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----------------------------- 2387 - LIGHT - how light moves particles.
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- Albert Einstein put his theory on paper in 1909. That was one hundred years ago today, on May 29, 1919, measurements of a solar eclipse offered verification for Einstein's theory of general relativity.
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- The theory of special relativity showed that particles of light, photons, travel through a vacuum at a constant pace of 670,616,629 miles per hour. Yet all across space, from black holes to our near-Earth environment, particles are, in fact, being accelerated to incredible speeds, some even reaching 99.9% the speed of light.
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- To better understand how these particles are accelerated. We need to learn how these superfast, or relativistic, particles can affect missions exploring the solar system, traveling to the Moon. They can teach us more about our galactic neighborhood.
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- A well-aimed near-light-speed particle can trip onboard electronics and too many at once could have negative radiation effects on space-faring astronauts as they travel to the Moon or beyond.
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- Acceleration of these particles happens in three ways:.
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-------------------------------- 1. Electromagnetic Fields
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- Most of the processes that accelerate particles to relativistic speeds work with electromagnetic fields. The two components, electric and magnetic fields work together to accelerate particles to relativistic speeds throughout the universe.
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- In essence, electromagnetic fields accelerate charged particles because the particles feel a force in an electromagnetic field that pushes them along, similar to how gravity pulls at objects with mass. In the right conditions, electromagnetic fields can accelerate particles at near-light-speed.
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- On Earth, electric fields are often specifically harnessed on smaller scales to speed up particles in laboratories. Particle accelerators, like the Large Hadron Collider and Fermilab, use pulsed electromagnetic fields to accelerate charged particles up to 99.99999896% the speed of light.
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- At these speeds, the particles can be smashed together to produce collisions with immense amounts of energy. This allows scientists to look for elementary particles and understand what the universe was like in the very first fractions of a second after the Big Bang.
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--------------------------------- 2. Magnetic Explosions
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- Magnetic fields are everywhere in space, encircling Earth and spanning the solar system. They even guide charged particles moving through space, which spiral around the fields.
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- When these magnetic fields run into each other, they can become tangled. When the tension between the crossed lines becomes too great, the lines explosively snap and realign in a process known as magnetic reconnection.
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- The rapid change in a region's magnetic field creates electric fields, which causes all the attendant charged particles to be flung away at high speeds. Scientists suspect magnetic reconnection is one way that particles are accelerated to relativistic speeds. The solar wind is the constant stream of charged particles from the sun.
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- Those particles also create a variety of side-effects near planets. Magnetic reconnection occurs close to us at points where the sun's magnetic field pushes against Earth's magnetosphere, our protective magnetic environment.
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- When magnetic reconnection occurs on the side of Earth facing away from the sun, the particles can be hurled into Earth's upper atmosphere where they spark the auroras, for us the Northern Lights. Magnetic reconnection is also thought to be responsible around other planets like Jupiter and Saturn.
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- Huge, invisible explosions are constantly occurring in the space around Earth. These explosions are the result of twisted magnetic fields that snap and realign, shooting particles across space.
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- NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft were designed and built to focus on understanding all aspects of magnetic reconnection. Using four identical spacecraft, the mission flies around Earth to catch magnetic reconnection in action. The results of the analyzed data can help scientists understand particle acceleration at relativistic speeds around Earth and across the universe.
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------------------------------ 3. Wave-Particle Interactions
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- Particles can be accelerated by interactions with electromagnetic waves. When electromagnetic waves collide, their fields can become compressed. Charged particles bouncing back and forth between the waves can gain energy similar to a ball bouncing between two merging walls.
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- These types of interactions are constantly occurring in near-Earth space and are responsible for accelerating particles to speeds that can damage electronics on spacecraft and satellites in space. NASA missions, the Van Allen Probes, help scientists understand these wave-particle interactions.
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- Wave-particle interactions are also thought to be responsible for accelerating some cosmic rays that originate outside our solar system. After a supernova explosion, a hot, dense shell of compressed gas called a blast wave is ejected away from the stellar core. Filled with magnetic fields and charged particles, wave-particle interactions in these bubbles can launch high-energy cosmic rays at 99.6% the speed of light.
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- Wave-particle interactions are likely partially responsible for accelerating the solar wind and cosmic rays from the sun.
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- 100 years after Einstein’s theory we still have a lot more to learn about electromagnetic radiation.
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- June 1, 2019
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--------------------- May 30, 2019 ---------------------
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