a balloon-like expansion.

    Visualize a layer of water colliding with the water’s surface due to the force of gravity. There is air in the gap between them, and it is pushed to one side.

    As long as it’s able to move freely, there’s no need to worry. However, once the distance is below a certain value, the flow behavior of the fleeing air is increasingly determined by conventional interfacial forces.

    It is being pushed out of the gap and squeezed in at the same time. Because of this, the gas molecules are now bound to one another and cannot freely travel across space. Instead, a laminar flow is created.

    This implies that air molecules near the water’s edge are attracted to the liquid and accelerate into the water’s core. The air’s roughness also has a greater impact on a narrower gap. The airflow is slowed as a result of the greater frictional force caused by this. Simply said, this makes the envelope conditions rock solid and immune to outside disturbances.

    The Factors Against the Antibubble

    antibubble 2
    The envelope’s air tries to escape via the top, so it gathers in a little spot. The antibubble is not perfectly round anymore.
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    All of the light is reflected at the air layer, so only the central region is see-through. (Credit: Stephane Dorbolo)

    However, unlike with solid walls, the limits of the compressed air are not stable but rather fluid. Due to the frictional force, the surrounding water might be dragged along.

    In such a case, the velocity of the air flow would not decrease; rather, it would continue to be high, but thin, and easily damaged. This would work against the development of an antibubble.

    The surfactants given with the rinse agent have a role in this. These molecules are long and thin, with one end being hydrophilic (attractive to water) and the other end being hydrophobic. They congregate where the gas and liquid phases meet.

    Entrainment of the liquid boundary layer would decrease the concentration of the surfactant molecules collected there and raise the surface tension, minimizing the energy there and stabilizing the air flow.

    In response, the system generates a counterflow that keeps the boundary layer’s surfactant concentration constant. The tension between these two forces strengthens the fortifications.

    Like soap bubbles, antibubbles have a finite lifespan and a difficult birth process. Both try to achieve a spherical form in order to reduce the amount of energy lost at the interface. As the bubbles’ centers of gravity drop, they release energy into the surrounding medium.

    When a Soap Bubble Bursts

    Soap bubbles burst at their weakest point because the liquid within the skin slowly drips down owing to gravity. Additionally, gravity has an effect on the antibubble. In this case, the inner water ball uses its weight to exert progressive upward pressure on the air envelope. This causes the bottom gas layer to become so thin that it explodes.

    When a soap bubble bursts, the lye particles in the air condense into tiny droplets and fall to the ground.

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    Here, the situation is exactly the opposite, as the air envelope fragments contract into water-borne bubbles that rise to the top as an antibubble.

  • 2022 Physics Nobel Prize for quantum entanglement and teleportation

    2022 Physics Nobel Prize for quantum entanglement and teleportation

    Three scientists who have made seminal contributions to the experimental study of quantum entanglement and its applications share the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022. Scientists John Clauser of the United States and Alain Aspect of France devised a method to definitively detect entanglement between photons. Quantum communication relies on entanglement, which was first successfully transmitted by Anton Zeilinger of the University of Vienna.

    The technologies of the future include quantum computing and quantum communication. Because they allow for rapid resolution of difficult problems and the use of “unbreakable” encrypted data. Particles like photons, ions, and atoms act under quantum physical phenomena like superposition and entanglement. Due to these occurrences, quantum computers can process vast amounts of data in a short amount of time, and quantum signals can be “teleported” almost instantly.

    The mystery of “spooky action at distance”

    Quantum entanglement has been described as “spooky action at a distance” by Albert Einstein and as the most crucial aspect of quantum physics by Erwin Schrödinger. Up until the measurement of the state of one of the entangled particles, the other remains in a superposition state, not knowing which of the two it is. Only then does the second one decide on its state simultaneously.

    All current quantum technologies are reliant on the observation of quantum entanglement.

    One analogy for quantum entanglement is that of two balls, one white and one black, whose superposition in midair renders them gray. The ultimate color of each ball is revealed only when one of them is captured. Simultaneously, it becomes obvious that the second ball is the opposite color. However, this raises the issue of how the balls determine which color they need to take on. Are their colors coincidental or do they potentially contain information that foretells the color they’ll show up in advance?

