The new Rubin issue is all about plasma, the fourth state of matter. © Damian Gorczany

New release Applied plasma research in science magazine Rubin

Our everyday lives are virtually inconceivable without plasmas. A special edition of Rubin provides insights into their numerous areas of application.

Plasmas help heal wounds, clean up exhaust gases efficiently and extend the shelf life of drinks in PET bottles. They affect our everyday lives in many ways, often without us noticing. The various applications of plasmas are featured in a special edition of Rubin, the RUB’s science magazine. The issue, published on 1 September 2021, gives insights into the activities of two Collaborative Research Centres (SFB/CRC): SFB/TR 87 “Pulsed high power plasmas for the synthesis of nanostructural functional layers” has been operating at RUB since 2010, and CRC 1316 “Transient atmospheric pressure plasmas: from plasmas to liquids to solids” since 2018. Both centres present their research in Rubin.

Free of charge in print and online

All articles of the plasma special edition are available free of charge online in German and in English. The print edition is available free of charge from the Research Department Plasmas with Complex Interactions. Interested parties can contact us by email.

Plasmas

Plasmas are called the fourth state of matter: in the solid phase, their molecules occupy solid places, whereas there is some freedom of movement in the liquid phase and a lot of more freedom of movement in the gas phase. If more energy is supplied to a gas, the molecules break up and can also be ionized, a plasma is created. The negatively charged electrons separate from the positively charged atomic nuclei and turn them into ions. These free electrons and ions can be accelerated by electromagnetic fields. If the fast electrons collide with other molecules, they can change them in turn by ionising or breaking them down. This process can result in different, sometimes short-lived reactive neutral particles and ions that may be useful for a variety of applications.

Subscribe to Rubin

The regular Rubin editions are published twice a year, in early May and early November in German language. If you are interested, you can subscribe to the magazine free of charge and have it delivered to your home or workplace.