It is by far the most common phase of matter in the visible universe by both mass and volume. Plasmas can be found in many places at many scales in nature, from bolts of lightning to the giant looping arcs of charged particles at the Sun’s surface. Scientists also generate plasmas artificially for technological applications such as plasma television screen and fluorescent lamps.
One researcher who has devoted his working life to the science of plasmas and their applications is Uwe Czarnetzki of the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany. In this video interview with Physics World, Czarnetzki explains how plasmas are a key ingredient in many of the technologies that have helped to shape the modern world, including lighting and the production of computer chips.
Czarnetzki also describes his latest work in assembling a special collection of articles on plasma research for Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, published by IOP Publishing (which also publishes Physics World). This collection is conceptualized as a road map to define the present state of the field and to help scientists, policymakers and funding agencies to guide its future direction.
In a second video, Czarnetzki showcases one of the wackier plasma applications: a plasma loudspeaker. Watch as he demonstrates his device playing a couple of well-known film soundtracks, as well as explaining how the device uses plasma to generate sound.
