Gold Defies Physics: Remains Solid at 14x Its Melting Point in Superheating Experiment
In a groundbreaking experiment, gold has defied the expectations that it was still solid even after being heated above the standard temperature. With the help of rapid laser bursts, the scientists could superheat gold beyond the entropy catastrophe, which is a theoretical boundary at which solids need to melt due to extreme heat. To the surprise, the gold was in the structure temporarily, and then it led to the rethinking of how matter behaves when provided with intense conditions. Such a rare phenomenon is known as superheating, where the heating happens so fast that atoms don’t get enough time to reorganise themselves into a liquid.
Gold Withstands the Entropy Catastrophe: What Is Superheating?
As per Science Alert, the atomic structure of gold resisted melting and absorbed the heat quickly, even faster than the response of its atoms. Scientists performed this study at 19,000 Kelvin, and gold remained solid for 2 picoseconds, which is enough to challenge the theory of physics.
Conventionally, the physicist believed that solids could not survive heat more than three times their melting point. This experiment, although pushed gold to 14 times the threshold, with the help of advanced techniques, which involved X-ray reflections to track the heat absorption accurately. The findings suggest that the materials can resist melting beyond the previously known boundaries; however, only for brief moments, which are difficult to even imagine.
Could Other Solids Resist Melting Like Gold? What This Means for Future Research
The results found by the scientists don’t change the law of thermodynamics. However, they suggest that such laws cannot be completely applied in ultra-fast reactions, and atoms cannot move or rearrange in this much time. Most importantly, gold had no place to go, and this let it remain solid even after heating to unexpected temperatures.
This unlocks the new possibilities fr understanding the extreme situations, from the impact of asteroids to the nuclear reactors. Scientists now wonder if other solids could also show the same tolerance, and rule out the current model of melting points, which need to be known altogether. Science must revisit the question asked by one scientist that how hot can you make something before melting?
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A potential new solar sail-powered satellite mission is offering an extended early warning of extreme space weather events to safely shut down the most vulnerable pieces of our tech — without waiting for them to fail mid-activity and then figuring out why. Going far beyond Earth in the traditional sense of this type of satellite, the solar sail spacecraft would provide almost 20 more minutes of warning time (up to about 60 minutes total) before some very dangerous geomagnetic storms. These eruptions, called coronal mass ejections, cause space weather events that can disrupt satellites, damage power grids, and expose astronauts to cosmic radiation through the ability to ground high-altitude commercial flights. The better the predictions, the more time for critical systems to respond, so overall it is supposed to work out.
Solar Sail Mission SWIFT Aims to Boost Space Weather Forecasting from Beyond L1 Point
According to a report published by The Conversation and contributed to Space.com, the new SWIFT (Space Weather Investigation Frontier) mission will put a satellite with a lightweight solar sail on it out at 2.1 million kilometers from Earth, which is farther than the existing L1 Lagrange point where solar wind is monitored now. That might mean a longer warning — “lead” time, in space weather speak — which would give satellite operators more time to shield their satellites, prevent astronauts from being exposed to high radiation, and allow airlines to chart the safest ways for planes.
The new solar spacecraft, Solar Cruiser, stays in orbit by a balance created from the Sun’s gravity and solar photons bounced off a reflective sail. And far larger than previous sail missions like NASA’s NanoSail-D2 and JAXA’s IKAROS. This steers the satellite post-launch.
Solar Cruiser, part of the SWIFT constellation, will measure solar wind at several vantage points for better interplanetary space weather forecasting. Enquire for more economical on-ground space weather forecasts and missions such as SWIFT that help protect our planet from imploding due to solar emissions.
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The skyscraper size of methane ice might cover around 60% of the equatorial region of Pluto, a larger area than astronomers actually estimated. This study was published on July 5, 2025 in the Journal of Geophysical Reserach. It was based on the data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft which captured close images of it around 10 years ago on July 14, 2025. Amid that flyby, the spacecraft located spires of methane ice, each is about 1000 feet tall.
Pluto’s Methane Spires Span Vast Equatorial Zone with Uncertain Pattern
As per NASA’s data they are separated to 4.4 miles in a shape which is somewhat parallel rows and form a geological feature which is called bladed terrain. The features seems to be larger and more spaced out verison of the penitentes of Earth which is a structure of water ice that creates a maximum of 9 feet. Almost the same structure was observed on Jupiter’s moon named Europa and also might be there on Mars.
Additional data collected at infrared frequencies signaled that the dwarf planet’s most of the region was methane rich, which shows that the spires are too. The results show that the bladed terrain of methane ice spires exists in a band that spans about 60% of the circumference of the planet.
Future Missions Needed to Confirm Pluto’s Mysterious Methane Landscape
This is equal to five times the width of the United States continental part, majority spotted on non-encounter hemispheres. However, it is still nort sure if the band is patchy or even. The band spans between 30 degrees south and north of the equator of Pluto.
Bladed terrain formation relies on methane’s long term cycle condensation and sublimation. These are controlled by the season of Pluto and its orbital variations. Straight evidence would be required to confirm the recent observations by the scientists. The most certain way to confirm the extension of bladed terrain into the dark side of Pluto is the future spacecraft mission.
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