Akshat Jiwan Sharma

I thank the American institute of physics for organising their monthly Physics of plasma webinar series and for giving me. a chance to interact with  some of the leading researchers in plasma science.  On several occasions I have remarked that plasma science is possibly one of the most important areas of research that has the potential to impact almost every engineering and scientific domain. Medicine ,power,communication,chemical,materials,electronics ,packaging,food and more.  Therefore I was extremely excited to attend this month's webinar presented by Igor Kaganovich [1],highlighting this multidisciplinary aspect of plasma science and his work at the Princeton plasma physics laboratory. While his presentation dived deep into plasma modelling using Particle in cell approach as well as other models like , Vlasov and Poisson Boltzmann the most significant aspect of his presentation was the one slide in which he demonstrated the overlap between plasma models used in fusio...

I thank ASM for organising a technical discussion on lithium ion battery interconnects. A typical battery pack could contain anywhere from a couple to thousands of cells depending upon whether it's being used for consumer electronics or high power EVs.  Battery chemistry requires different electrode materials and the same battery chemistry requires different current collectors at Cathode(Al) and Anode (Cu). This works for individual cells. During assembly however when the cells have to be connected in series or in parallel things break down.  Because Al & Cu don't weld well and they suffer from galvanic corrosion, new material processing techniques are necessary to enable fast wiring of batteries. Cold cladding is an industry standard that has now proven itself. Copper and aluminum are cold welded at high pressures and they form an airtight atomic bond without any intermediate oxide/intermetallic layer on the Al side.  This discussion highlighted Materions particular ...

Electromagnetic wave propagation inside electron sheaths in a capacitive discharge plasma  ABSTRACT While the influence of plasma frequency on the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves has been extensively studied, the potential role of Lorentz force in perturbing free electrons in plasma sheath and thereby facilitating transmission of electromagnetic waves as per maxwell laws has received comparatively little attention. An oscillating EM wave at a frequency above the plasma frequency interacts with free electrons in the sheaths leading to generation of conduction currents. The frequency of oscillation of these conduction currents is equal to the applied wave frequency.  Although the primary EM wave propagates only a limited distance due to attenuation and geometric spreading, these free electrons carry the currents through the volume of the plasma making them detectable by probes placed deeper within the plasma body. This mechanism is similar to propagation of EM waves ...

Electrostatically generated bubble assisted patterning at micro and nanoscale ABSTRACT Surface patterning at the micro and nanoscale is critical in areas like microelectronics, photonics, biosensing, and materials science. A variety of techniques have been developed to produce these patterns. The majority of these techniques are lithographic; they transfer patterns on a substrate making them highly sophisticated and complex, but inflexible. Machines are locked into a pattern size and are unable to deviate from the parameters they have been designed with.  Here we investigate if bubbles,which have long been known to cause surface pitting on metals ,ceramics and polymers, can be used to carefully and precisely pattern a substrate on nano and microscale.  Electrostatic nucleation and detonation of bubbles is evaluated as a possible technique that can satisfy stringent requirements of nucleating and collapsing nanosized bubbles. Bubble size can be modulated through electric fields...

ABSTRACT: Although electrostatic motors and generators have been among the first electrical machines developed they have not gained widespread adoption in power engineering.Except for very niche applications in micromotors the electrostatic machines have not done well.The electrostatic theory is overlooked & it's the electromagnetic counterparts that are intensely studied in educational institutes. In this paper we explore the reasons behind this fact & propose the design of an electrostatic generator that can compete with its magnetic analogue.  INTRODUCTION:  Forces due to electrostatic fields are extremely powerful. If a charge is moving at the speed of 1m/sec then the magnetic force due it is 3x10^8 times weaker than the electrostatic force.  This should have encouraged engineers & scientists to develop electrostatic motors & generators but it hides a very important point about electrostatic fields. At the magnetic saturation limit the electric field ...

ABSTRACT: We present a technique to manufacture large scale carbon based conductors for transmission of electrical energy over continental scale distances. We start by identifying precursors that could be used for production processes.We review the current manufacturing techniques of producing carbon based fibers and explain why certain precursors have dominated carbon materials industry. We identify methods that can be used to increase the yield through alternative precursors.We put forward a theory of why carbon conductors have less conductivity than metals and what can be done to improve it. Finally we postulate that with cheaper production methods even if carbon based conductors are 10 times less effective than poor metallic conductors like steel, they can still outperform them in High Voltage transmission lines if cheap manufacturing techniques could be developed.  INTRODUCTION: Copper and in certain very specific applications aluminium & silicon steels dominate when it co...