Plasma discharges as a research area focus on the generation, sustainment, and control of ionized gases under electric or electromagnetic fields, spanning regimes from low-pressure glow and radio-frequency discharges to atmospheric-pressure and pulsed power plasmas. The field investigates breakdown mechanisms, sheath formation, transport processes, non-equilibrium kinetics, and plasma–surface interactions using diagnostic techniques (e.g., spectroscopy, probes, imaging) and numerical modeling. Applications drive studies of plasma discharges for materials processing, lighting, plasma propulsion, environmental remediation, biomedical treatments, and fusion-relevant plasmas, with emphasis on understanding scaling laws, stability, power coupling, and energy partitioning to optimize performance and tailor plasma properties for specific technological and scientific objectives.
A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to the test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. On Feb. 24, for the first ...
Space Exploration
Apr 28, 2026
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140
Jupiter's lightning has long been of interest to planetary scientists, as it marks stormy spots where researchers can look to learn more about convection in Jupiter's atmosphere. Observing lightning from a distance can be ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 23, 2026
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17
The CANMILK project is developing a plasma-based system suitable for direct operation in barns to reduce methane emissions from livestock. The goal is to capture dilute methane present in barn air and convert it into CO₂ ...
Biotechnology
Nov 25, 2025
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20
Increasing the surface area when plasma and water interact could help scale up a technology that destroys contaminants such as PFAS, detergents and microbial contaminants in drinking water, new research from the University ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 10, 2025
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89
Researchers Ni Guohua and Associate Researcher Sun Hongmei from the Institute of Plasma Physics, together with Associate Professor Wang Dong from Anhui Medical University, have developed a novel two-step plasma strategy to ...
Bio & Medicine
Nov 5, 2025
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25
Recently, a research team successfully developed a series of CoNi-metal-organic framework (MOF) nanozymes with laccase-like activity using a gas-liquid interface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) low-temperature plasma (LTP) ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 7, 2025
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29
Scientists from Skoltech, the Institute of Nanotechnology of Microelectronics, RAS, and other research centers have refined the understanding of how plasma treatment of carbon-based electrodes affects the key characteristics ...
Nanophysics
Apr 3, 2025
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118
Plasma arc cutting (PAC) is a thermal cutting technique widely used in manufacturing applications such as shipbuilding, aerospace, fabrication, nuclear plants decommissioning, construction industry, and the automotive industry. ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 20, 2025
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45
Electric sparks are used for welding, powering electronics, killing germs or for igniting the fuel in some car engines. Despite their usefulness, they are hard to control in open space—they split into chaotic branches that ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 6, 2025
1
259
A Hall thruster is a high-efficiency propulsion device using plasma that is used for various difficult space missions, such as SpaceX's constellation satellites, Starlink and NASA's asteroid probe, Psyche, and is one of the ...
Space Exploration
Feb 3, 2025
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