Nuclear and plasma physics together probe matter under extreme conditions, from the sub-atomic forces that bind protons and neutrons into nuclei, to the collective behaviour of fully ionised gases in ...

What happens when a Tesla coil and a plasma cannon are combined? In this video, a nuclear engineer reacts to the concept of creating lightning on demand and explains the science behind high voltage ...

Plasma physics is the research area devoted to the theoretical, computational, and experimental study of ionized gases in which collective electromagnetic interactions dominate particle dynamics. It ...

Penn State researchers found that lightning-like discharges may occur inside materials such as glass and quartz, potentially ...

Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, ...

Interferometry has become an indispensable diagnostic tool in plasma physics, enabling the precise measurement of electron densities and detailed imaging of plasma behaviour. By utilising the ...

At the Columbia Plasma Physics Lab, researchers are tackling one of the most pressing challenges in creating clean energy: making nuclear fusion a viable power source. Unlike nuclear fission—the type ...

What if the next new theory of the universe didn’t come from a human mind, but from an artificial one? In a development that has left the scientific community both awestruck and unsettled, artificial ...

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright visited the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) on Aug. 20 at a pivotal time for the race toward reliable fusion energy, which decisions ...