Scientists create 'quantum ball lightning'...could pave the way for stable fusion reactors

Dailymail.com ^ | Mar 2, 2018 | Cheyenne Macdonald For

[BenLurkin]

Scientists have finally created an elusive particle known as the Shankar skyrmion, more than 40 years after it was first theorized.

And, in the process, they may have modeled the rare phenomenon of ‘ball lightning’ on a quantum scale.

Not only could the discovery help to explain the mysterious natural occurrence, which can appear as a sphere of electricity in the midst of storms, but the experts say it could pave the way for more stable plasma in fusion reactors.

The three-dimensional particle consists of knots made from the spin fields of a Bose-Einstein condensate – or, atoms cooled to a point just above absolute zero.

...

To create the skyrmion, the researchers polarized the spin of each atom upward along an applied natural magnetic field.

Then, the field is suddenly changed.

This causes the field to ‘vanish’ in the middle of the condensate, which acts as a single system. The spins of the atoms then start to rotate in a new direction. But, with the magnetic field pointing in all directions near zero, the spins create a knot of linked loops, each pointing to a fixed direction.

[rfp1234]

[Vaduz]

Yep the answer to cold fusion.

[rdl6989]

It sounds like ball lightning to me. Im glad nobody was hurt.