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University of Toronto physicists create supernova in a jar
University of Toronto ^ | December 2, 2010 | Unknown

Posted on 12/02/2010 11:58:04 AM PST by 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.

(Excerpt) Read more at artsci.utoronto.ca ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: stringtheory
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1 posted on 12/02/2010 11:58:06 AM PST by decimon
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To: SunkenCiv

What could go wrong ping.


2 posted on 12/02/2010 11:58:46 AM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

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


3 posted on 12/02/2010 12:03:17 PM PST by SJSAMPLE
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To: decimon

Can they do one in a champagne bottle?


4 posted on 12/02/2010 12:04:57 PM PST by RichInOC ("How many special people change? How many lives are livin' strange?"--Oasis)
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To: decimon

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


5 posted on 12/02/2010 12:05:42 PM PST by Artemis Webb
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To: RichInOC

I was thinking the same thing there.

Then Liam could drink it and punch his brother.


6 posted on 12/02/2010 12:08:22 PM PST by struggle ((The struggle continues))
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To: Artemis Webb

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


7 posted on 12/02/2010 12:09:35 PM PST by catman67
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To: decimon
...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...

8 posted on 12/02/2010 12:10:38 PM PST by WayneS (Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. -- James Madison)
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To: decimon
My relatives in Georgia have been doing that for years.

9 posted on 12/02/2010 12:11:01 PM PST by Waverunner (I'd like to welcome our new overlords, say hello to my little friend)
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To: decimon

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


10 posted on 12/02/2010 12:11:40 PM PST by NavyCanDo
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To: catman67
"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.

11 posted on 12/02/2010 12:13:36 PM PST by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: decimon

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


12 posted on 12/02/2010 12:19:37 PM PST by AZLiberty (Yes, Mr. Lennon, I do want a revolution.)
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To: decimon
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?

13 posted on 12/02/2010 12:29:31 PM PST by Calvin Locke
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To: Calvin Locke

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


14 posted on 12/02/2010 12:35:03 PM PST by SJSAMPLE
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To: Calvin Locke
Were you thinking of some thing along those lines?

I was mostly joking. Mostly.

15 posted on 12/02/2010 12:43:53 PM PST by decimon
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To: decimon; Revolting cat!
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.


16 posted on 12/02/2010 12:49:23 PM PST by a fool in paradise (The establishment clause isn't just against my OWN government establishing state religion in America)
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To: SJSAMPLE
“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...

17 posted on 12/02/2010 12:53:40 PM PST by Calvin Locke
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To: decimon

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


18 posted on 12/02/2010 12:54:20 PM PST by DannyTN
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To: decimon

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.


19 posted on 12/02/2010 12:54:52 PM PST by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (Liberalism is against human nature. Practicing liberalism is detrimental to your mental stability.)
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To: struggle
I was thinking the same thing there. Then Liam could drink it and punch his brother.

LOL!

20 posted on 12/02/2010 12:55:02 PM PST by dfwgator (Congratulations to Josh Hamilton - AL MVP)
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