This paper briefly introduce research work examples of non-equilibrium studies in switching arcs. In understanding arc behavior, one often assumes local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) condition in the arc plasma. However, actual arc plasmas are not completely and not always in LTE state because of strong temperature change temporally and spatially, and high electric field application etc. Recently, we have a collaboration work in numerical simulations and experimental approaches for decaying arcs without LTE assumption. First, our numerical model is presented for decaying arcs without chemical equilibrium assumption. Secondly, two experimental methods are introduced for measuring electron density in decaying arcs without LTE assumption: Laser Thomson Scattering method and the Schack-Hartmann method. Finally, comparison results is shown between the LTE simulation, the chemically non-equilibrium simulation, and the above experimental measurements.
Equilibrium and Non-equilibrium Studies of Protein G using High-Resolution Optical Trapping Unveil Heterogeneous Unfolding Pathways