Mayonnaise helped scientists study thermonuclear fusion

A group of scientists from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania has been using ordinary mayonnaise for the last few years to simulate the instability of plasma at the interface. Its behavior quite accurately simulates the physics of fuel capsules during an inertial controlled thermonuclear fusion reaction. The new work of scientists is devoted to the study of plasma instability phases based on observations of the behavior of mayonnaise on a stand.

Image source: AI generation Kandinsky 3.0/3DNews

As is known, inertial controlled thermonuclear fusion relies on hitting a fuel capsule in the center of a target with lasers (or electric current). About two years ago, at the NIF installation in the United States, for the first time, they obtained more energy output than was needed to start a thermonuclear reaction. However, the reaction of bombarding a capsule with deuterium-tritium fuel does not always go smoothly. It may explode before the plasma has time to react. Some of the fuel manages to turn into gas (plasma), while some remains in a liquid state. Mayonnaise allows you to recreate similar processes that can be analyzed in a simplified and safe manner without conducting expensive experiments.

«

«We use mayonnaise because it behaves like a solid product, but when exposed to a pressure difference, it begins to flow, the authors of the work explain. “Using the sauce also eliminates the need for high temperatures and pressure, which are extremely difficult to control.”

For their mayonnaise experiments, the researchers created a custom-made, one-of-a-kind spinning wheel to simulate plasma flow conditions. As soon as the acceleration exceeded a critical value, the mayonnaise began to flow. In particular, scientists found that mayonnaise went through several phase states even before the onset of instability. As force was applied to it, it became pliable and then entered a stable plastic phase. At the next stage of exposure, the mayonnaise began to flow, and it was then that instability arose.

Understanding the transition between the elastic phase and the stable plastic phase is critical, the scientists say, because knowing when plastic deformation begins can tell researchers when instability will set in. In the new work, the scientists tried to control the state of mayonnaise so that it remained within this elastic or stable plastic phase. In other words, so that the “plasma” remains in a stable state and does not threaten an uncontrolled explosion of the fuel capsule.

The work helped measure the conditions for restoring plasma to a steady state, making it the first work in the world on this topic. Another question is how to correlate the results obtained with mayonnaise with real plasma in a thermonuclear reactor? Scientists do not yet have a clear answer to this. But they are working on it.