X-Ray Laser For Creating Supercharged Particles

William Robinson writes "Scientists have found way to use X-Ray Lasers to create supercharged particles. The specific tuning of the laser's properties can cause atoms and molecules to resonate. The resonance excites the atoms and causes them to shake off electrons at a rate that otherwise would require higher energies. This could be used to create highly charged plasma."

Re:Sorry but this sounds like non-news to me

[The Master Control P]

This isn't "heating atoms by making them enter resonance." It's, ah, one of those details that GP was talking about. The part where the inner electrons of large atoms follow many and complicated multi-photon-absorbtion paths to being ionized, which extremely high-spin orbitals as well as a near continuum of high-laying Rydberg orbitals, which mean that slight changes in pulse length, shaping, and frequency will be able to have a large effect on ionization rates.

Let me give you a hint: If there's a paper being published in Nature about it, they probably did not, in fact, "just, like, change the dial, man."

Re:IANAP

[Anonymous Coward]

I am not a theorical phycisist... Would it help achieve achieve sustainable fusion? What applications do this new cool tech can provide? Thanks to the boffins around for your time.

An example for applciation: High charged particles are used for ion-beam radiotherapy in the fight against cancer. There are no known side-effects like at chemotherapy, but of course you cannot use the beam for every type of cancer. Unfortunately, the acutal beam of high chared particles needs an particle-accelerator which dimensons surpasses any garage. The new tech could probaly shrink the size of an ion generator, which would help to spreade the therapy with ions more to compensate the common x-ray radiotherapy with its bad collateral damage. (see Bragg-Peak)