X-ray laser boils water into strange plasma state hotter than Earth's core

[Judi Lynn]

PHYSICS
Michael Irving
9 minutes ago

Waiting for water to boil is a minor inconvenience that we've all experienced, but maybe we're just using the wrong tools. Instead of a kettle, next time try the world's most powerful X-ray laser, which has now been used to boil water to 100,000° C (180,000° F) in 75 millionths of a billionth of a second – turning it into a new, plasma-like state of water in the process.

The device that can now also claim the title of world's fastest water heater is the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), a laser that fires incredibly intense X-ray pulses with enough energy to cut through steel. In the past, the LCLS has been used to image viruses, create a "molecular black hole", make it rain diamonds and recreate the conditions at the center of a star.

This time, researchers from the German Electron Synchrotron ( DESY) and Uppsala University focused that intense energy onto one of the strangest substances in the universe – water. The team was aiming to learn more about this life-giving liquid, and the different phases it can exist in. Normally, heating water increases the motion of its molecules, but the LCLS took a more aggressive approach.

"Our heating is fundamentally different," says Carl Caleman, lead researcher on the study. "The energetic X-rays punch electrons out of the water molecules, thereby destroying the balance of electric charges. So, suddenly the atoms feel a strong repulsive force and start to move violently."

More:
https://newatlas.com/xray-laser-boil-water-plasma/54627/