Role of Plasma technology in environmental management

摘要

PLASMA is a highly ionized or electrically charged gas. An example in nature is lightning, capable of producing temperatures exceeding 12,600 °F (6,980 °C). Plasma State of matter (i.e., the fourth state) has exotic properties, which can be exploited as a tool in and for various technological applications. Plasma theory has continued to fascinate theoreticians and has been applied to a wide variety of processes in solar physics, magnetosphere, ionosphere, astrophysics besides the fusion physics. During the last half century, low-temperature plasmas have made a dramatic impact on society, significantly improved the quality of life, and provided challenging scientific problems. Provided the opportunity, the field of low-temperature plasmas will continue to make significant contributions. The purity of the gas is often important, and the physics and chemistry of the excited atomic states dominate the discharge characteristics. In industrial applications, the stability of the discharge frequently impacts the design and utility of the process, and the heterogeneous wall chemistry often impacts its reproducibility and reliability. Unfortunately, because basic research in this area has been neglected for many years, there is a severe lack of quantitative and experimental understanding of a wide range of phenomena that occur in low-temperature collision-dominated plasmas. Most low-temperature plasma applications involve complex reactions between electrons and a host of atomic, molecular, and ionic species. These species are found in highly excited states not encountered in nonplasma environments. Operation of plasmas in applications ranging from lasers to materials processing and lighting requires optimization of the densities of these species.