It’s the second Monday of the ArtSci Program at UCLA. And as if in correspondence with the plasma lab and its contents, the weather today was the hottest it’s been our entire stay here. For the science-y part of the day, the LAPD lab or the Basic Plasma Science Facility lab that we visited was really cool. The Enormous Toroidal Plasma Device (I get a kick out of the name) radiated a lot of heat, and amazingly, the Plasma Science Facility uses more energy than all of Westwood. In fact, the temperatures could be the same as how hot the explosion of a hydrogen bomb would be, and reach up to half a million degrees Celsius.
I got to peek in to the ETPD and actually see the plasma. Inside, there was a bright red beam and some mesh thing that helped with manipulating the electrons. The magnetized background plasma produced by the device is so strongly magnetic that it can actually deactivate credit cards or our room keys. Dr. Walter Gekelman, the director of the lab was a gracious host and he briefly talked about the types of experiments carried out in the lab. He said that that the devices conduct experiments regarding outer space and also to simulate thermonuclear energy fusion. I can’t really fathom how they can even get the data from the experiments since the experients are over in 10 millionths of a second! You can’t even blink!
Enormous Torodial Plasma Device
For the artsy part of the day, we visited the Fowler Museum of Art, and we saw the Icons in the Desert Aborigine art installation. Only Aborigine men made the paintings, and the paintings were so sacred that even the women and children weren’t allowed to see them. I really like the artwork and thought the symbols provided insights to the Aboriginal culture.
Aborigine art exhibit
So, in conclusion, although the day was rather warm and we felt the heat from the ETPD, I’d say that the popular culture reference popularized by Paris Hilton perfectly summarizes today. “That’s hot.”
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/3749
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/austral.htm