Physics Commons^™

“Ultra Cold” Room Temperature Plasma, Stephen Rupper, Dr. Scott Bergeson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many scientists throughout the world are currently doing research on ultra cold neutral plasmas (UCNP). These plasmas are difficult to make and require quite a sophisticated setup. A method that we employ in our lab requires multiple laser pulses to be timed perfectly and aligned precisely in order to ionize the atoms. It also requires the use of a magneto optical trap, which traps the atoms before they are ionized. This setup is very time consuming to build and maintain but we have a mathematical model for it. Since the current methods of creating ultra cold plasmas are hard to …