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So I think we're all aware that plasma can be made in a microwave, could someone ELI5 what the new information is here? Is it that the plasma can be used for a
by iaw 6y ago
So I think we're all aware that plasma can be made in a microwave, could someone ELI5 what the new information is here? Is it that the plasma can be used for applications similar to a lab setting?
- jjulius 6y ago>So I think we're all aware that plasma can be made in a microwave... HN has a more diverse knowledge base than you might think; I had no idea it could be made in a microwave until this very moment.
- King-Aaron 6y agoYou're one of todays lucky 10,000! https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
- ygra 6y agoFun fact: Microwaves are also used on a larger scale to generate plasma, e.g. in the experimental fusion reactor Wendelstein 7-X (and I believe they've worked on that with the people from ITER as well). It's just that they use 1 MW instead of just 800 W or so :-)
- godelski 6y agoI just skimmed, but I don't see anything novel here (which just might mean the paper is poorly written and they didn't highlight it). But I've used a microwave for the applications they've suggested (which are really all the same application...). I used to do this when I was trying to clean materials that I was sputtering onto (which can also be cheaply built in-house for a few hundred dollars but for something that works pretty well you'll probably spend closer to ~$1k. I have cad files somewhere). But I think a lot of HN users have stepped foot in a physics lab (not a class, but where the grad students do their experiments) and have seen all the hacked together equipment and home made variants because no one can afford a $10k machine.