Investigation of a toroidal air plasma under atmospheric conditions

Summary form only given. The University of Missouri-Columbia has recently been studying methods of generating large volume high density toroidal air plasmas. Stable, large volume high density plasma discharges in air at atmospheric pressure are difficult to achieve due to electron recombination, diffusion, and attachment as well as the high number of neutral particle collisions. In order to achieve steady state, the plasma must satisfy the continuity equation where electron generation must equal electron loss rates. This can be achieved with or without electron generation from an external source.