University of Toronto physicists create supernova in a jar

University of Toronto ^ | December 2, 2010 | Unknown

[decimon]

A team of physicists from the University of Toronto and Rutgers University have mimicked the explosion of a supernova in miniature.

A supernova is an exploding star. In a certain type of supernova, the detonation starts with a flame ball buried deep inside a white dwarf. The flame ball is much lighter than its surroundings, so it rises rapidly making a plume topped with an accelerating smoke ring.

“We created a smaller version of this process by triggering a special chemical reaction in a closed container that generates similar plumes and vortex rings,” says Stephen Morris, a University of Toronto physics professor.

Autocatalytic chemical reactions release heat and change the composition of a solution, which can create buoyancy forces that can stir the liquid, leading to more reaction and a runaway explosive process. “A supernova is a dramatic example of this kind of self-sustaining explosion in which gravity and buoyancy forces are important effects. We wanted to see what the liquid motion would look like in such a self-stirred chemical reaction,” says Michael Rogers, who led the experiment as part of his PhD research, under the supervision of Morris.

[decimon]

What could go wrong ping.

[SJSAMPLE]

Not even close.
However, if they’d been able to create the precedent STAR in a glass jar, we’d be in bidness.

[RichInOC]

Can they do one in a champagne bottle?

[Artemis Webb]

I don’t think we’ll be interested. You see we’ve already got one.

[struggle]

I was thinking the same thing there.

Then Liam could drink it and punch his brother.

[catman67]

I’d be more impressed if they created Whoop A$$ in a can!

[WayneS]

...the detonation starts with a flame ball buried deep inside a white dwarf. The flame ball is much lighter than its surroundings, so it rises rapidly making a plume topped with an accelerating smoke ring

This is nothing new. The guy I buy my ‘shine from has been creating that same effect inside quart-sized Mason jars for YEARS...

[Waverunner]

My relatives in Georgia have been doing that for years.

[NavyCanDo]

My 9 Year Old can make a Tornado appear in his bedroom

[Joe 6-pack]

"I’d be more impressed if they created Whoop A$$ in a can!"

This is just a step up from lightning in a bottle or a tempest in a tea pot.

[AZLiberty]

Soon to be “As Seen on TV”: My Pet Supernova.

[Calvin Locke]

Early in the atomic age, there was this Canadian scientist. I think he was at Los Alamos, but he was working with plutonium and beryllium, when the screwdriver he was using slipped.

He was able to stop the fission, but died days later.

Were you thinking of some thing along those lines?

[SJSAMPLE]

“Tickling the Dragon’s Tail” I think the procedure was called.

[decimon]

Were you thinking of some thing along those lines?

I was mostly joking. Mostly.

[a fool in paradise]

A team of physicists from the University of Toronto and Rutgers University have mimicked the explosion of a supernova in miniature. A supernova is an exploding star.

That's nothing, Superman had a whole city from the exploded planet Krypton in a jar.

[Calvin Locke]

“Tickling the Dragon’s Tail”

Looked it up. It was the final test for the plutonium core before assembly.

That particular core claimed a technician's life in another "oops" accident before Slotin's [Canadian scientist].

Slotin used a screwdriver instead of/without the aid of, proscribed shims, apparently.

Future "tickles" were done remotely...

[DannyTN]

Sounds like they created a smoke ring, not a supernova.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

The headline is a lie. The article doesn’t say that. Is this typical reporting hype? A supernova is a STAR. There are no stars the size that would fit in a jar.

[dfwgator]

I was thinking the same thing there. Then Liam could drink it and punch his brother.

LOL!