# How Does The Z Machine Work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-z-machine-work/347660 "2006-03-09T06:54:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-z-machine-work/347660/1 "2006-03-09T06:54:09Z")
[Because the guys who made it don’t know.](http://www.livescience.com/technology/060308_sandia_z.html) > [@](#): > > Scientists have produced superheated gas exceeding temperatures of 2 billion degrees Kelvin, or 3.6 billion degrees Fahrenheit. > > This is hotter than the interior of our Sun, which is about 15 million degrees Kelvin, and also hotter than any previous temperature ever achieved on Earth, they say. > > They don’t know how they did it. > > The feat was accomplished in the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories. > > “At first, we were disbelieving,” said project leader Chris Deeney. “We repeated the experiment many times to make sure we had a true result.” > [@](#): > > Also, when the high temperature was achieved, the Z machine was releasing more energy than was originally put in, something that usually occurs only in nuclear reactions. Que? I thought that went against the laws of physics. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-z-machine-work/347660/2 "2006-03-09T07:35:29Z")
They’re inadvertantly achieving fusion? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-z-machine-work/347660/3 "2006-03-09T07:47:33Z")
Going against the laws of physics? If you can do something, and repeat it, and describe it to others and have them repeat it, by definition the something must be permitted by the laws of physics. Now, it may not be explained by current theory, but that just means the theory needs to be extended or changed. The physical universe trumps our theories, every time. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-z-machine-work/347660/4 "2006-03-09T07:53:42Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > They’re inadvertantly achieving fusion? I thought that was the purpose of the Z Machine - to conduct experiments in fusion. ---
**Author:** ![Tatt2dKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Tatt2dKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatt2dKitty)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-z-machine-work/347660/5 "2006-03-09T17:40:11Z")
From what I’ve read on [LiveScience.com](http://LiveScience.com): "The Z machine is the largest X-ray generator in the world. It’s designed to test materials under extreme temperatures and pressures. It works by releasing 20 million amps of electricity into a vertical array of very fine tungsten wires. The wires dissolve into a cloud of charged particles, a superheated gas called plasma. A very strong magnetic field compresses the plasma into the thickness of a pencil lead. This causes the plasma to release energy in the form of X-rays, but the X-rays are usually only several million degrees. Sandia researchers still aren’t sure how the machine achieved the new record. Part of it is probably due to the replacement of the tungsten steel wires with slightly thicker steel wires, which allow the plasma ions to travel faster and thus achieve higher temperatures. One thing that puzzles scientists is that the high temperature was achieved after the plasma’s ions should have been losing energy and cooling. Also, when the high temperature was achieved, the Z machine was releasing more energy than was originally put in, something that usually occurs only in nuclear reactions. Sandia consultant Malcolm Haines theorizes that some unknown energy source is involved, which is providing the machine with an extra jolt of energy just as the plasma ions are beginning to slow down."