Plasma Definition and 681 Threads

Homework Statement Describe the methods by which proteins are clustered in the plasma membrane. Homework Equations There are none really; it's theory. The Attempt at a Solution I understand that the proteins bond with the cytoskeleton (actin microfillaments and intermediate...

I seem to be having a problem adding a reply to the end of the previous thread so I am starting a new one! Thanks for everyone replying. A couple of points. The first is that nobody seems to have tried two end-on plasmas directed at each other. A dense pair of plasmas fired at each other...

So it's been known for awhile now that a blunt body passing through a plasma medium will experience reduced aerodynamic drag, and furthermore electrically active control surfaces can have an enhanced effect in plasma compared to conventional control surfaces, exerting greater control across the...

As per a previous thread, if you fire two plasma jets of deuterium at each other at high enough relative velocity, the deuterons would collide and fuse into helium. Does anyone know what is the relative velocity in kilometers per hour necessary for deuterons hitting each other head on to fuse...

I saw this video and several others like it, all claiming that the glowing substance created in the microwave is indeed plasma. To my (limited) knowledge on the subject, plasma is just an ionized/electrified gas. However, others say that there is no way the substance could be plasma, as real...

[b]1.i need urgent clarification in this regard .waveguides can be modeled as high pass filters.how ever plasma waveguide guides only those waves which are below plasma frequency. why is it so?

Homework Statement An idealized theta-pinch geometry is an infinitely long, cylindrically symmetric (d-by-d theta = 0), translationally-invariant (d-by-d z = 0) plasma column with an externally applied axial magnetic field B_z_ext. This induced a large diamagnetic azimuthal current which...

Hi. I'm thinking of doing a PhD in plasma physics, ideally to get into nuclear fusion research. But I am a little concerned that the opportunities with plasma physics are a little narrow. Does anyone know anything about its uses or otherwise in industry/non-fusion research? Thanks.

Hello All I've got two years left in my Physics undergrad degree at a university in Ontario, Canada. My ultimate career goal is to do research in fusion energy, and I've just started looking into what steps I should take to get there, starting with grad school. Naturally, I have some...

Hi, I do not know if this is the right section to post my question. Anyway here I go.. Can anyone give a brief explanation of Bohm's criterion, that is the concept of pre-sheath. Thank you.

Hi, In collisionless plasma physics, when you integrate the Vlasov equation for the energy you find two equations : one for thermal energy of species s: \frac{\partial u_s}{\partial t} + \nabla\cdot\left(\mathbf{q}_s + \mathbf{v}_s u_s + \vec{\vec{P}}\cdot\mathbf{v}_s \right) =...

From the primal plasma how many elements (could) have formed that are not detected? or is the larder full.

Homework Statement 'Briefly describe two different kinds of plasmas and in each case describe how the plasma arises.' Homework Equations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_(physics) The Attempt at a Solution I think i understand what a plasma is, but are there different types of plasma...

Hello, In my plasma physics book, poissons equation in relation to a plasma made up of electrons and protons is given as \frac{1}{r^{2}}\frac{d}{dr}\left(r^{2}\frac{d\varphi\left(r\right)}{dr}\right) = \frac{2}{\lambda_{D}}\varphi\left(r\right) The solution of this equation when phi(r)...

Homework Statement The dispersion relation for a plasma is given by k^{2}=\frac{\omega^{2}}{c^{2}}(1-\frac{\omega^{2}_{p}}{\omega^{2}})\omega^{2}_{p}\:= \frac{Ne^{2}}{m_{e}\epsilon_{0}} Where N is the electron density During re enrty of a spacecraft there was a radio blackout of all...

Electromagnetic wave with higher frequency then plasma frequency are barely attenuated. I always hear that the reason is the electrons can't oscillate fast enought... how does that actually work? (how can an electron not be able to oscillate at the same speed?)

When i calculate a plasma frequency with the equation : ω=square root (4*pi*n*e^2/m) are the electrons always of that frequency or is it a maximum that an electron can oscillate?

Why are electromagnetic waves reflected when they comme in contact with a plasma ( with a frequency lower then the plasma frequency, and I am trying to find precisely why the wave cannot pass ). I was also wondering if conductors (metals) are considered to have a plasma frequency ty

My best offer for graduate school has turned out to be University of Wisconsin - Madison for the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics. I plan on focusing on theoretical/computational plasma physics and magnetic confinement fusion. Does anybody have any personal...

Is a plasma a fluid?

What if any, is the best model that starts with the primeval plasma and produces any results that would lead in some way to a universe? Edit I think i should have said simulation.

I just finished reading the Wikipedia article on the quark-gluon plasma and it states that because of the large coupling, lattice-gauge theory is used instead of perturbation theory/Feynman diagrams. However, I thought the coupling decreases with increasing energy (asymptotic freedom), so...

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this is a basic EE problem as I'm in aerospace and I would like to apologize if i posted in the wrong forum. I've attached a circuit diagram of my design. The capacitors and the 2 higher resistors are of variable values. The switch and the lower resistor...

how "large scale" is plasma physics I'm a physics undergrad right now, and I'm trying to pick out classes I want to take to get a better idea of what I'd like to do in grad school. I've wanted to work on fusion/plasma physics for a long time, and right now I'm reading a book on the history of...

Hello all, I am currently a second year engineering physics major, specializing in Nuclear Engineering. What would be the best Math and Physics courses to get an idea of what fusion engineering and/or Plasma physics is like (My university does not offer any formal fusion engineering classes)? I...

