A Brief Look at Plasma Technology
Technology has become a word that is used a great deal to signify the advances in an industry or process. It encompasses not only tools and materials, but also the innovative thinking that leads to a new product or service. It has even merged with another word to create a new definition due to the impact it has had on the financial services industry — fintech. Fintech is a combination of finance and technology. In the past five years, there have been several new services and products (e.g apps) that have reshaped banking. This same transformation of an industry (and terminology) can be applied to plasma technology. It enables the creation of a product that has transformed many industries and products.
Plasma has been around for some time — since the Big Bang and before life originated. First discovered by chemist Irving Langmuir in the 1920s, plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter (in addition to solid, liquid and gas). When enough energy is added to a gas, it will produce enough ionization to create plasma. When introduced to electromagnetic fields, plasma will conduct electricity (think of static electricity). Plasma is made up of many moving parts, such as negative electrons, positive ions, and UV light. Langmuir’s research of plasma led to four areas of study: the ionosphere, astrophysics, nuclear energy, and space plasma physics. He opened up the world of possibilities for this new state of matter .
Langmuir also discovered how malleable plasma is since it has neither a shape nor volume (like a gas). Thus, it can be altered by changing the variables such as the pressure, gas mixture and power. There is a great deal of internal energy within plasma because of the free radicals in it, which creates a glow effect. As a result, we get neon and fluorescent lights. However, it’s primarily used as a coating for cleaning and treating surfaces. It’s impressive to see how plasma is made. In a large vacuum chamber, the air is replaced with gas. An electrified current is added, charging the gas to a plasma. How a plasma is used is called a treatment.
Cold plasma treatment can be applied to heat-sensitive surfaces. Depending on its thickness, it can be applied to 3D objects and micro-channels. It can be applied to conductors and semiconductors as well. Plasma can be used to clean without the use of water and leaves no waste chemicals. It can clean down to the nanoscale, essentially prepping a surface for glue, bond or paint. Plasma is commonly used on oils and grease, and reduces the risk of contamination compared to conventional cleaning products. Once the surface has been cleaned, plasma surface activation enables one layer to adhere to another layer, producing a clean print or bonding. This process also improves manufacturing time and provides consistent results. The coating is so thin, it is not detectable to the human eye; it can be less than 1/100th the width of a human hair . It’s also odorless. This technology is used in many industries, such as automotive, medical, aerospace, and textiles. Plasma technology is also used in electronics.
We have all heard about plasma TVs, which are not built anymore. At one time, they were very popular because of the picture quality and size of the TV screens. These TVs consisted of pixels that were filled with gas. When an electric current hit the pixels, different colors appeared making up the picture on the screen. This type of plasma technology has become obsolete due to LCD TVs. However, plasma technology still plays an important part in the tech industry. Plasma is used to make electronic devices, integrated circuits for computers, transmitters, and high-temperature films, to name a few. Plus, there are new uses on the horizon, such as eradicating toxic substances and cauterizing wounds (hot plasma).
Man-made plasma is powerful, but don’t forget that natural plasma occurs in our daily life, such as lightning and electrostatics. In fact, each cloud-to-ground lightning strike has an average 300 million volts, 30000 amps, lasts ~0.1 s, and generates ~5.6 x10 ³² electrons. Also, the static shock people get in winter is also plasma, which has ~20000 volts.
Plasma technology has evolved since Langmuir’s research. It is now used in many fields because of its surface applications. Not only has it improved products, but it has also improved manufacturing processes. From particles in nuclear fusion to neon lights, plasma technology offers endless possibilities. One of my research interests is to utilize natural plasma as a free energy source to drive chemical reactions, either in the context of explaining the origin of life or in the context of developing applicable technology. I am eager to see the new advances that emerge in the next decade.
Originally published at https://haihuijoyjiang.co.
