Toroidal plasmoid generation via extreme hydrodynamic shear.

ABSTRACT: Saint Elmo's fire and lightning are two known forms of naturally occurring atmospheric pressure plasmas. As a technology, nonthermal plasmas are induced from artificially created electromagnetic or electrostatic fields. Here we report the observation of arguably a unique case of a naturally formed such plasma, created in air at room temperature without external electromagnetic action, by impinging a high-speed microjet of deionized water on a dielectric solid surface. We demonstrate that tribo-electrification from extreme and focused hydrodynamic shear is the driving mechanism for the generation of energetic free electrons. Air ionization results in a plasma that, unlike the general family, is topologically well defined in the form of a coherent toroidal structure. Possibly confined throug

SUBMITTER: Gharib M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5715769 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature