Plasma

Scientists at Rutgers University have created paper-based plasma generators that could one day be worn on clothing or fitted to equipment to zap any bug they come into contact with, cheaply and easily.

The ESA's Swarm satellites have found a strange system at work in the upper atmosphere. Electrical fields created as solar winds interact with the planet’s magnetic field have been found to drive supersonic plasma jets, which can heat the ionosphere to temperatures as high as 10,000º C (18,032º F).

Scientists have come up with a cold plasma technology to zap cooking odors at the source, which means you'll be able to eat at your favorite soul food joint without smelling like it.

When an engine fails or becomes very worn, it is usually scrapped. Ford wants to change that by utilizing a high-tech plasma process to remanufacture broken engines. The process reduces carbon emissions by about half when compared to making a new engine.

​As some parents will already know, head lice infestations can be very difficult to treat. That's why researchers have developed an alternative, in the form of a comb that zaps the pests with cold plasma.

​In honour of the soon-to-be-released new James Bond film Spectre, our techno-weapons-tinkerin' friend Patrick Priebe has created something else that you should never try building at home. It's a working plasma "cannon" disguised as a digital watch.

Solar storms have the potential to wreak havoc on orbiting satellites, radio networks, and national power grids. A UK consortium has proposed a satellite system that can provide as much as five days warning of such dangerous events.

A Sydney University student has used an Australian outback radio telescope to locate previously unknown plasma pipes in the upper atmosphere. Using a clever imaging technique, a 3D movie has been made of their moving formations too.

Using a quadrillion watt laser, Berkeley lab researchers have produced a world-record 4.25 giga-electron volts energy acceleration using their tabletop-size laser-plasma particle accelerator.

On the eve of the first landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that the unmanned Rosetta orbiter carrying the Philae lander has recorded a "song" emanating from comet.

It's no secret that Star Wars is full of scenes that defy the laws of physics. From space battles inspired by WW I and II dogfights to beams of light clashing in lightsaber duels. Researchers in Poland have now created a film to show what a laser bolt would actually look like.

Seeing greater potential for miniaturized modular satellites, the University of Michigan is installing a miniature plasma thruster system into a 3U CubeSat, enabling the vehicle to leave low Earth orbit and cruise much of the Solar System.