News Physics

Physicists caught protons ‘surfing’ on shock waves

A laser experiment could help scientists understand how the subatomic particles reach high energies

illustration of Earth and the sun, with Earth's magnetic field shown in blue, the solar wind shown in orange lines, and a bow shock as a red line where the two meet

A lab experiment suggests that protons can gain energy by surfing shock waves in space, like the bow shock (red in this illustration) where the solar wind (orange lines) meets Earth’s magnetic field (blue).

MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images

By Emily Conover

- More than 2 years ago

Protons can surf some truly gnarly waves.