A Window Into the Heart of the Sun

When magnetic fields clash, they can rapidly unleash powerful explosions. Now scientists may have solved the decades-old mystery behind how these outbursts can happen so quickly. The findings could one day help explain the origins of the most powerful explosions in the universe and point to ways to build stable nuclear fusion reactors.Plasmas, the clouds of electrically charged particles that make up stars and most of the ordinary matter in the known universe, naturally have magnetic fields embe...