The sPHENIX particle detector, the newest experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, has released its first physics results: precision measurements of the number and energy density of thousands of particles streaming from collisions of near-light-speed gold ions.
As described in two papers recently accepted for publication in Physical Review C and the Journal of High Energy Physics, these measurements lay the foundation for the detector’s detailed exploration of the quark–gluon plasma (QGP), a unique state of matter that existed just microseconds after the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago. Both studies are available on the arXiv preprint server.
The new measurements reveal that the more head-on the nuclear smashups are, the more charged particles they produce and the more total energy those firework-like sprays of particles carry. That matches nicely with results from other detectors that have tracked QGP-generating collisions at RHIC since 2000, confirming that the new detector is performing as promised.
Physicist and fusion researcher Eric Lerner presents a sweeping critique of the Big Bang theory and the standard model of cosmology at Demysticon 25. He builds on the foundations of plasma physics and the work of Nobel laureate Hannes Alfvén to outline an alternative cosmological framework rooted in known physical laws—gravity, nuclear fusion, and electromagnetic plasma behavior—rather than hypothetical concepts like dark matter, dark energy, or cosmic inflation. He explores how filamentary plasma structures may account for galaxy formation, how fusion research using dense plasma focus devices parallels cosmic processes, and how the cosmic microwave background may not be relic radiation from a singular origin. Merging astrophysics, plasma cosmology, and energy research, this talk reframes the origin and structure of the universe—and calls into question the prevailing narratives at the heart of modern theoretical physics.
PATREON / demystifysci.
PARADIGM DRIFT https://demystifysci.com/paradigm-dri… Go! Introduction the Big Bang Debate 00:03:57 Eric Lerner’s Perspective on Cosmic Evolution 00:04:21 The Pinch Effect and Electrical Currents in Plasmas 00:10:27 Evolutionary Hierarchies and Cosmic Filaments 00:14:50 Interplay of Forces in Structure Formation 00:18:14 Evidence of Filaments Across Scales 00:25:04 Dynamics of Galaxy Formation and Star Development 00:29:08 Cosmic Microwave Background and Element Formation 00:30:29 The Formation and Properties of Early Galaxies 00:35:22 Energy Flows and the Cosmic Evolution Crisis 00:39:58 Plasma Focus Devices and Fusion Energy Research 00:41:16 Q&A Understanding Galaxy Components and Rotation 00:51:33 Q&A The Implications of Missing Gravity and Galaxy Dynamics 00:58:07 Q&A Gravitational Lensing and Mass Distribution 01:00:32 Q&A Lensing and Galactic Observations 01:02:04 Q&A Fractal Patterns in Cosmology #cosmology, #space, #galaxyformation, #gravitationalwaves, #cosmicstructures, #astrophysics, #fusionenergy, #magneticfields, #spacephysics, #electricuniverse, #criticalthinking #philosophypodcast, #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast ABOUS US: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he’s not in the film studio, he’s exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com… AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98 DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD SUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7h… BLOG: http://DemystifySci.com/blog RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss MAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL:
00:00 Go! Introduction the Big Bang Debate. 00:03:57 Eric Lerner’s Perspective on Cosmic Evolution. 00:04:21 The Pinch Effect and Electrical Currents in Plasmas. 00:10:27 Evolutionary Hierarchies and Cosmic Filaments. 00:14:50 Interplay of Forces in Structure Formation. 00:18:14 Evidence of Filaments Across Scales. 00:25:04 Dynamics of Galaxy Formation and Star Development. 00:29:08 Cosmic Microwave Background and Element Formation. 00:30:29 The Formation and Properties of Early Galaxies. 00:35:22 Energy Flows and the Cosmic Evolution Crisis. 00:39:58 Plasma Focus Devices and Fusion Energy Research. 00:41:16 Q&A Understanding Galaxy Components and Rotation. 00:51:33 Q&A The Implications of Missing Gravity and Galaxy Dynamics. 00:58:07 Q&A Gravitational Lensing and Mass Distribution. 01:00:32 Q&A Lensing and Galactic Observations. 01:02:04 Q&A Fractal Patterns in Cosmology.
ABOUS US: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he’s not in the film studio, he’s exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities.
