Recent research has revealed that a photon’s polarization is a topological property that remains constant across different environments, an insight that could enhance fusion research by improving the design of light beams used in plasma heating. Credit: SciTechDailyLight, both literally and figuratively, pervades our world. It eliminates darkness, conveys telecommunications signals across continents, and reveals the unseen, from distant galaxies to microscopic bacteria.
“Having a more accurate understanding of the fundamental nature of photons could lead to scientists designing better light beams for heating and measuring plasma,” said Hong Qin, a principal research physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s An artist’s conception of photons, the particles that make up light, perturbing plasma.
“We are trying to find similar waves for fusion,” said Qin. “They are not easily stopped, so if we could create them in plasma, we could increase the efficiency of plasma heating and help create the conditions for fusion.” The technique resembles ringing a bell. Just as using a hammer to hit a bell causes the metal to move in such a way that it creates sound, the scientists want to strike plasma with light so it wiggles in a certain way to create sustained heat.
Moreover, Palmerduca and Qin established that the two movement components can’t be split because of a photon’s topological, unchanging properties, like its polarization. This novel finding has implications for the laboratory. “These results mean that we need a better theoretical explanation of what is going on in our experiments,” Palmerduca said.
Technology Technology Latest News, Technology Technology Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: physorg_com - 🏆 388. / 55 Read more »