The super water heater that heats water from 0 to 100 degrees in a tenth of a picosecond

    The super water heater that heats water from 0 to 100 degrees in a tenth of a picosecond

    It is undoubtedly the fastest water heater in the world. It reaches 100 degrees Celsius in less than a tenth of a picosecond. The latter is one thousandth of a billionth of a second. A time so short that it is difficult even to imagine


    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    It is undoubtedly the fastest water heater in the world. It reaches 100 degrees Celsius in less than a tenth of a picosecond. The latter is one thousandth of a billionth of a second. A time so short that it is difficult even to imagine.




    A team of scientists led by Carl Caleman of the Center for Free-electron Laser Science at DESY and Sweden's Uppsala University succeeded in this feat. Researchers have turned a powerful X-ray laser into the fastest "water heater" in the world, reaching 100.000 degrees Celsius in less than a tenth of a picosecond.

    The experiment produced an "exotic" state of water, from which researchers hope to learn more about the characteristics of Earth's most important liquid.

    Scientists used lasers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States to produce extremely intense, ultra-short X-rays in a jet of water.

    “It's not the usual way to boil your water. Normally, when you heat water, the molecules will simply be shaken harder. At the molecular level, heat is movement. This can be achieved, for example, through the transfer of heat from a stove or directly with microwaves that make the water molecules oscillate back and forth faster and faster in step with the electromagnetic field " explains Caleman.

    The warming produced during the study was different. The high-energy X-rays pierced the electrons of the water molecules, thus destroying the balance of electrical charges. At that point, suddenly the atoms feel a strong repulsive force and start moving violently. In less than 75 femtoseconds, or 75 millionths of a billionth of a second, water changes from liquid to plasma. The latter is considered the fourth state of matter, in which electrons are removed from atoms, leading to a kind of electrically charged gas.

    "But as it transforms from liquid to plasma, it still remains at the density of liquid water, as the atoms don't have time to move significantly," said co-author Olof Jönsson of the University of Uppsala.



    This exotic state of water is nothing that can be found naturally on Earth. It has similar characteristics to the plasma of the sun and the gas giant Jupiter, but has a lower density. Furthermore, it is warmer than the core of the Earth.

    "Water is really a strange liquid, and if it weren't for its unique characteristics, many things on Earth would not be the way they are, especially life," Jönsson said.

    This is only the first part of the experiment. In the future, scientists will seek to learn more about the general properties of water and the many anomalies, including thermal conductivity and density, all of which are important for life on Earth. But not only. While scaling this type of technology will take some time, thinking of heating water to very high temperatures in the blink of an eye opens up a wide range of applications in terms of energy saving.



    READ also:

    • 10 green solutions to purify water and make it drinkable

    Francesca Mancuso

    add a comment of The super water heater that heats water from 0 to 100 degrees in a tenth of a picosecond
    Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.