Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SOLAR SCIENCE
It's Always Sunny in Caltech Lab
by Katie Neith
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 24, 2012


Plasma loops created in the lab were recorded using high-speed cameras. [Credit: Eve Stenson / Caltech]

In orbit around Earth is a wide range of satellites that we rely on for everything from television and radio feeds to GPS navigation. Although these spacecraft soar high above storms on Earth, they are still vulnerable to weather-only it's weather from the sun. Large solar flares-or plasma that erupts from the sun's surface-can cause widespread damage, both in space and on Earth, which is why researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are working to learn more about the possible precursors to solar flares called plasma loops.

Now, they have recreated these loops in the lab.

"We're studying how these solar loops work, which contributes to the knowledge of space weather," says Paul Bellan, professor of applied physics at Caltech, who compares the research to studying hurricanes. For example, you can't predict a hurricane unless you know more about the events that precede it, like high-pressure and low-pressure fronts. The same is true for solar flares.

"It takes some time for the plasma to get to Earth from the sun, so it's possible that with more research, we could have up to a two-day warning period for massive solar flares."

The laboratory plasma loop studies were conducted by graduate student Eve Stenson together with Bellan and are reported in the August 13 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

They found that two magnetic forces control the behavior of arching loops of plasma, which is hot, ionized gas. "One force expands the arch radius and so lengthens the loop while the other continuously injects plasma from both ends into the loop," Bellan explains. "This latter force injects just the right amount of plasma to keep the density in the loop constant as it lengthens."

The duo says that in simpler terms, this process is like squeezing toothpaste into a tube from both ends, except that the toothpaste has little magnets in it, so there are magnetic forces acting internally. Stenson and Bellan studied plasma loops that they generated with a pulse-powered, magnetized plasma gun. Inside a vacuum chamber, electromagnets create an arched magnetic field.

Then, hydrogen and nitrogen gas is released at the two footpoints of the arch. Finally, a high-voltage electrical current is applied at the footpoints to ionize the gas and turn it into plasma, which travels at a minimum speed of about six miles per second.

"All three steps-the magnetic field, and the gas, and the high voltage-happen in just a flash of light inside the chamber," says Stenson. "We use high-speed cameras with optical filters to capture the behavior of the plasmas."

By color-coding the inflowing plasma, the optical filters vividly demonstrated the flow from the two ends of the loop. According to Bellan, no one has ever used this technique before. On camera, red plasma flows into the loop from one footpoint while blue plasma simultaneously flows into the loop from the other end.

"For each experiment, you'll only see the light from the hydrogen side or the nitrogen side in the images," explains Stenson. "But these experiments are very reproducible, so we can put separate images on top of each other to see both plasmas in one picture."

Next, Bellan's lab will test how two loops interact with each other. "We want to see if they can merge and form one big loop," says Bellan. "Some people believe that this is how larger plasma loops on the sun are formed."

Funding for the research outlined in the Physical Review Letters paper, "Magnetically Driven Flows in Arched Plasma Structures," came from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

.


Related Links
Caltech
Solar Science News at SpaceDaily






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SOLAR SCIENCE
UI instruments aboard twin NASA spacecraft set for launch August 24
Iowa City IA (SPX) Aug 23, 2012
On Aug. 24, NASA will launch two identical satellites from Cape Canaveral, Fla., to begin its Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission to study the extremes of space weather and help scientists improve space weather forecasts. Why should you care? Because, says a University of Iowa space physics researcher, if you've ever used a cell phone, traveled by plane, or stayed up late to catch a ... read more


SOLAR SCIENCE
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon

US astronaut Neil Armstrong dead at 82

Obama hails 'great American hero' Neil Armstrong

Chinese firm to send Spanish rover to moon in 2014

SOLAR SCIENCE
Chemcam Laser First Analyzes Yield Beautiful Results

NASA's Mars rover makes first test drive

First Words of Safe Landing on Mars - Tango Delta Nominal

NASA Mars Rover Begins Driving at Bradbury Landing

SOLAR SCIENCE
Singer Sarah Brightman could be next space tourist: report

Sarah Brightman In Talks Over Space Trip

For US students, plane tickets, TVs are relics

Voyager at 35: Break on Through to the Other Side

SOLAR SCIENCE
China unveils ambitious space projects

Is China Going to Blast Past America in Space?

Hong Kong people share joy of China's manned space program

China's Long March-5 carrier rocket engine undergoes testing

SOLAR SCIENCE
Europe's ATV-3 Space Freighter Raises ISS Orbit to 420 km

Russia's ISS Crew Members Complete Spacewalk

Sierra Nevada Supports Communications Experiment on ISS

Space station orbit successfully adjusted

SOLAR SCIENCE
ASTRA 2F touches down in French Guiana for Arianespace's next Ariane 5 dual-passenger mission

Satellite preparations move into full swing for the next Arianespace Soyuz mission from French Guiana

Russian Booster Rocket Lifts US Satellite in Seaborne Launch

India's GSAT-10 satellite continues its checkout for the upcoming Arianespace Ariane 5 mission

SOLAR SCIENCE
First Evidence Discovered of Planet's Destruction by Its Star

Exoplanet hosting stars give further insights on planet formation

Five Potential Habitable Exoplanets Now

RIT Leads Development of Next-generation Infrared Detectors

SOLAR SCIENCE
New catalyst could improve production of glass alternatives

China to expand rare earths reserves: report

Elusive metal discovered

Northwestern scientists create chemical brain




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement