The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — a government-funded University research effort to turn particle fusion into a harnessable source of energy — has created a Website to explain plasma physics in laymen's terms.
The site, called the Internet Plasma Physics Education eXperience, is geared toward the general public, according to PPPL Science Education Program lead scientist Andrew Zwicker.
Designed to be comprehensible to students at the middle school level, teh Website has been used by college students and even physicists for research purposes.
The site was created by a team that includes University physicists. and computer experts, along with high school science teachers.
The Website is used in classrooms around the country and has been featured in recent NASA and PBS documentaries, Zwicker said.
Zwicker explained PPPL's long-term goal is to harness fusion — the source of the sun's energy — to produce electricity on earth.
The lab conducts experiments at extremely high heat. "We are talking about temperatures inside our reactor hotter than the center of the sun," Zwicker said.
He added the primary challenge the lab faces is to contain the massive release of energy which results from a fusion reaction.
Though common in outer space, such reactions have yet been used productively by humans. "We are fighting nature here, when it comes down to it," Zwicker said. "Nature doesn't want us to do this on earth."
The Website offers users the opportunity to simulate these reactions online, using an interactive "virtual fusion reactor" developed by a Princeton physicist.
In addition, several other interactive models give visitors the chance to learn about the fusion process.
These interactive features are based on Shockwave technology, and can be viewed from any Web browser, Zwicker said.
Another feature, which is currently being added to the site, will let visitors see the actual data from PPPL's reactor, allowing users to perform their own analyses of the precise observations made by the high-tech equipment at the lab.
Alongside this published content, the site offers visitors a link they can follow to contact a PPPL physicist.
The site can be accessed online at ippex.pppl.gov/ippex.
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