So, apparently the French are quite interested in Plasma Medicine. Enough so to put this on their evening news.
Here’s the link to the full video:
http://jt.france3.fr/regions/popup.php?id=c45a_1920
And here is the part about plasma:
Tag Archive for 'plasma'
Who said Germans are OK to go to space? Especially the ones that look like this:
LOL! OK, OK, I’m just kidding!
Found this article posted on the German Aerospace Center site to be quite interesting.
Look at that! There is medicine, plasma engineering and physics, biotechnology, radiation research, etc etc etc. These guys are doing everything! Quite cool, if you ask me.
Personally, I’ve never really “looked up to the stars”… But perhaps I should. There are some quite fascinating phenomena that take place when you remove gravity from the equation. I’ve done a little bit of work on Coulomb crystals where the lattice sites were simply too tiny to feel the gravity. Too bad I have been looking elsewhere for cookies and am generally neglecting that initial effort. In space, however, even cows are weightless…
Anyway, read it and enjoy! Here are a few lines:
Plasma crystal research
The very first scientific experiment that was carried out on the ISS commenced in March 2001. This was a series of experiments that is still continuing today to research plasma crystals by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching (Co-ordinator: G. Morfill). This involves micro-particles arranged so that they are floating in a plasma at room temperature. The lattice-shaped arrangement can be used as an experimental model system for the atomic structure of a solid. Thus scientists can examine in detail the melting of a solid using individual particle movements in terms of time and space. Under certain conditions they are also able to analyse flowing liquids and gases at elemental micro particle level.
The PEAK™ technology offers an alternative to standard RF surgical techniques for tissue cutting and coagulation. Our technology operates in a regime of short-pulsed plasma-mediated electrical discharges. This technology limits heat diffusion and associated thermal damage to sub-cellular dimensions. In contrast, most commercially available RF-based surgical products use continuous voltage waveforms to cut tissue, which leads to significant heat diffusion into adjacent tissues and results in undesirable collateral damage.
(source: http://www.peaksurgical.com/tech.html)
So, apparently this small technology I’ve been including in the intro section of many of my papers just got another hefty boost from investors.
According to this and this articles they just got another $21 mil.
Very nifty toy this is, and definitely something to watch out for quite soon at a hospital. They seem to be shying away from “plasma” a little though as far as I know the technology is actually mainly based on plasma. I think I need to go read about this in further detail. In the mean time, here’s another quote:
The technology, however, originated at Stanford, where PEAK, it turns out, stands for “pulsed electron-avalanche knife.” The technique, developed by a team led by Daniel Palanker, involves using a high voltage electric field to create a plasma, a kind of electrically charged gas, which can be shaped and controlled to make clean cuts in tissue.
I never thought about this, but the money poured into sports in US is insane.
Reading this article in the USA Today I noticed this:
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
Cost: $695 million-plus
Projected opening: August 2008
Projected seating capacity: 63,000 for football
Features: Huge window will provide view of Indianapolis skyline. Stadium design incorporates brick, steel and glass and aims to reflect historic feel of Indiana’s high school and college sports venues. Features retractable roof with two moving panels that meet in peak above stadium center (panels will rest above seating when roof is open).Dallas Cowboys, Arlington, Texas
Cost: About $1 billion
Projected opening: 2009
Projected capacity: About 100,000 for big events
Features: Billed as largest NFL stadium when finished. Includes 120-foot-high by 180-foot-wide clear glass retractable doors beyond each end zone; video boards hung from arches over field will be 60 yards long (making upper-deck seats more attractive for fans, according to Cowboys); retractable roof.
Online: Stadium “Fly Through” video, more details: http://stadium.dallascowboys.comGiants/Jets , East Rutherford, N.J.
Cost: $1.3 billion
Projected opening: 2010
Projected capacity: 82,500
Features: Will host 20 NFL games a season as home to Giants and Jets. Stadium look will change depending on whether Giants or Jets are playing. For instance: Its exterior will be lighted by colors of team playing. Stadium will also feature 2,500 high-definition displays and four giant video boards.
Do you see that??!! $1.3 billion for a stadium… WOW!
This, apparently, is a very large drive for many technologies. This is where plasma TVs and the like are going to show off their glory. This is where the common people will decide to get a plasma or LCD TV because they saw this or that commercial during the game. This is where huge companies will advertise their useless junk and will pickup hundreds of thousands of customers…
All this is truly amazing to me. I am formulating some form of an idea in my head on global technology developments and the way people influence and are influenced by advertisements and all the various forms of subliminal advertisements, etc. I have nothing solid in my head just yet, but it’s coming :) Stay tuned.
Wow… They’re gonna start shipping 142 inch TVs based on PTAs (plasma tube arrays).
According to this article from Tech-On!:
To realize digital signage of more than 100 inches with current technologies, the following methods are possible: (1) projector, (2) LED display, (3) multi-vision LCD display and (4) PDP. However, Shinoda pointed out (1) has a low brightness, (2) has a low resolution and high cost, (3) has nondisplay areas between displays and (4) requires heavy equipment investments.
A cool plasma video I just stumbled on here.
It’s a well-known thing, about grapes and microwave.
Just try not to try this at home 
So, plasma surface coatings are kicking ass in the news, still. Every day I see something new and in this article (press release it looks like) company A announces purchase of technology from company B.
Who cares about the companies! I just like to see plasma used more and more in the medical industry, be in this time for surface processing of materials.
“We are excited to add March Plasma’s extensive application knowledge and surface materials to the portfolio of surface modification methods and materials we offer to our medical device customers,” stated Jon Anderson, CEO of Harland Medical Systems, Inc.
Yep, looks like a purchase of A by B or what-not.
March Plasma Systems seems a good solid company with a nice product portfolio although all seem to be in the vacuum plasma field. What happened to atmospheric pressure? Didn’t you guys hear about this new cool thing where everyone can, like, not explode from vacuum and you have no need for expensive pumps?
Although, I do like the way vacuum plasmas look. Much prettier than my plasma since in vacuum there is just so much more of it.
Well, you decide for yourself.
CTO, that is Chief Technical Officer of Chevron (you know that HUGE oil company?) visits Drexel and I get to play with plasma with him.
See, I AM COOL
Exduco publishes an interesting article on the new research in fusion. Confining plasma in magnetic field is nothing new but explanations of the phenomena are lacking.
I like this idea of usig space plasmas (auroras and such) to try to explain tokamaks.
Anyway, here’s the article from Exduco.
Twisted Flux Tubes Expel “Wrong-Way” Ions - 2007-04-16
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