Breakthrough for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a rapid chemical analysis tool. A powerful laser pulse is focused on a sample to create a microplasma. The elemental or molecular emission spectra from that microplasma can be ...

Improved understanding of the behavior of electrons in plasmas

Plasmas are strongly associated with thermonuclear reactions inside stars such as the sun, but in modern society, plasmas have found application in lithographic processes and decontamination techniques. High-temperature plasmas, ...

Researchers turn liquid metal into a plasma

Most laypersons are familiar with the three states of matter as solids, liquids, and gases. But there are other forms that exist. Plasmas, for example, are the most abundant form of matter in the universe, found throughout ...

Pushing the plasma density limit

For decades, researchers have been exploring ways to replicate on Earth the physical process of fusion that occurs naturally in the sun and other stars. Confined by its own strong gravitational field, the sun's burning plasma ...

Higher plasma densities, more efficient tokamaks

When the density of the hot, ionized gas (known as a plasma) in a tokamak exceeds a certain limit, it usually leads to a rapid loss of heat and plasma currents. The currents are required to confine the plasma. Such events ...

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