Stream of plasma consciousness. Should we ignore alternative viewpoints? #science #fakenews

In this modern world of the internet we are reverting back to tribes. Have you ever been asked a question by someone and just not want to interact because you know they come from a different tribe. As a scientist, I belong to the facts tribe. I do not have opinions, I do not believe …

The Wheatstone bridge and related matters, like what is your greatest achievement in life?

Wheatstone (1802-1875) is a famous UK physicist.  He is best known for the Wheatstone bridge a device to measure resistance.  Using an AC or RF voltage the bridge can also measure impedance. It is here that my story begins.  Impedance is the ratio of voltage to current flowing in a device.  When current is impeded …

Mobile Fusion

It has been a while since I had time to put anything up on my blog. The blog was started a few years ago for me to explore the online experience. It was interesting to put my views online but I knew there would be only a few readers. I put a little effort into …

Fusion Plasma: a pipe dream?

Fusion energy is similar to Fission (on which nuclear reactors depend) in that both are based on Einsteins famous equation E=MC^2.  Pronounced as E equals M C squared. E is the energy released and M is the mass destroyed and C is the speed of light. How is the mass destroyed? Well, nuclear particles will bind to each …

Why Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Results are Not Even Wrong; a Detailed Analysis.

A while back, I responded to a claim from Lawrenceville Plasma Physics that they were close to a commercial fusion reactor.  I was annoyed that such claims were being made and even more concerned that such claims were not receiving a strong criticism from the scientific community.  I read the paper published in the journal - …

Plasma as Art, A Poem about Electrons

I have said before that plasmas are often considered an art more than a science. This is true in industry where plasmas are developed to do many exotic things and then locked in copy exact mode to perform the same feat forever.  It is why plasma measurement is usually referred to as plasma diagnostics rather …

Lawrenceville Plasma Physics is Back in the News

I see that Lawrenceville Plasma Physics is back in the news again with the announcement of a collaboration between LPP and an Iranian research institution.  The collaboration agreement is for scientific publications on aneutronic fusion, which some sources claim could be a possible route to cheap, safe, clean energy.  This blog believes the claim is the result …

Plasma Science and Technology is Useful in the Home

Importance of Scientific Research Scientific research is an important factor in the analysis of new technologies. It is important to have independent scientific data especially when we are talking about plasma technology. Plasmas are very complex and it is easy to make claims that are not based on true scientific fact. You can get a …

The Plasma Weapon, Sword, Sabre and Rifle – Fiction or Fact

It is common to see discussions forums talk about plasma weapons.  We have seen the light sabre in Star Trek movies . The Members of forums muse about the possibility of a plasma sword. In the gaming world plasma rifles are already common place.  But are such weapons just figments of fertile imaginations or is there a real …

Is Plasma Sapping Panasonic’s Energy

Panasonic's  first quarter (January-March 2012) losses grew an order of magnitude to reach  USD 5 billion. In part, this loss is due to their heavy investment in plasma display technology as well as natural disasters.  Plasma TV's are a technology that use micro-discharges to produce UV light to excite phosphors that drive a classical Red, Green and Blue …