The findings revealed that, following strong heating and compression, at least three out of four electrons in beryllium transitioned into conducting states, that is, they can move independent from the nuclear cores of the atoms. The highly compressed metal shell (made of beryllium) was then analysed using X-rays to reveal its density, temperature, and electron structure. As the outside of the shell rapidly expanded due to the heating, the inside was driven inwards - reaching temperatures around two million kelvins (1.9m degrees Celsius) and pressures up to three billion atmospheres - creating a tiny piece of matter as found in dwarf stars for just a few nanoseconds. ![]() They focused 184 laser beams on a cavity, converting the laser energy into X-rays that heated a 2mm metal shell placed in the centre. The international research team used NIF to generate the extreme conditions necessary for pressure-driven ionisation. They investigated the properties and behaviour of matter under extreme compression, offering important implications for astrophysics and nuclear fusion research. Through their research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), US, the team provide new insights on the complex process of pressure-driven ionisation in giant planets and stars. In a new experiment published today in Nature, scientists have done just that using the largest and most energetic laser in the world, the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The only way to study this complex process in the laboratory is to dynamically compress matter to extreme densities which requires very large energy inputs in a very short time. Progress in this grand scientific challenge relies heavily on numerical modelling and the ionisation balance in high-pressure systems is of central importance. This process has been heralded as an unlimited, carbon free energy source - by using large excess energy generated by the fusion reactions to generate electricity. ![]() However, this process is not well understood, and the extreme states of matter required are very difficult to create in the laboratory limiting the predictive power required to model celestial objects.Įxtreme conditions also occur in laser-driven fusion experiments where hydrogen atoms are fused under high pressures and temperatures to helium, a heavier element. While ionisation in burning stars is primarily determined by temperature, pressure-driven ionization dominates in cooler stellar objects. ![]() The material properties of such matter are mostly determined by the degree of ionisation of the atoms. The extreme pressures generated are strong enough to charge of atoms and generate free electrons, in a process known as ionisation. Matter in the interior of giant planets and some relatively cool stars is highly compressed by the weight of the layers above.
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