This is the artificial sun that has just been 'born' in America

The plasma sphere at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is being used to better study our Sun.

The sun is about 1.4 million km in diameter, is a giant plasma sphere at the center of our solar system. Humans have studied the Sun for many millennia. We even sent probes to collect data from here.

One of the most intriguing aspects of studying the Sun is how its powerful magnetic fields affect the entire Solar System. To better understand this process, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA have built a "mini sun".

Big Red Ball is one of many scientific devices being used to study the basic properties of plasma.(Photo: University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Called the Big Red Ball , the machine is millions of times smaller than the actual Sun, only 3 meters wide and looks more like a human brain than a star.

Researchers pump helium gas into the sphere (available on the actual Sun) and turn it into plasma. A magnet in the center of the ball creates a magnetic field, when the current passes, the machine accurately simulates how plasma and the real Solar magnetic field work.

Plasma temperature in Big Red Ball can reach 150,000 degrees C. However. This plasma is less than 1 milligram of helium. It is not even enough to heat a stream of water.

The cathode ray tubes produce orange light inside the Big Red Ball.(Photo: University of Wisconsin-Madison).

"Satellite missions have clearly documented where the" fast "solar wind is generated and how it changes when moving to Earth , " Ethan Peterson and Cary Forest, the physical author. of the study said.

Scientists now pay attention to the 'slow' solar wind, which is essentially particles emitted from the sun and fired into space. In "Mini Sun" , researchers can recreate Parker Vortex, the Sun's specific spiral magnetic field.

In addition, the researchers also identified giant plasma rays emitted from the Sun, which are the source of energy for the solar wind .

Cary Forest, the physics professor, stood next to the "Mini Sun".(Photo: University of Wisconsin-Madison).

"Solar winds can be observed by satellites, but nobody knows what makes them from within , " Peterson said. "We want to determine how they form and grow."

The Big Red Ball experiments are designed to complement the quests to better understand the Sun. NASA's Parker Solar probe currently revolves around the star, hoping to unravel the mystery surrounding the heliosphere and the solar wind.

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