50" 88lbs Plasma TV mount on Stand - Free Body Diagram Hi, I am building a customized stand for my palsma tv. I already have the base, made of 2" square iron tubes. I am about to design the mount for the screws, but I was wondering what forces should I consider for this. The base is in...

Is it possible for plasma to be conducted through a metal wire? I was wondering if you supply the wire with enough plasma to light a low power LED.

I had a idea a while ago about a possible energy generator. I was wondering if you set up a plasma arc, then circulated gases through the arc so they would be ionized. Then, the ionized gases were moved through to a wire net through means of a strong fan or magnetic fields. Would it be...

Homework Statement I'm trying to work out a theoretical problem, and I don't know how to approach it. Suppose I have a charged gas that is traveling near the surface of a magnetically-responsive solid. I would expect the charged gas to be generating a magnetic field. I would also expect...

Gas core reactor rockets use nuclear gas reacting to super heat and therefore pressurize hydrogen. They operate at about 25000 C. Why not use a high intensity plasma arc which routinely operate at about 13,000 C but if designed to can go much higher by at least several fold. I got bored...

I believe it seems possible that a plasma generator could be constructed to ionize the gases used in the making of the plasma. A plan needs to be worked out to construct an energy collector to collect the energy that is given off by the ionization of the plasma gases. Now, in order to "recycle"...

Homework Statement A cylindrically symmetric plasma column in a uniform B field (= B0 in z direction) has n(r) = n0 exp[-(r/r0)^2] and ni = ne = n0exp[e phi/kb Te] where phi is the potential and Te is the temp of the electrons. (a) Show that Ve and VDe are equal and opposite Homework...

Is it possible to use plasma as a heat shield for a re-entry vehicle? We all know that plasma isn't very dense, but then neither is the thin upper atmosphere that causes re-entry heating in lieu of drag. I'd read that a simple trick used by ICBM warhead engineers, was to simply have a...

Homework Statement Derive the moments equations for a plasma. I specifically need help developing the 2nd moment equation (the Energy Balance). I can't get one of the terms... Homework Equations The Boltzmann Equation: \frac{\partial f_{\sigma}}{\partial t} + \vec{v}\cdot \nabla...

hey, I have a question, it might be really stupid, but I'm probably not as smart as any of you here. Anyway: if you had a sustained plasma field held in place, maybe spinning in a toroidal motion, is it possible to "harvest" free electrons from the field by an anode, and feed it back into the...

In my physiology examination, I came across this question: Find the Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), when Urine Concentration of Urea (U) = 70 (I don't remember the exact values, but it is of no importance), Urine flow rate (V) = 1ml/min Blood level of Urea = 20 ( or something) In...

There are many videos on youtube where people put grapes in the microwave and it turned the grapes into plasma. There are some other videos on youtube where someone made a plasma thruster(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_wwEKp6SGk"), and in the discription said that it needed a magnetic field...

My parents have a 3yr old LG Plasma HDTV. Last month the color in the screen appeared to shift or fade. Then the screen started to flicker. Then the TV could be turned on with audio, but no screen, just black. The strange thing is that if we unplug the TV for a few hours and then plug it...

what happens to a body of water when coming in contact with plasma - such as the plasma cutters? I've been thinking if you had a cylinder filled with some water and something like a plasma "spark plug" you could get some serious vapor pressure. Is this an accurate estimation, or am I way...

Hi: Quark gluon plasma is created at very high temperature, right?. Could you please explain me what happens to Quark gluon plasma after it is cooled?, is it possible to use quark gluon plasma to create nucleons? Thanks

I don't know if this belongs here but here it goes. I started to think about it(not much however) when reading the last phrase in this thread https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=57607&highlight=plasma+physics "As my QM professor kept saying this semester, "If you hate this...

Hello, I've been watching some videos on youtube of people putting a lit flame into a microwave oven. After a few seconds the flame bursts into a bright ball of plasma, why is this? Is there anywhere online that I can research the science that causes this...

Too lazy to post two binary polls. Do you recommend/prefer LCD vs. plasma? Do you recommend extended warranty or not?

Does the concept of capacitance also apply to positively-charged plasma particles in a strong enough electric field? In other words, is it possible to accumulate positive gas ions on one side of some apparatus (or one side of a vacuum tube filled with a very small amount of gas) if a strong...

This is a neat paper I found, its a quick read. http://www.isso.uh.edu/publications/A2006/2006_043_garrison.htm

Hello all, Are there any such major as for Plasma Physics or Plasma is just an option? What are the different types of Physics minus Astronomy? Is astrophysics part astronomy and part physics? If so we can forget about astrophysics. What are some good public not private colleges for physics...

Dear PFers, could somebody provide an update on the searches for quark gluon plasma, the color glass condensate interpretation, and/or their conceptual basis ? I have found a few big documents, if somebody knows where to find the latest review it would be most welcome. I would like a preview...

if the Plasma membrane is amphipathic (hydrophobic and hydrophilic), why does it only allow hydrophobic stuff to pass thru?

When I have an ionized fluid (plasma) and I describe it in a continuum approach I can use the MHD equations (the continuity equation, the equation of motion, the induction equation and the energy equation). However; I am modeling a certain model of a sunspot and there is also an unionized...

[SOLVED] light diffraction in plasma This is my first post in that forum and I hope someone will help me.:redface: It is known that photons with frequency lower than the natural oscillation frequency of plasma are reflected , but those photons with slightly lower frequencies are they fully...