For the first time, scientists have obtained images of a rare plasma instability, capturing high-energy electron beams forming into spaghetti-like filaments.

This breakthrough was achieved by researchers at the Imperial College London. They provided crucial insights into a phenomenon that impacts plasma-based particle accelerators and fusion energy research. The researchers utilized a high-intensity infrared laser to generate and then image a “Weibel-like current” instability.

Plasma is a super-hot mixture of charged particles. It can experience instabilities when particle flow varies. This causes some particles to clump together into thin filaments. These filaments generate magnetic fields that further destabilize the plasma. This process can disrupt important applications like triggering fusion.

Dr. Nicholas Dover is a research fellow at Imperial College London and the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science. He said, “The reason we are particularly interested in instabilities is because they tend to mess up the applications, like injecting energy into plasma to trigger fusion. Normally, we want to avoid instabilities, but to do that we need to understand them in the first place.”

The experiment involved firing a high-intensity laser into a stationary plasma, creating a high-energy electron beam. Instead of passing smoothly, the beam disrupted the plasma, triggering fluctuations that caused electrons to clump into thin filaments. This process further destabilized the plasma in a “snowball effect” of magnetic field generation.

Scientists have long inferred this instability, however, directly observing it has been a serious challenge. This study marks the first successful capture of images of this phenomenon in a laboratory.

The research team is a collaboration between Imperial College London’s John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Stony Brook University, and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Their study utilized two synchronized lasers.

The two lasers consisted of a unique high-intensity, long-wave infrared laser at Brookhaven’s Accelerator Test Facility and a shorter wavelength optical probe laser.

The infrared laser created the electron beam, and the optical laser captured images of the instability. The long-wave infrared laser allowed researchers to control energy deposition in the plasma. This enabled observation with the visible laser probe. This accomplishment is typically difficult with standard lasers due to plasma density.

The plasma in this research was generated using gas targets, allowing precise tuning of plasma density. Adjusting the density allowed researchers to study how filament size changed, resulting in unprecedented close-up images of the instability. Dr. Dover added, “We were really amazed by how good the photographs were because with optical lasers, it’s really hard to take nice photographs of the plasma.”

Brookhaven’s Accelerator Test Facility intends to upgrade the optical laser to enable clearer, more precise images in shorter time intervals. This change will allow real-time observation of laser-plasma interactions.

Professor Zulfikar Najmudin is the Deputy Director of the John Adams Institute. He emphasizes the potential of this research, noting that achieving ten million electron volt energy levels in such a small gas target is virtually unheard of in other interactions.

The findings of this research can have a major impact on ongoing fusion research. Plasma stability is one of the most critical requirements for sustaining nuclear fusion reactions and generating power.

The current fusion world record is for twenty-two-minute plasma stability. It was recently set by France at the Tungsten (chemical symbol “W”) Environment in Steady-state Tokamak (WEST) reactor. Now, scientists across the world are trying to increase the duration of plasma stability to develop nuclear fusion for commercial use.

Imperial College London

Nuclear power expansion is on the mind of the Texas Legislature, and now a priority bill has been filed in the lower chamber with the intention of jumpstarting the state’s small modular reactor (SMR) footprint.

State Representative Cody Harris (R-Palestine) filed House Bill (HB) 14, the “Texas Advanced Nuclear Deployment Act,” which would create an agency within the Office of the Governor tasked with attracting advanced nuclear power projects and facilitating their movement through the approval process.

It also details the disbursement of state funds for the reimbursement of certain costs incurred, such as for technology development, design and siting, permitting work, and construction work. The third tier of the funding is the drawn from the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Fund, a per-megawatt financial award for those who build and operate a SMR. The proposal would also provide for a completion bonus similar to that associated with the Texas Energy Fund (TEF).

Harris said, “The purpose of House Bill 14 is to make Texas the nuclear Capital of the world. The United States must win the nuclear renaissance. It is imperative that the United States become the leader in the development of advanced nuclear technology and the exporter of that technology to the developing world — not Russia or China. Stimulating the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors in Texas will not only bring needed safe, reliable energy to the State of Texas, but also make Texas a worldwide leader in nuclear development.”

The nuclear industry believes that SMR technology has solved the economic problem that caused a decades-long stagnation of the nuclear power industry in America, making a return on investment easier to achieve both in cost and construction time.

Many parties seem bullish on this shakeup of the nuclear game, so much so that Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared in his 2025 State of the State address that “It’s time for Texas to lead a nuclear power renaissance in the United States.”

Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said, “Texas is the energy capital of the world, and we are ready to lead a nuclear power renaissance in the United States. By utilizing advanced nuclear energy, Texas will enhance the reliability of the state grid and provide affordable, dispatchable power to Texans across the state. Governor Abbott looks forward to reviewing any nuclear deployment bill that the legislature sends to his desk.”

Reed Clay is the President of the Texas Nuclear Alliance. He said, “House Bill 14 would represent the biggest step taken by any state in the United States to deploy advanced nuclear reactors. The creation of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Program will bring reliable, dispatchable power to Texas and ensure Texas’ place as the economic hub for the future of nuclear. The Texas Nuclear Alliance applauds Representative Harris, Speaker Burrows, and Gov. Abbott for their leadership on this issue and for recognizing the immense potential nuclear power has to keep Texas strong, prosperous and secure.”

The blueprint differs from that which was filed by state Senator Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) and state Representative Drew Darby (R-San Angelo), who chairs the Energy Resources Committee, that’s intended to achieve the same general objective.

One difference is that under the Harris’ plan, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) is charged with depositing money from the TEF into the nuclear fund. Parker and Darby’s version does not include transfer of funds to the TEF.

Given the low number of the bill, Harris’ legislation appears to be the preferred version in the lower chamber. And differences over details aside, both chambers are ready to pass something that creates a nuclear power regulatory authority.

The program is scheduled to expire on September 1^st, 2040.

Texas Office of the Governor