On Self Organization: Model for ionization wave propagation with targets of varying electrical properties

This work presents a model for an atmospheric Helium plasma interacting with normal and cancer cells. This interaction is simulated through the expansion and impingement of a gaseous jet onto targets with varying electrical permittivity. Simulation results show that for a plasma jet impinging onto two targets with different permittivity placed axis-symmetrically relative to the stagnation point of impingement, the jet is biased toward the target with lower permittivity when the target acts as a floating potential. This trend is reversed when the back surface of the target is grounded. In the case of a floating target, higher target permittivity yields a higher positive surface potential as the material experiences higher polarization in response to the net flux of electrons from the plasma onto the surface. Because of this higher surface potential, targets with higher permittivity generate a smaller electric field in the discharge column relative to materials with lower permittivity. When the back surface of the target is ground, the trend is reversed, with polarization occurring primarily on the back surface due to the response to the reservoir of positive charges introduced by ground. In the ground case, the material experiences more negative charging the front surface which induces a lower electric potential. As a result, the material with higher permittivity and a grounded back surface attracts plasma organization at the interface because of the higher local electric field. These numerical findings support experimental results presented by other researchers, which demonstrate selectivity of plasma jets towards some cancer cells more than others. The mechanism introduced here may help inform targeted treatment of specific cells, including those reported to be more resistant to plasma jets.

Effect of ionization waves on dust chain formation in a DC discharge

An interesting aspect of complex plasma is its ability to self-organize into a variety of structural configurations and undergo transitions between these states. A striking phenomenon is the isotropic-to-string transition observed in electrorheological complex plasma under the influence of a symmetric ion wake field. Such transitions have been investigated using the Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4) microgravity laboratory on the International Space Station. Recent experiments and numerical simulations have shown that, under PK-4-relevant discharge conditions, the seemingly homogeneous direct current discharge column is highly inhomogeneous, with large axial electric field oscillations associated with ionization waves occurring on microsecond time scales. A multi-scale numerical model of the dust–plasma interactions is employed to investigate the role of the electric field in the charge of individual dust grains, the ion wake field and the order of string-like structures. Results are compared with those for dust strings formed in similar conditions in the PK-4 experiment.

Eco-friendly sun lamp for railway facilities

The paper considers the possibility of using a pulsed discharge in cesium as an environmentally friendly high quality light source for lighting industrial premises of railway transport facilities. The use of cesium filling of standard sapphire burners of high-pressure sodium lamps and a pulsed mode of electric power supply of the discharge to create a light source has been substantiated. A mathematical model of a high-pressure pulsed discharge in cesium is formulated on the basis of the radiative gas dynamics equations. The discharge was simulated and it was shown that it is possible to create a plasma with a temperature 4000 -7000 K and a pressure of 0.5 - 1.5 at m with the power supplied to the discharge ∼ 100 W/cm in the steady-state combustion mode. The dependence of the discharge lighting characteristics on the amplitude of the current pulses and the amount of cesium in the gas discharge tube is analyzed. It is shown that in a wide range of currents and plasma densities, the color rendering index of the discharge radiation Ra> 95 with luminous efficacy ηV ∼ 70lm/W and more. The average luminous flux emitted per unit length of the discharge column is ∼ 104 lm/cm. The color temperature of the discharge radiation can vary over a wide range of values Tc∼ 3000÷4500 K. It is shown that the color coordinates Xc,Yc of discharge radiation are close to the values Xc,Yc of a blackbody. The use of such a source in conditions of a short daylight hours will make it possible to create practically solar illumination of large production areas.

Influence of contraction of a cesium pulse-periodic discharge on its luminous efficacy and spectral properties

The paper presents the results of a study of pulse-periodic discharge cesium lighting lamps with discharge tubes 5 mm in diameter and an interelectrode distance of 55 and 22 mm. The cesium pressure varied from 10 to 750 Torr at a constant triangular current pulse with an amplitude of 80 A. It is shown that the maximum of the luminous efficacy (~ 65 lm/W) corresponds to a pressure of ~ 130 Torr. It was found that a discharge column in the long tube at a pressure of ~ 300 Torr contracted into a bright pinch with a diameter close to that of the electrodes (2 mm). The pinch was localized along the surface of the tube and moves randomly on it. Contraction leads to a repeated increase in the luminous efficacy with pressure up to ~ 70 lm/W. Wall stabilization limits the plasma temperature on the axis of the pinch (it was found from the recombination continuum) to the level of 6000 – 6500 K. The column in short tube is localized along the axis of the tube over the entire power range. The temperature in it quickly rises to 13000-– 14000 K after the maximum of the luminous efficacy.

Spatial distribution and time evolution of metal-containing plasma of a low-current atmospheric pressure discharge with magnesium cathode

The spatial intensity distribution and temporal dynamics of the plasma generated by an atmospheric pressure discharge with magnesium cathode in an argon flow are investigated in a coaxial geometry discharge system. The repetition rate of unipolar pulses was 56 kHz and the pulse duration was 12 μs. The steady-state amplitude of the discharge current was 100 mA at a voltage of about 130 V. Under this operating mode, a local melting of the active cathode surface took place. The evaporated magnesium atoms were captured by the working gas flow and formed a green glow plume around the positive discharge column outside the anode nozzle. The image of the plasma formation was projected onto the entrance slit of the monochromator. The spatial distribution of the radiation intensity and evolution in time of its selected monochromatic components were measured. The radiation spectrum contained groups of ion and magnesium atom lines with wavelengths of 285.21 nm (singlet resonant Mg I); 383.08, 383.36, 383.9 nm (triplet Mg I); 517.3, 517.5, 518.1 nm (triplet Mg I). The results of this work are promising with regard to studying open-type spontaneous radiation sources, as well as the generation of combined gas-metal plasma flows at atmospheric pressure.

Effect of the Column Structure of the Arc Discharge in Vacuum on the Energy Efficiency of the Welding Process

An arc discharge with a hollow cathode in vacuum has two forms of steady state: diffuse ("blurred" external column) and constricted (a visible cylindrical column providing a high directivity of the discharge energy transfer with minimal scattering in the radial direction). The article considers the dependence of the energy concentration in the heating spot and, consequently, the energy efficiency of the welding process on the structure of the arc discharge column with a hollow cathode when changing its mode parameters. The distributions of local parameters of the arc discharge with hollow cathode plasma are shown in a wide range of its modes based on probe studies. Considering the distributions allows obtaining a fairly complete picture of the physical processes in the plasma of the external discharge column and the effect of its structure on the energy efficiency of the welding process. It is shown that an arc discharge with a hollow cathode in a vacuum, the outer column of which has the structure of a plasma beam, is a relatively highly concentrated energy source and in terms of specific energy indicators can reach an energy concentration second only to beam energy sources.