Posted on 03/08/2006 2:50:47 PM PST by The_Victor
Scientists have produced superheated gas exceeding temperatures of 2 billion degrees Kelvin, or 3.6 billion degrees Fahrenheit.
This is hotter than the interior of our Sun, which is about 15 million degrees Kelvin, and also hotter than any previous temperature ever achieved on Earth, they say.
They don't know how they did it.
The feat was accomplished in the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories.
"At first, we were disbelieving," said project leader Chris Deeney. "We repeated the experiment many times to make sure we had a true result."
Thermonuclear explosions are estimated to reach only tens to hundreds of millions of degrees Kelvin; other nuclear fusion experiments have achieved temperatures of about 500 million degrees Kelvin, said a spokesperson at the lab.
The achievement was detailed in the Feb. 24 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.
The Z machine is the largest X-ray generator in the world. It’s designed to test materials under extreme temperatures and pressures. It works by releasing 20 million amps of electricity into a vertical array of very fine tungsten wires. The wires dissolve into a cloud of charged particles, a superheated gas called plasma.
A very strong magnetic field compresses the plasma into the thickness of a pencil lead. This causes the plasma to release energy in the form of X-rays, but the X-rays are usually only several million degrees.
Sandia researchers still aren’t sure how the machine achieved the new record. Part of it is probably due to the replacement of the tungsten steel wires with slightly thicker steel wires, which allow the plasma ions to travel faster and thus achieve higher temperatures.
One thing that puzzles scientists is that the high temperature was achieved after the plasma’s ions should have been losing energy and cooling. Also, when the high temperature was achieved, the Z machine was releasing more energy than was originally put in, something that usually occurs only in nuclear reactions.
Sandia consultant Malcolm Haines theorizes that some unknown energy source is involved, which is providing the machine with an extra jolt of energy just as the plasma ions are beginning to slow down.
Just open a window.
How did it not melt everything in sight?
Mr. Deeney, can we try to fry an egg on that?
Now that just scares the hell out of me...
"Hey, let's try this..."
BOOM..... goodbye civilization....
I wonder if we're messing with stuff we shouldn't be messing with in the first place.
They must have a superthermometer that can withstand the heat.
George Hamilton was seen nearby trying to get a tan. :^)
One thing that puzzles scientists is that the high temperature was achieved after the plasma’s ions should have been losing energy and cooling. Also, when the high temperature was achieved, the Z machine was releasing more energy than was originally put in, something that usually occurs only in nuclear reactions.
Sell your big oil stocks.
Once again, as it should be, the mid-East is a big ugly worthless desert.
What kind of a thermometer measures that much heat?
How can that much heat be generated without vaporizing everything in the vicinity?
Quantam Foam.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmichelle
These scientists are going to be a huge hit when it comes to outdoor grill season.
Because there is a great difference between high temperature and great heat. Let's suppose you were in an unheated cabin and you had your choice between a large tub of water at 180 degrees set on the floor in the middle of the room or a single candle burning at 800 degrees. The tub of water possesses more heat but the candle burns at a higher temperature. The experiment in the article probably describes a heat source on the molecular level, great temperature, little heat.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.