    Physicist John Stewart Bell suggested a theoretical potential in the 1960s for empirically clarifying this issue. According to this, a real entanglement without hidden variables would have to exhibit a specific degree of correlation when the measurements are repeated numerous times. But how to assess this in a realistic manner remained uncertain.

    John Clauser and Alain Aspect: The Bell test becomes practical

    Physics Nobel Prize for quantum entanglement and teleportation

    The Bell test was first put into experimental practice by John Clauser and Alain Aspect. (Credit: Nobel Foundation)

    The first prize winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was the American physicist John Clauser for his work in this area. For the first time, he devised an experiment to prove that quantum entanglement is really possible and that Bell’s inequality could be broken. The scientist accomplished this by generating polarization-entangled pairs of photons. Clauser found out how frequently each combination happened by passing these photons through various polarization filters.

    As a result, it was clear that the entangled photons did disprove Bell’s inequality. There was no way to predict or account for the strength of the relationships. Instead, it was a “spooky action at distance” effect in which the measurement of one particle determines the state of another, nullifying the superposition.

    Clauser and his team’s experiment was exceedingly inefficient, however, since only a tiny percentage of the created photons were traceable through the filters and hence measurable. French physicist Alain Aspect, who came in second for the 2022 Physics Nobel Prize, decided to interfere here. He refined the experiment by separating the entangled photons and measuring them after they passed through two polarizers.

    Anton Zeilinger: Quantum teleportation and quantum amplification

    Anton Zeilinger Quantum teleportation and quantum amplification

    When sending optical information over long distances, for example via a fiber-optic cable, the light signal degrades, limiting the range; this is the issue that Anton Zeilinger of the University of Vienna addressed, and it is strongly connected to quantum entanglement. Over a distance of 6 miles (10 kilometers), about one photon is lost per second. Standard optical transmissions include intermediate amplifiers that account for this.

    Unfortunately, this cannot be done with entangled photons; the amplifier’s need to read out the signal before boosting it would destroy the quantum signal by canceling the entanglement. In 1998, Zeilinger and his group solved the problem using quantum teleportation. This stems from the discovery that one entangled pair of photons may impart that entanglement to another.

    As a result, all a quantum amplifier has to do to transport the entanglement and the quantum information it carries from one pair of photons to another is to guarantee that the two pairs make contact with each other under the correct conditions. This finding paves the way for the use of fiber optic cables to carry quantum communications across significant distances. Photons from the sun have also been “entangled” by scientists.

    Early adopters of quantum technology

    The three physicists who shared the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics have thereby provided the groundwork for the eventual practicality of quantum technology. Their research on entangled states is groundbreaking. The Nobel Foundation explains that this is because “their results have cleared the way for new technology based upon quantum information.”

  • Why Does Food Cook Faster in a Pressure Cooker?

    Why Does Food Cook Faster in a Pressure Cooker?

    The pressure cooker is like a rocket ship compared to other kitchen gadgets. It’s claimed to speed up the cooking process while keeping the food more delicate than a regular pot.

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    But, why? Which factors lead to more rapid cooking when using pressure cooking? Do nutrients and nutritious foods survive steam cooking better compared to other methods?

    The effect of the pressure cooker on foods

    Pressure in the cooker is the determining factor for how much faster food can be cooked. A pressure cooker’s valve prevents the water from evaporating from the food, and the broth cannot escape. The pressure within the pot increases, almost equal to that experienced while scuba diving to a depth of 33 feet (10 meters) below the surface.

    Vegetables and other things in the pot are softened more rapidly due to the increased pressure acting on their cells.

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    However, the vegetable cells are not damaged, since this would render them inedible. Instead, the increased pressure actually loosens the structure of the cells and tissues. Starch, for example, is a versatile component that may be used to facilitate the rapid transformation of food’s shape and texture during cooking.

    How does pressure cooking work?

    However, the pot’s temperature also shifts due to the increased pressure.

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    This is because, under standard settings, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius or 212 degrees Fahrenheit. And cannot be heated much above that point. However, as the pressure increases, more energy is needed to make the water boil. This occurs between 230 and 240 Fahrenheit (110 and 116 degrees Celsius), the range at which a pressure cooker operates.

