Colloquium: April 17, 2013

Jörg Winter*

Exploring the 4^th state of matter

Host: Ömer İlday

ABSTRACT — A plasma, i.e., partially or fully ionized matter is often called “4^th state of matter”. It is characterized by collective behavior – all particles are coupled to each other via the Coulomb force. Plasmas have unusual properties, which may be manipulated and tuned by external means like electric and magnetic fields, the type of power coupling gas pressure, interaction with intense light pulses, just to name a few. Low-temperature plasmas usually have a small degree of ionization – nevertheless they possess most interesting properties making them ideal tools for many applications like deposition of functional thin films, dry etching, lighting, and, most recently, for applications in the bio-medical field. The enormous potential is largely due to the non-equilibrium character of these plasmas, i.e., highly energetic electrons and cold ions and neutral gas. The presentation will give a short introduction into the diverse world of plasmas and then concentrate on the discussion of low-temperature plasmas and on some of their applications.

*Bochum University, Bochum, Germany

The Physics Colloquia are designed to address a non-specialist, broad audience and introduce topics of contemporary research through lectures by leading experts. We warmly invite all members of the student body, including undergraduates enrolled in any programme.

Event Poster