FLARE IS LAUNCHED: Notables from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), the U.S. Department of Energy, and Princeton University gathered at a ribbon cutting celebration for FLARE, PPPL’s new facility. PPPL Director Steve Cowley holds the big scissors aloft at center. (Photo by Michael Livingston / PPPL Communications Department)
By Donald Gilpin
Providing capabilities found nowhere else in the world as it probes the physics behind magnetic reconnection, the Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments (FLARE) is up and running at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).
Twelve feet long, nine feet in diameter, and weighing more than 10 tons, FLARE will help scientists at PPPL’s Forrestal Campus and around the world study what happens during magnetic reconnection, when magnetic field lines approach each other, snap apart, and then reattach in new configurations.
Described in a PPPL press release as “the next generation of research into fundamental plasma physics, FLARE will allow researchers to expand understanding of atmospheric disturbances that could damage satellites and power grids, and shed light on solar flares, the aurora borealis, and fusion plasma behavior.
“FLARE is a new research platform with capabilities that scientists have not had access to before,” said FLARE’s principal investigator Hantao Ji, who is a distinguished research fellow at PPPL and a professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University. “It will provide information about magnetic reconnection that spacecraft, computer simulations, and other laboratory experiments cannot provide. It’s a new way of doing research that goes beyond what is currently available.”
PPPL Director Steve Cowley expressed his enthusiasm for the new facility, as more than 50 people, including officials from DOE, Princeton University, and PPPL, gathered for the June 12 ribbon-cutting. “This is the day when we deliver FLARE to the world,” he said. “We have fulfilled our promise to design and build this one-of-a-kind device and offer it to the scientific community. I expect FLARE to produce important insights for plasma science in the coming years, and I just can’t wait.”
Ji went on to explain, “When it comes to magnetic reconnection, the conditions in FLARE match those in outer space more closely than any other device on Earth. Improving our understanding of magnetic reconnection can help predict related phenomena, such as solar flares and geomagnetic storms, to better protect satellites and electric grids, and the energy released by reconnection can be used to heat plasma for fusion purposes.”
FLARE is a DOE Office of Science Collaborative Research Facility, meaning that researchers from other institutions can request time on the machine to conduct their own experiments. Scientists from around the world can submit a research proposal and work with PPPL scientists, fostering long-term collaborations.
“FLARE matters to PPPL and the world, because it’s important for both astrophysical and fusion plasma studies,” said Ji. “This next-generation machine confirms that we are both a national and international leader in this research.”
The PPPL press release pointed out, “FLARE can store and unleash a prodigious amount of energy,” allowing it to gather information that even spacecraft cannot provide. It is also more accurate than high-powered computer simulations.
“Simulations aren’t real,” said Ji. “Instead they are trying to be real. They incorporate a lot of approximations, but because there are so many, lots of important physics is lost. And we don’t know whether the lost physics is important.”
He continued, “There is no way we can reproduce the full range of astrophysical conditions under which magnetic reconnection occurs without creating another universe. But the beauty of physics is that you don’t have to.” FLARE will allow scientists to explore the universe without leaving the lab.
DOE Associate Director for Fusion Energy Sciences Jean Paul Allain emphasized the importance of national laboratories like the PPPL and initiatives like FLARE. “Labs like PPPL can take big risks to build infrastructure that answers big questions,” he said. “FLARE is a perfect example.”
New Innovation Center
PPPL has also announced that it will be partnering with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the venture capital firm SOSV to create a new Strategic Innovation Center to advance plasma technologies with an eye toward commercial applications.
“Promoting industry collaboration and bringing new technologies to market,” according to a PPPL press release, the Center, NJ HAX Plasma Forge, will help launch and develop startups focused on plasma technology.
“PPPL brings world-class talent and capabilities and is uniquely positioned to drive innovation in the state and the nation,” said Cowley. “Partnering with SOSV and NJEDA will expand our scientific footprint, enabling our expertise to drive economic development and advance new technologies. This is an exciting new chapter for the Laboratory.”
The NJ HAX Plasma Forge innovation center will be located close to PPPL and will contain approximately 10,000 square feet of lab and co-working space.
NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan emphasized the collaborative nature of the initiative and the Importance of New Jersey as an innovation leader. “With the support of the NJEDA’s Strategic innovation Center initiative, entrepreneurs will be able to harness transformative advances in plasma research to create businesses that drive this exciting industry forward and further the state’s ambitious clean energy and energy resiliency goals,” he said.