Scientists Explore How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Cosmos

Plasmas Stream To Form Large-Scale Electromagnetic Fields

Plasmas stream from the top and bottom to form large-scale electromagnetic fields. Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

A newly published paper details how scientists created a model for exploring how electromagnetic fields help organize ionized gas in astrophysical settings, giving scientists a new way to explore how order emerges from chaos in the cosmos.

One of the unsolved mysteries of contemporary science is how highly organized structures can emerge from the random motion of particles. This applies to many situations ranging from astrophysical objects that extend over millions of light years to the birth of life on Earth.

The surprising discovery of self-organized electromagnetic fields in counter-streaming ionized gases (also known as plasmas) will give scientists a new way to explore how order emerges from chaos in the cosmos. This breakthrough finding was published online in the journal, Nature Physics on September 30.

“We’ve created a model for exploring how electromagnetic fields help organize ionized gas or plasma in astrophysical settings, such as in the plasma flows that emerge from young stars,” said lead author Nathan Kugland, a postdoctoral researcher in the High Energy Density Science Group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). “These fields help shape the flows, and likely play a supporting role alongside gravity in the formation of solar systems, which can eventually lead to the creation of planets like the Earth.”

“This observation was completely unexpected, since the plasmas move so quickly that they should freely stream past each other,” explained Hye-Sook Park, team leader and staff physicist at LLNL. Park added that “laser-driven plasma experiments can study the microphysics of plasma interaction and structure formation under controlled conditions.”

Studying astrophysics with laboratory experiments can help answer questions about astrophysical objects that are far beyond the reach of direct measurements. This research is being carried out as part of a large international collaboration, Astrophysical Collisionless Shock Experiments with Lasers (ACSEL), led by LLNL, Princeton University, Osaka University, and Oxford University, with many other universities participating.

Reference: “Self-organized electromagnetic field structures in laser-produced counter-streaming plasmas” by N. L. Kugland, D. D. Ryutov, P-Y. Chang, R. P. Drake, G. Fiksel, D. H. Froula, S. H. Glenzer, G. Gregori, M. Grosskopf, M. Koenig, Y. Kuramitsu, C. Kuranz, M. C. Levy, E. Liang, J. Meinecke, F. Miniati, T. Morita, A. Pelka, C. Plechaty, R. Presura, A. Ravasio, B. A. Remington, B. Reville, J. S. Ross, Y. Sakawa, A. Spitkovsky, H. Takabe and H-S. Park, 30 September 2012, Nature Physics.

This work was performed at the OMEGA EP laser by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Additional support was provided by the LDRD program and the International Collaboration for High Energy Density Science (ICHEDS), supported by the Core-to-Core Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The research leading to these results received funding from the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program.

8 Comments on "Scientists Explore How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Cosmos"

  1. Foolishness.. order CANNOT come from chaos.. what they are finding is the perfection of creation as Made By God in the beginning as He Said.. once He Was done He Said “It Is Finished” meaning nothing else would ever be created only continuing in What He Had already Started! Perfection!

    • Kenny… Who created God…?

      • No one created God. He is alpha and omega. Beginning and end.

      • Guarav… Where is the beginning of a circle…? … Who invented the solution of 2+2…? … What color is the number pi…? … What value is closest to infinity? … Who created God…? Whether you realize it or not, all of these questions are in the same category, namely, they are categorical errors. By definition: a circle has no beginning; 2+2 equals 4 whether man exists or not; numbers cannot be defined by a color (unless you’re talking about wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation); infinity is not a value, so no value can be close to it; and God does not have a beginning, end, or creator. If God were limited in any way by anything other than himself and who he has defined himself as, then it would be possible for something to create him. Instead, God is all-powerful (meaning every joule and newton and all spiritual force belongs to him) and all-knowing (meaning every datum, thought, and idea was created by him first) as well as a multitude of other things. Matter, energy, and data exist not because they are self-sustaining, but because Jesus “holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17b NLT).

  2. This report about order from chaos had 2 sentences which were striking. “One of the unsolved mysteries of contemporary science is how highly organized structures can emerge from the random motion of particles.” The word unsolved mysteries. And also“We’ve created a model for exploring how electromagnetic fields help organize ionized gas or plasma in astrophysical settings, such as in the plasma flows that emerge from young stars,” said lead author Nathan Kugland, a postdoctoral researcher in the High Energy Density Science Group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). “These fields help shape the flows, and likely play a supporting role alongside gravity in the formation of solar systems, which can eventually lead to the creation of planets like the Earth.”

    “This observation was completely unexpected, since the plasmas move so quickly that they should freely stream past each other,” explained Hye-Sook Park, team leader and staff physicist at LLNL. Park added that “laser-driven plasma experiments can study the microphysics of plasma interaction and structure formation under controlled conditions.”
    The words” we created” and the term” controlled” suggests there is a creator needed for order to come from chaos. BOOYA.

  3. How did the young stars get created that would give off the plasma that works with gravity to make these electromagnetic fields? In fact, where did gravity come from to help the electromagnetic fields to organize the plasma? Were there stars and gravity before the big bang?

  4. I agree with Kenny it’s like science constantly comes up with an explanation for everything…. what is dark energy science says Dark Energy exists but science can’t see it … how in the world can it make sense of that while at the same time saying that science cannot see God therefore he must not exist. Yeah right okay

  5. Interesting article, sad though to see so much religious nonsense in the comments

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