🔥180,000°F super-hot plasma test, drones produce 30 swimming pools of rain, $340,000 hidden treasure discovered by hikers

US researchers have revealed that heat does not flow as expected between different materials when they are in a super-hot, ultra-dense state known as high-energy-density plasma.

The experiment was conducted using the powerful Omega-60 laser at the University of Rochester. It showcased that even at a staggering 180,000 degrees Fahrenheit, heat struggles to move between different materials in a high-energy-density plasma state.

The findings challenge previous assumptions about how heat behaves in environments similar to those found inside stars and planetary cores, or created in experiments aiming for laser-driven fusion ignition. Dive deeper into this Must-Read.

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MUST-READ

🔥 US shakes up fusion research with 180,000°F super-hot plasma test

This research marks the first time scientists have directly observed the limited heat flow between materials under such extreme conditions.

Led by physicist Thomas White from the University of Nevada, Reno, and his former doctoral student Cameron Allen, the study focused on the interface between metal (tungsten) and plastic subjected to intense heat and pressure generated by X-rays from laser-heated copper foils.

“Understanding how energy flows across a boundary is a fundamental question, and this work provides us with new insights into how this happens in the exceptionally energy-dense environments that one finds inside of stars and planetary cores,” noted Jeremiah Williams, a program director for the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Plasma Physics program.

🌧️ China tests drones to make it rain over drought-prone Xinjiang

Chinese government scientists have released results from a weather modification experiment in Xinjiang, where a fleet of cloud-seeding drones boosted rainfall by over 4% across more than 3,089 square miles in a single day.

The operation produced more than 18.5 million gallons of additional precipitation—enough to fill 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools, each 6.5 feet deep—using just 2.2 pounds of silver iodide, a common cloud-seeding compound.

This amount of powder, six times denser than water, is small enough to fit in a travel mug, the South China Morning Post reported.

💰$340,000 hidden treasure, 598 gold coins discovered in Czech by hikers

In a remarkable discovery, museum experts have confirmed that two hikers in the Czech Republic recently stumbled upon a significant cache of gold coins weighing 15 pounds and estimated to be worth $340,000.

The Museum of East Bohemia announced via its Facebook page the acquisition of an extraordinary collection of wealth unearthed from a concealed location on the edge of an overgrown forest in the Czech Republic.

During a leisurely tourist walk along the southern side of Zvičina Hill, the two hikers noticed an aluminum jar partially exposed in a shaft.

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