Nielsen–Olesen vortex
Have you ever seen water flowing through a pipe? Sometimes, if the water is moving very fast, a little whirlpool can form in the water. This is called a vortex.
Now, imagine a very big whirlpool, much bigger than the ones you see in small pipes. This is called a Nielsen-Olesen vortex. It's not made of water, though - it's made of something called a magnetic field.
Do you know what a magnet is? A magnet is something that can attract other metal things. When you put two magnets near each other, they can either attract (pull together) or repel (push away from) each other.
The magnetic field is like the invisible force that makes magnets work. When electrically-charged particles move, they create a magnetic field. This is happening all the time around us - from the Earth's magnetic field to the magnets on your fridge.
Sometimes, in a special type of physics called particle physics, scientists study the behaviour of particles that have electric charge. They have discovered that sometimes, when these particles are moving fast enough, they can create a Nielsen-Olesen vortex.
This vortex creates a swirling pattern in the magnetic field. The pattern looks like a kind of knot or twisted rope. Scientists are interested in these vortices because they can help us understand the behavior of the smallest particles in the universe, and how they interact with each other.
Now, imagine a very big whirlpool, much bigger than the ones you see in small pipes. This is called a Nielsen-Olesen vortex. It's not made of water, though - it's made of something called a magnetic field.
Do you know what a magnet is? A magnet is something that can attract other metal things. When you put two magnets near each other, they can either attract (pull together) or repel (push away from) each other.
The magnetic field is like the invisible force that makes magnets work. When electrically-charged particles move, they create a magnetic field. This is happening all the time around us - from the Earth's magnetic field to the magnets on your fridge.
Sometimes, in a special type of physics called particle physics, scientists study the behaviour of particles that have electric charge. They have discovered that sometimes, when these particles are moving fast enough, they can create a Nielsen-Olesen vortex.
This vortex creates a swirling pattern in the magnetic field. The pattern looks like a kind of knot or twisted rope. Scientists are interested in these vortices because they can help us understand the behavior of the smallest particles in the universe, and how they interact with each other.