Physicists Blast Gold to Astonishing Temperatures, Overturning 40 Years of Physics

image via New Scientist

July 23, 2025, 3:00 PM

• •Scientists superheated gold to 19,000 kelvins (33,740 degrees Fahrenheit) using a laser, defying a 40-year-old physics prediction about the temperature limits of solids.
• •The researchers used an X-ray laser to measure the gold's temperature, developing a new method to accurately measure the temperatures of "warm dense matter."
• •This new method can be used to determine the melting point for different targets, which can be useful for predicting how materials used in fusion experiments will behave.

Researchers have superheated gold to an unprecedented 19,000 kelvins, exceeding the predicted "entropy catastrophe" limit and overturning established physics. This groundbreaking experiment, using a laser to rapidly heat a gold sample, challenges the understanding of temperature limits in solid materials. The team employed an X-ray laser to accurately measure the gold's temperature, creating a new method to study "warm dense matter." This innovative technique holds promise for advancing fusion research and modeling extreme conditions in celestial bodies.

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