    The meal stays hot for longer because the hot steam is able to convey its heat more efficiently than dry air. This is readily seen by holding your palm in a dry oven heated to 100 degrees Celsius and then over a kettle of boiling water, which is likewise 100 degrees Celsius but feels much hotter due to the presence of steam. This impact, together with the increased temperatures, helps the food in a pressure cooker become ready sooner. Depending on the dish and the amount, you may cut your cooking time in half with pressure cooking.

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    More vitamins are preserved despite pressure and heat

    But doesn’t the higher heat from the pressure cooker also destroy the vitamins? Or is it true that this method of cooking is less taxing on nutritious ingredients? High-pressure cooking in a pressure cooker is far better. Vegetables don’t need to be submerged in water since the liquid quickly evaporates. Vitamins B and C, which are water-soluble, tend to stick around after cooking rather than dissolving into the meal.

    However, at the start of the cooking period, almost all of the oxygen in the pressure cooker exits via the valve. The thickening steam almost obliterates it. Some vitamins, notably vitamin C, degrade when exposed to oxygen over time. However, they remain intact in the pressure cooker’s low-oxygen environment. For example, whereas broccoli loses 90% of its vitamin C during regular cooking, pressure cooking preserves almost 50% of it.

    In contrast, the fat-soluble beta-carotene A found in carrots has a distinct effect: Here, the elevated pressure causes the provitamin to be expelled from the plant cells and into the bloodstream, where we may more easily absorb it.

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    Therefore, cooked carrots have even more beta-carotene than their raw counterparts. Vitamin B1, which may be found in potatoes, is similar.

  • How does cold water help peel eggs?

    How does cold water help peel eggs?

    When colorful, hard-boiled Easter eggs are everywhere it’s that time of year again: But if you want to get at their insides, you first have to peel them – and that’s where the problem begins. Because all too often, large parts of the “egg white” or albumen stick to the shell. As a result, your egg looks more like a ruin than a smooth, appetizing Easter snack. But why do some eggs peel so badly? Did they lack the cold shower after boiling? Or is this perhaps just a myth after all?

    It is indeed a myth that cold water alone affects the peeling of an egg. Freshly laid eggs, if they are only a few hours or at most two days old, do not peel any better after cold watering than before.

    Older is better for eggs – at least when it comes to peeling

    The decisive factor for the peelability of eggs is not the cold water, but the age of the egg. That’s because it’s associated with important chemical changes inside the shell. The egg is made up of many proteins, and the shell skin is also bound to the shell, and the albumen, with these molecules. 

    In freshly laid eggs this bond is still very strong. When you peel them, you, therefore, tear off pieces of the albumen along with the shell and shell membrane.

    How does it work?

    As the egg gets older, it loses carbon dioxide. This slowly escapes through the fine pores in the eggshell. This changes the acidity level inside the egg – similar to sparkling water, from which the carbon dioxide escapes. The pH rises from near-neutral levels to 8 to 9, and the egg becomes more basic. A pH of 7 is considered neutral – neither acidic nor basic.

    Binding of the shell skin to the protein weakens

    When the pH in the egg changes, this in turn affects how the proteins interact with each other. The proteins change their binding properties; in the more basic range, their binding power is no longer as strong. As a result, the shell skin is also no longer as strongly bound to the protein. If you try to peel such an older egg, the shell skin easily separates together with the shell from the solid albumen – the egg remains intact and smooth.

    And with an already older egg, even cold water can then help. If you then throw the egg into cold water, the shell contracts while the boiled egg white is still hot. This creates tension, which can help loosen the shell skin from the egg white. But that’s not the primary effect then. More important is the aging of the egg.

    Cold water makes eggs spoil faster

    In fact, the cold water can even do harm. The cold shower causes the egg white to cool abruptly and contract. This creates a vacuum under the shell of the egg which is sucking of air, water, and also bacteria through the porous lime shell into the interior.

    As a result, cold water makes eggs spoil faster. This reduces the shelf life to just a few days. Normally, on the other hand, a hard-boiled egg can be kept for up to a month, and in the refrigerator for as long as six weeks.