Plasma beams could one day cool overheating electronics in a flash

Date:
Thu, 03 Aug 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Description:
Plasma beams can get extremely hot, but not before potentially flash cooling
a target. Tom Cogill / UVA Researchers have developed a 'freeze ray' that relies on thermodynamic quirks to chill its targets. The post Plasma beams could one day cool overheating electronics in a flash appeared first on Popular Science .

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Plasma beams can get extremely hot, but not before potentially flash cooling
a target. Tom Cogill / UVA

Earths air is often a decent, convenient coolant for military planes electronics systems , while ocean waters function similarly for naval ships . But neither source is exactly available the farther you get from the planets surfacesay, the upper atmosphere and outer space, for example. There, its
much more difficult to keep electronics at safe temperatures, given that coolant is heavy and takes up valuable onboard real estate. According to new findings recently published in ACS Nano , one potential aid could be found
via harnessing plasma ironically, the same matter that composes stars and lightning bolts.

Researchers at the University of Virginias Experiments and Simulations in Thermal Engineering (ExSITE) Lab have discovered an extremely promising, previously unrealized way to quickly cool down surfaces: plasma freeze rays.

[Related: Will future planes fly on wings of plasma? ]

Using plasma to lower temperatures may seem counterintuitiveafter all, plasma can easily heat to 45,000 degrees Fahrenheit , and higherbut according to mechanical and aerospace engineer Patrick Hopkins, shooting a focused jet of matters fourth state can offer some incredibly interesting thermodynamic results.

What I specialize in is doing really, really fast and really, really small measurements of temperature, Hopkins recently explained . So when we turned
on the plasma, we could measure temperature immediately where the plasma hit, then we could see how the surface changed.

In their experiments, Hopkins team fired a purple jet of helium-generated plasma through a thin needle coated in ceramic onto a gold-plated target.
They then measured the effects on the targets surface using specialized, custom microscopic instruments, only to record some incredible results.

We saw the surface cool first, then it would heat up, said Hopkins. Credit: Tom Cogill / UVA

After repeated tests and observations of the phenomenon, the team determined the plasma beam must be first striking a micro-thin layer of carbon and water molecules, which quickly evaporates the coating much like what happens when you air dry after getting out of a pool in the summer. Or, more simply, Hopkins is making the materials sweat.

Evaporation of water molecules on the body requires energy; it takes energy from [the] body, and thats why you feel cold, said Hopkins. In this case, the plasma rips off the absorbed [molecules], energy is released, and thats what cools.

Researchers measured a decrease in temperature as much as a few degrees for a few microsecondsperhaps unimpressive on a human scale, but such a difference could be extremely helpful in delicate, highly advanced electronics and instruments. Going forward, Hopkins team is experimenting with both various plasma gasses, as well as their impact on different materials like copper and semiconductors. Eventually, the researchers envision a time when robotic arm attachments can pinpoint hotspots in devices to cool via tiny plasma shots from an electrode.

This plasma jet is like a laser beam; its like a lightning bolt, said
Hopkins. It can be extremely localized.

The post Plasma beams could one day cool overheating electronics in a flash appeared first on Popular Science . Articles may contain affiliate links
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Link to news story:
https://www.popsci.com/technology/plasma-cooling-ray/


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