Scientists simulate a stellar jet with a laser

[Drethon]

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology ... -jets.html

Sounds more like they are simulating it with plasma to me but... whoda thunk?

[jjohnson]

Cool! Here's where Space got the article: http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3500

I think that they (or the Space.com writer) are unaware of Peratt's experiments in the 80's along these lines, although I don't think that his work included plastic balls as targets, at that time. These guys are clearly using plasmas and say so. How the mainstream views their fooling around with electricity around stars will be interesting. -or not; it may be the same indifference. Alternately, it may be, "Mainstream physicists make original discoveries of plasma phenomena!" Interesting to see that they noted how easily lab plasma phenomena scale up to stellar and cosmic dimensions when dimensional ratios are similar.