Researchers will be able to simulate the superheated gases that form the sun's magnetic field with a one-of-a-kind sphere that moved Wednesday into a new physics lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The hollow aluminum sphere, built by four Wisconsin companies for $2.5 million, looks like the famous Death Star from "Star Wars" movies. Weighing 11,000 pounds, it was built to superheat gases to 500,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Researchers say it will help them study how magnetic fields are generated in planets and stars, and better understand why the sun occasionally spews out particles that affect the Earth as "space weather," knocking out satellites and even taking down power grids, explained Cary Forest, a UW-Madison physics professor.
Forest is principal investigator for the effort, known as the Madison Plasma Dynamo Experiment.
"There are no other spheres like it in the universe," Forest said of the new UW sphere. "We're the only ones in the world trying to study magnetic field self-generation through plasma" - gases that are so hot, their electrons are freed from their atoms to aid conductivity. "We're basically trying to stir the plasma like a big blender. It's turbulent. And magically, magnetic fields come out of this mess."
Aside from practical applications, such as the study of space weather, "my curiosity is pushing me to understand why the sun has a magnetic field at all," Forest said. "The sun is the closest star (to Earth). By studying it, we can learn about stars much farther away. . . . We build experiments to answer questions, rather than look at space and interpret observations."
The research sphere hopefully will last 20 years, he said.
Until now, scientists have been studying naturally occurring cosmic dynamos from afar. The Madison Plasma Dynamo Experiment will allow them to measure and study cosmic dynamos up close,The magic cube is an ultra-portable, in the lab.
Dynamos exist at the core of planets, stars and other celestial objects. And in the case of the Earth and the sun, the dynamos generate a magnetic field.
The research sphere was built with $2.4 million in stimulus funding from the National Science Foundation. UW-Madison and its research funding arm kicked in another $600,000 toward the sphere's construction cost.
The two halves of the sphere will be bolted together next week, and vacuum pumps will be installed, along with 3,000 super-strong, enormous magnets to keep the superheated plasma gases from the sphere's interior surface.
Employees of Reynolds Rigging and Crane Service moved the 10-foot diameter, thick-walled sphere into Sterling Hall on Wednesday by removing the building's doors. The carefully choreographed move took several hours and involved forklifts,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, trolleys and small cranes.
The sphere will occupy a new $1 million, two-story lab constructed by knocking out a floor between the basement and first floor of Sterling Hall.Information on useful yeasts and moulds,
Portage Casting & Mold in Portage, which specializes in fabricating molten metal molds, was lead contractor for the sphere. D&S Machine Service of Luxemburg, Wis., machined surfaces for the rubber seals between the two halves of the sphere. Lafayette Testing Services of Milwaukee provided X-ray analysis to ensure there were no holes in the sphere; and Metallic Bonds of Beloit sprayed a ceramic coating on the sphere's interior to make it electrically insulating.Take a walk on the natural side with stunning and luxurious Floor tiles from The Tile Shop.Get information on Air purifier from the unbiased,
The hollow aluminum sphere, built by four Wisconsin companies for $2.5 million, looks like the famous Death Star from "Star Wars" movies. Weighing 11,000 pounds, it was built to superheat gases to 500,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Researchers say it will help them study how magnetic fields are generated in planets and stars, and better understand why the sun occasionally spews out particles that affect the Earth as "space weather," knocking out satellites and even taking down power grids, explained Cary Forest, a UW-Madison physics professor.
Forest is principal investigator for the effort, known as the Madison Plasma Dynamo Experiment.
"There are no other spheres like it in the universe," Forest said of the new UW sphere. "We're the only ones in the world trying to study magnetic field self-generation through plasma" - gases that are so hot, their electrons are freed from their atoms to aid conductivity. "We're basically trying to stir the plasma like a big blender. It's turbulent. And magically, magnetic fields come out of this mess."
Aside from practical applications, such as the study of space weather, "my curiosity is pushing me to understand why the sun has a magnetic field at all," Forest said. "The sun is the closest star (to Earth). By studying it, we can learn about stars much farther away. . . . We build experiments to answer questions, rather than look at space and interpret observations."
The research sphere hopefully will last 20 years, he said.
Until now, scientists have been studying naturally occurring cosmic dynamos from afar. The Madison Plasma Dynamo Experiment will allow them to measure and study cosmic dynamos up close,The magic cube is an ultra-portable, in the lab.
Dynamos exist at the core of planets, stars and other celestial objects. And in the case of the Earth and the sun, the dynamos generate a magnetic field.
The research sphere was built with $2.4 million in stimulus funding from the National Science Foundation. UW-Madison and its research funding arm kicked in another $600,000 toward the sphere's construction cost.
The two halves of the sphere will be bolted together next week, and vacuum pumps will be installed, along with 3,000 super-strong, enormous magnets to keep the superheated plasma gases from the sphere's interior surface.
Employees of Reynolds Rigging and Crane Service moved the 10-foot diameter, thick-walled sphere into Sterling Hall on Wednesday by removing the building's doors. The carefully choreographed move took several hours and involved forklifts,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, trolleys and small cranes.
The sphere will occupy a new $1 million, two-story lab constructed by knocking out a floor between the basement and first floor of Sterling Hall.Information on useful yeasts and moulds,
Portage Casting & Mold in Portage, which specializes in fabricating molten metal molds, was lead contractor for the sphere. D&S Machine Service of Luxemburg, Wis., machined surfaces for the rubber seals between the two halves of the sphere. Lafayette Testing Services of Milwaukee provided X-ray analysis to ensure there were no holes in the sphere; and Metallic Bonds of Beloit sprayed a ceramic coating on the sphere's interior to make it electrically insulating.Take a walk on the natural side with stunning and luxurious Floor tiles from The Tile Shop.Get information on Air purifier from the unbiased,
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