Electrode Shape Design for
Uniform Glow Discharge
Confinement
Wendy Figueroa1, Clarianne Moscoso11Commonwealth High School
Introduction
Plasma consists of an ionized gas into which sufficient energy is applied to free the electrons from their atoms.
Glow Discharge is a plasma formed by the passage of current through a gas at low pressure.
Objective
To determine the best shape in which to harness uniform plasma.
Method
Molded stainless steel into three different shapes:PyramidCubeAtom
Placed shapes in a closed, low pressure system.
Added high voltage.
Experimental Variables
Independent Variables
Dependent Variables
Controlled Variables
Voltage Plasma Nitrogen Gas
Pressure
Observations
In all of the shapes, the discharge points occurred near the welding points.
Glow discharge was concentrated on the center of the shapes.
As the voltage increased, the glow discharge increased
Data: Pyramid
We began with a fixed pressure of 9x10-3 Torr Nitrogen gas.
Voltage Observation
600 volts Glow discharge began
640 volts Began to flash
650 volts - 670 volts Glow discharge increased at points
Data: Cube
Voltage Observation
500 volts Glow discharge began
We began with a fixed pressure of 9x10-3 Torr Nitrogen gas.
Data: Atom
Voltage Observation
570 volts Faint glow discharge began
1,000 volts Electrical discharges increased
2,000 volts Plasma concentrated on the center
We began with a fixed pressure of 9x10-3 Torr Nitrogen gas.
Results
The cube, is the shape that best harnessed plasma because it was the shape that least required energy.
Conclusion
We were able to get close to our purpose.
As the voltage increases the glow discharge increases.
We found that the cube is the most efficient shape, due to its minimal need of energy ( only 500 volts).
Future Works
We believe that we could use less energy to harness plasma, by making a shape with more volume and less welding points.
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