Plasma Definition and 681 Threads

Is there a possible way to redesign femtosecond lasers to reduce cost?

Hi, I recently started working on MPD Thrusters. During a recent experiment, spectral images (uncalibrated) were obtained. The thruster is made of copper and the propellant is argon. These two elements will be the source of emission spectral lines. I need help to interpret them. I have...

Hi. After reading about self-focusing in plasmas I came across the relative index of refraction that a light wave experiences during the interaction with plasma. Namely n = \sqrt{1-\frac{{\omega_p}^2}{{\omega}^2}} where \omega_p is the plasma frequency and \omega is the light (for example laser)...

is it possible to create a plasma arc across multiple electrodes? like: cathode___ anode____________________cathode then back to anode from source? is this possible? and if yes does it need electrolyte at the anode in the middle and how to apply it?

Hi all, If I have a hot object in space (not a star but say an oven or just a hot gas as would be on Earth < 10,000 degrees Kelvin) glowing at a temperature T and I want to know long it takes to come to equilibrium with the vacuum of space around it, how can I calculate such a time? I could...

i've been reading on plasma physics and i have a couple of questions. how to calculate how much volts needed to create plasma with distance x from the electrodes of a certain gas with certain pressure? and to increase the distance do i have to increase voltage or once i have an arc or plasma in...

My knowledge suggests when gasses are heated rapidly, they also expand due to the new energy in the gas. Is it possible to create a thruster that is able to lift 10kg via electric heating? The thruster would allow cold air to enter the chamber, where it would then be super-heated & ejected as...

If tokamaks were to be run continuously, somehow, then fusion would produce a lot of helium. But since the charge to mass ratio of helium is exactly the same as deuterium, both of them behave almost exactly he same in electric or magnetic fields. And tritium on the other hand has a lower charge...

Hello, I have been reading about how Dark Matter particles might possibly be made up of the lightest sterile right handed neutrino. I was wondering, why exactly does the dark matter particle have to decouple from the plasma when it is formed?

I have the fundamental understanding of how tokamaks work. Now, why is it not ideal to confine plasmas using a z- or theta- pinch configurations?

Dear all, is there anyone with plasma background? I am developing an algorithm for a plasma impedance L type matching network. Initially, I set the Load and Tune units to some specific positions. The algorithm is simply tuning a possible minimum SWR starting from the initial position...

if i connect an electric current of 30 volts to argon gas to transform it to plasma, what is the average kinetic energy of the argon particles in that plasma?

In order to confine a plasma, the plasma pressure is supposed to be lower than the magnetic pressure. The ratio of the plasma pressure to the magnetic pressure is called beta . Theoretically, the value of beta is supposed to stay below one to confine a plasma, but can get close to it. But in...

when argon gas is transformed to plasma by an electric current, what is the type of field (electric field or magnetic field) and will that field have any effect on electric machinery put in the plasma container like a hand drill or something? assuming we can have argon plasma with high pressure...

Hello there! So i am currently sitting in my EME class and have nothing to do, so i decided to try spit-balling the V/A/R of the plasma arc my Tesla Lighter produces. note that i did not physically take it apart, and my goal was just to get a rough estimate for the arc itself or at least get a...

Hi folks, this is not an actual HW question, but rather one of personal interest. I'm basically trying to understand your classic idealized parallel plate capacitor, but moving face-on through a plasma. 1. Homework Statement We have a diffuse neutral plasma made of free protons and electrons...

is the amount of argon gas to exert 10,000 psi in cylinder will be the same if argon transformed to plasma or the number of moles will be less as plasma is more excited and have higher kinetic energy?

hi ,, hello dears first i hope i choose the suitable section to put my question i want in fact to distinguish between different methods to model or study or describe plasma physics .. from my read i found that there are various ways to study plasma physics one way is the single particle...

The debye length is the effective length over which electrostatic potential disturbances are "screened out" in a plasma. So if I drop a charged point particle in a plasma, then I expect after some Debye Length, D, from this point charge, I can see no difference between any other point in the...

hello every body in fact currently i began to study plasma physics and i confused about some points 1) why should my plasma must be greater than debye length to have a collective behavior ? and is it the quasi neutrality is the main condition for plasma state ?? 2) i want a discussion about...

My main goal is to understand plasmons, for that I have been told that the theoretical background is Maxwell equations in a plasma. Do you know any book with these equations? Thanks!

I've run into an issue that the internet seems ill-equipped to answer, so I turn to the experts. While I'm aware that most fusion experiments to date have used deuterium and deuterium-tritium blends as their fuels, I find myself wondering: can any dielectric material produce energetic plasma...

In the beginning there was the Big Bang...then there was plasma...then there were particles, and so on... Now, how is it possible that from a cooling plasma, randomly (?) emerged particles that are so perfectly uniform? I mean, all neutrons are exactly the same...size, mass, properties...and...

I think about a far future story with a good amount of battles. Futuristic battletech i can imagine would involve things like deploy nanobot clouds that jam and damage sensors and everything vulnerable, powered battle armors of course, drones, probably some meelee solution for bunker combat...

I'm confused about the mass of the Sun (and stars in general). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun Wikipedia notes: " It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma..." ...and later ... "About three quarters of the Sun's mass consists of hydrogen (~73%); the rest is mostly helium (~25%), ..." I...

Hello everybody. I'm interested in starting my learning about plasma physics (depending on how I like it I may choose something within it as my field), but unfortunately my university doesn't offer any undergrad courses in it. My current level includes all maths up to differential equations...

