The universe in laboratories: how plasma balls can help researchers understand what is the nature of the universe.

"How It Works: A proton (far left) from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator at CERN impinges on carbon nuclei (small gray spheres). This produces a shower of various elementary particles, including a large number of neutral pions (orange spheres). As the unstable neutral pions decay, they emit two high-energy gamma rays (yellow squiggly arrows). " (ScitechDaily, Mini-Universe in a Lab: Creating “Cosmic Fireballs” on Earth)

These gamma rays then interact with the electric field of Tantalum nuclei (large gray spheres), generating electron and positron pairs and resulting in the novel electron-positron fireball plasma. Because of these cascade effects, a single proton can generate many electrons and positrons, making this process of pair plasma production extremely efficient. Credit: University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics illustration / Heather Palmer" (ScitechDaily, Mini-Universe in a Lab: Creating “Cosmic Fireballs” on Earth)

The universe is full of plasma. Very thin, but at the same time, high energy ionized particles. That plasma is sometimes introduced to be key to dark matter. In some other suggestions, the standing waves between those ions and anions can behave like "real" material". The idea is that those standing waves reflect radiation. In dark matter theories, the key element is: what puts gravity waves on the move? 

And in dark energy theories, the key element is: what moves that energy? In some theoretical models, dark energy is the result of the universe's expansion. The idea is that energy travels out from the universe. And that forms the energy ditches or energy shadows near the particles or superstrings. 

And those energy shadows collect energy into them. That forms the denser energy point in the quantum field. Or maybe the dark energy forms when energy that particles send reflects from standing waves. The thing is that when a particle travels in quantum fields, it forms whirls behind it. And maybe those whirls play some role in gravity and dark energy. 

The idea is that laboratory plasma is interesting. The system creates antimatter by shooting protons through carbon and tantalum layers. That process is introduced in the image above this text. The same system can used in the pulsed-plasma rocket engines. 

In other more complicated systems, the ion cannon shoots high-energy protons through a plasma cloud that the electron-positron collision forms. That interaction gives data about the channels and the whirls that can open ports to things like dark interactions in the universe. 

Antimatter-plasma rockets can transport manned or unmanned spacecraft through the solar systems. 

But those plasma systems can also simulate new pulsed plasma engines. In some hypothetical antimatter engines, electrons and positrons impact the combustion chambers. The ion cannon shoots hydrogen ions and protons through the carbon. The ion cannon shoots protons or electrons through that plasma cloud. The purpose of that kind of ions is to expand the plasma and increase thrust. 

The pulsed plasma engine systems can also make it possible to send probes to the outer solar system in real time. Even if we cannot make manned missions to other planets, we can send unmanned, AI-controlled probes into Uranus and Neptune in a shorter time. The thing is that maybe manned missions in solar systems are not necessary because AI-controlled probes can make those missions. The problem with the solar system missions is enormous distances. 

We can't expect that some people reserve 20 years of their life for some Saturn missions. So, the unmanned probes are alternative solutions. The flight time to the outer solar system must be shorter. And that gives researchers the freedom to choose the targets for those missions. And that requires new types of engines. 

https://scitechdaily.com/mini-universe-in-a-lab-creating-cosmic-fireballs-on-earth/