Neutrinos are cosmic tricksters, paradoxically hardly there but lethal to stars significantly more massive than the sun.
These elementary particles come in three known “flavors”: electron, muon and tau. Whatever the flavor, neutrinos are notoriously slippery, and much about their properties remains mysterious. It is almost impossible to collide neutrinos with each other in the lab, so it is not known if neutrinos interact with each other according to the standard model of particle physics, or if there are much-speculated “secret” interactions only among neutrinos.
Now a team of researchers from the Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries (N3AS), including several from UC San Diego, have shown, through theoretical calculations, how collapsing massive stars can act as a “neutrino collider.” Neutrinos steal thermal energy from these stars, forcing them to contract and causing their electrons to move near light speed. This drives the stars to instability and collapse.
Researchers in the Oregon State University College of Engineering have developed new technology for uranium enrichment measurement and trace element detection, vital for nuclear nonproliferation and supporting the development and operation of next-generation nuclear reactors.
“The technology that we are developing can support nuclear safeguards as well as nuclear energy development,” said Haori Yang, associate professor of nuclear science and engineering. “It can enable on-site enrichment measurements with minimal or no sample preparation, which means a quick turnaround time. It can also be used to monitor fuel in Gen-IV nuclear reactors, such as liquid metal–cooled reactors.”
In its naturally occurring state, uranium contains less than 1% U-235, the isotope that can sustain a nuclear chain reaction; the rest is U-238, which is much less able to do so.
The Munich-based start-up Proxima Fusion, a spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, has raised €130 million in capital. The company plans to use the funds to finance the development of the world’s first stellarator-based fusion power plant, which is scheduled to be built in the 2030s. The investment represents the largest private financing round in the field of fusion energy in Europe to date. Proxima Fusion now has a total of more than €185 million in public and private funding at its disposal.
The graphite found in your favorite pencil could have instead been the diamond your mother always wears. What made the difference? Researchers are finding out.
How molten carbon crystallizes into either graphite or diamond is relevant to planetary science, materials manufacturing and nuclear fusion research. However, this moment of crystallization is difficult to study experimentally because it happens very rapidly and under extreme conditions.
In a new study published July 9 in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of California, Davis and George Washington University use computer simulations to study how molten carbon crystallizes into either graphite or diamond at temperatures and pressures similar to Earth’s interior. The team’s findings challenge conventional understanding of diamond formation and reveal why experimental results studying carbon’s phase behavior have been so inconsistent.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new and faster method for detecting and measuring the radioactivity of minuscule amounts of radioactive material. The innovative technique, known as cryogenic decay energy spectrometry (DES), could have far-reaching impacts, from improving cancer treatments to ensuring the safety of nuclear waste cleanup.
The NIST team has published its results in Metrologia.
The key to this novel technique is a transition-edge sensor (TES), a high-tech device widely used to measure radiation signatures. TES provides a revolutionary capability to record individual radioactive decay events, in which an unstable atom releases one or more particles. By building up data from many individual decays, researchers can then identify which unstable atoms, known as radionuclides, produce the events.
The first results of the ETH Zurich and ANSTO collaboration focused on silicon carbide (SiC) devices have been reported in two publications.
Dr. Corinna Martinella, formerly a senior scientist at ETH Zurich, said in a LinkedIn post that the research advances an understanding of the basic mechanisms of radiation damage in SiC power devices exposed to heavy ions.
An article in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science describes the testing of how commercial silicon carbide (SiC) power devices, including MOSFETs and Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes, respond to space-like radiation at a microscopic level.
Managing radioactive waste is one of the core challenges in the use of nuclear energy. In particular, radioactive iodine poses serious environmental and health risks due to its long half-life (15.7 million years in the case of I-129), high mobility, and toxicity to living organisms.
A Korean research team has successfully used artificial intelligence to discover a new material that can remove iodine for nuclear environmental remediation. The team plans to push forward with commercialization through various industry–academia collaborations, from iodine-adsorbing powders to contaminated water treatment filters.
Professor Ho Jin Ryu’s research team from the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Juhwan Noh of the Digital Chemistry Research Center at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, developed a technique using AI to discover new materials that effectively remove radioactive iodine contaminants. Their research is published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.
