The Physics Behind Fusion's Biggest Problem
Support From First Principles
Help us cover production costs and keep every episode free for everyone.
Instability of current sheets and formation of plasmoid chains
Imagine you have two rubber bands stretched in opposite directions, and suddenly they snap back together. In space, magnetic field lines can do something similar - they can break apart and reconnect in explosive events. Scientists thought this happened in one smooth process, but this research shows it's actually much messier. Instead of one clean reconnection, the magnetic field lines become unstable and form a chain of smaller "bubbles" or islands (called plasmoids) that look like beads on a string. This happens much faster than scientists previously thought, and the number of these bubbles depends on how strong the magnetic field is. It's like instead of two rubber bands snapping together once, they create a whole chain of smaller snaps that happen very quickly.
Black Hole Movies, Digital Heart Twins, and World Cup Tech
From an Earth-sized telescope imaging a changing black hole to digital heart surgery and World Cup sensor controversies, this rundown explores the science behind some of today’s most fascinating stories.
America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 2
Part two of our America 250 special traces American science from Sputnik to the AI age, covering Apollo, ARPANET, CRISPR, LIGO, mRNA vaccines, JWST, transformers, and the future of science funding.
America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1
Part one of our America 250 special traces the inventions, institutions, and scientific breakthroughs — from Franklin to Sputnik — that helped build the United States into a global scientific power.
The Physics of the World Cup: VAR, Smart Balls, and Soccer Aerodynamics
A World Cup special on the science behind the beautiful game, from VAR and smart-ball sensors to soccer ball aerodynamics, pitch engineering, and match momentum analytics.