I have a space plasma physics book by W. Baumjohann and R. Treumann entitled Basic Plasma Physics, but it doesn't tell much of the physics behind them (well, it's basic after all). Are there any plasma physics books that concentrates on the physics behind them, and probably have some problems to...

How much energy would be required to generate a spherical field of plasma using an EM field? I have heard that EM fields can excite atoms in the air to create plasma- however, this may be incorrect. If correct, how much energy would be needed and would it fry anything inside because of the...

I've searched high and low for data regarding this from scientific papers to books and I cannot find anything in regards to the approximate impedance to excite a vacuum vessel to plasma state. In particular I want to built a RF Plasma cleaning chamber, however, I am not sure how to design the...

I'm constructing a device that needs two electrodes in a mesh-like formation. there doesn't have to be a cavity but one is preferred. I have this https://imgur.com/a/DWoxQ But I need there to be insulation like on a normal wire. I'm looking at a wire gauge of 28+ AWG. Ive tried 3D printing a...

Homework Statement An electromagnetic wave propagates through a gas of N free electrons per unit volume. Neglecting damping, show that the index of refraction is given by n^2 = 1 - \frac{\omega_P^2}{\omega^2}, where the plasma frequency \omega_P = \sqrt{\frac{Ne^2}{\epsilon_0m_e}}.\quad(1)...

Homework Statement Consider the motion of charged particles, in one dimension only, in the presence of an electric potential V ( x). Show, by direct substitution, that a function of the form f=f(1/mv^2 + qV) is a solution of the Boltzmann equation under steady-state conditions. Homework...

I have a goal of learning basic plasma physics (perhaps from a book like Chen's?). Aside from finishing basic physics, what do I need to learn in order to learn plasma physics? Thanks!

I've been looking through the internet and so fair I haven't found anything too clear on this. Some articles have said that plasma can be affected by magnetism and can be conductive, but my question is, will it become positively/negatively charged while current is flowing through it, and if it...

I have been trying to find a method to predict the polarization effects of a plasma with a B Field on low frequency waves. From Chen's Intro to Plasma Physics and Fitzpatrick's Plasma Physics I understand the development of the dielectric tensor and calculation of dispersion with the B field but...

So, on wikipedia is said that a plasma is an ionized gas, just that, but when we think about plasma we think that is hot, so here's the question: What is the right definition of plasma? Does being a ionized gas also imply being hot and then saying only that is an ionized gas is enough? I mean...

So I've been reading about how plasma cutters work, and the way it ignites intrigued me and got me thinking. My question is, how conductive would a stream of ionized air created by a high voltage spark be? If you passed a high current, low voltage through the stream, would it be able to travel...

Hey everyone! I know you probably see new messages like this pop up quite a bit, but I am legitimately curious on this one. I have seen a few threads on the subject as in how to get into the field. I was personally wondering: Why should one study plasma physics? What kind of questions does it...

Hello, I'm new so I couldn't find a spot to put this in. I was wondering what's the minimum GPA for a plasma physics grad program especially fusion, I don't want good schools, I just want something that is enough to take me further. The thing is I dropped the ball hard my first year of college...

Starting to brainstorm ideas for my Masters project. The current idea I have in mind involves a chamber of ionized gas which I would have to then separate from the free electrons. Would removing the electrons be as simple as connecting one of the chamber walls to the positive terminal of a...

I bought one of these plasma globes, decided to do some experiments with it. Since a fluorescent bulb will light up if It's put near the plasma ball, i tried the same with two HID lamps. The Metal Halide shows a very pale white arc, which disappears as soon as the plasma ball is turned off...

Hello all, I am trying to calculate the plasma beta in a specific plasma temperature. for the plasma pressure i am using the formula p=(ni*kB*Ti)+(ne*kB*ne) and for the beta i am using β=(2*μ0*p)/B^2. I plotted an excel sheet for different values of the magnetic field and realized that the...

Hello everybody, Is there a way to calculate/predict the electron number density of a plasma? Thanks in advance

I just recently came across a theorem known as Alfven's Theorem, and according to what he said Magnetic Reconnection is a violation of the conservation law of plasma physics. So I am just curious into finding out what plasma actually is, some define it as a ionized gas, but after reading I am...

I sort of new to the states of matter, so please use English (explain what all the big words mean). First of all what does ionizing even mean? second every type of matter of 4 states?

Do any of you have news on when ITER is scheduled to achieve the first plasma that the whole world is waiting for? Last I heard it was 2025, but since they have a new head, they might speed things up a bit.

First off, I want to apologize if this thread is in the wrong place but I am new this. Anyway, so I recently checked on the VASIMR plasma engine since I was interested in it. But one thing I didn't understand about it is if it ejects the neutral gas it uses. What I mean is that it obviously...

Does electrical arc with the same power but different voltage and current have same temperature? When electrical arc is form, it is estimate that the temperature is about 3000K Does temperature depend on voltage or current alone? Or does it depend on power(P=VA)? I think it is power, because...

I am a young designer and attempting to design a plasma reactor. I have a lot of the design figured out, in theory, but my main problem is the type of plasma I would need to use that emits a large amount of thermal energy with as little materials needed to maintain efficiency. Any assistance...

The charged particles of a plasma are either strongly repelled or attracted to one another. Am I correct in saying that they do a "giant slalom" around one another? And does this mean that the transfer of momentum in a collision is much smaller than in a neutral gas where the atoms/molecules...