Scientists Recreate Exploding Star Using Lasers

Scientists Use Lasers To Create A Supernova

If ever there's a phrase that needed to be said it's: 'Exploding star using lasers'. Thankfully scientists at Oxford University heard our calls and have done just that.

The experiment is part of a study to find out more about what happens after a supernova explodes. Whilst scientists understand why and how, they've been struggling to understand why they leave such bizarre patterns of gas and dust.

To help gain a better understanding the scientists, led by Professor Gianluca Gregori, decided to recreate a supernova in their own labs.

This process involved taking a carbon rod (slightly thicker than a human hair) and then superheating it with lasers in a chamber filled with argon gas.

The carbon rod was then heated to over a million degrees until it finally explodes, allowing the scientists to watch the after-effects.

So what did they find? Well it turns out when supernovas explode they create their own magnetic fields, with the blast radius then greatly increasing their strength. Gregori and his team believes this could go some way to explaining how magnetic fields were first created.

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