Pollutants due to flue gases and exhaust emissions have been a significant worldwide problem in recent years. To date, non-thermal plasma has been employed in air purification devices, specifically the corona discharge technique. This technique typically uses a needle-like electrode or small diameter wire however, the electrode surface is often damaged by oxidation or the discharge affected by particle deposition. Ultimately, these factors affect the stability of the discharge.
In a recent Fast Track Communication published in JPhysD, researchers in Japan, S Uehara et al, have investigated how these problems can be overcome by employing magnetic fluid (MF) spikes for atmospheric discharge in air purification. The spikes, produced by manipulating the MF with magnetic fields with a permanent magnet, emulate the needle-like electrodes to initiate atmospheric discharge. The shape of the spikes can be easily altered and their fluidity allows them to be stretched and sharpened using applied voltages. This work hopes to assist in the development of an atmospheric discharge device using an MF-spike surface.
Stretching of a magnetic fluid spike from S Uehara et al 2015 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 48 282001
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
Front image: Ferrofluid, image by Andrew Magill published under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Article image: S Uehara et al 2015 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 48 282001. Copyright IOP Publishing 2015.
Categories: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
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