A research team in Israel has discovered a new way to measure electric currents in high energy plasmas. The results could help improve our understanding of the plasma state and reduce the costs of future fusion reactors. Yitzhak Maron and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute generated fusion reactions by smashing plasma with a strong magnetic field. The magnetic field compresses the plasma into a small volume, heating it to one million degrees in the process. The plasma collapses and disperses in less than one millionth of a second. The team measured the electrical current by observing the spectrum of radiation emitted by the plasma.