Plasma Science in Engineering

Abstract

In this course students will learn about the physical fundamentals and the main applications of plasma, the fourth state of matter. The course will give first an overview of what a plasma is, and where it can be found in nature. Then, the course will cover the fundamentals of plasma physics that will be used and extended during the main part of the course.

Objective

Students should be able to describe the fundamental behaviors that characterize a plasma and physical processes that involve this state of matter. In addition, the students should be able to apply this knowledge to explain existing and develop new engineering applications that exploit plasma.

Content

The course will give first an overview about plasma, including its definition and where plasma is found in nature. Then, the course will cover the fundamentals of plasma physics that will be used and extended during the main part of the course, which is devoted at the main applications of plasma in today's technology and research. In detail, the topics follow below: 1- Fundamental definitions and occurrences of plasma in nature (from interstellar to pulling a wool sweater on) 2- Characterization of the plasma state, equilibrium and non-equilibrium state; steady versus pulsed 3- From Vlasov equations to magnetohydrodynamic model, derivation and underlying assumptions 4- Main methods used for plasma generation: gas discharge, laser produced and microwave generated plasmas, including hybrids 5- Plasma - matter interaction and ways for protecting surfaces: confinement challenge 6- Impact of pressure (including charge transfer) on plasma dynamics 7- Low temperature plasmas generation and application 8- Mid temperature plasmas generation and application 9- High temperature plasmas generation and application

Resources