Plasma's Frontier

Researchers are pushing plasma applications far beyond energy. Plasma medicine uses cold (non-thermal) plasma to sterilize wounds, kill bacteria, and even target cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue. Plasma thrusters propel spacecraft more efficiently than chemical rockets — NASA's Dawn mission used ion thrusters (which generate plasma) to visit two different asteroids. Plasma etching is essential in semiconductor manufacturing, carving nanometer-scale circuits into silicon chips. From healing wounds to exploring deep space to building the processors in your phone, plasma is the quiet workhorse behind technologies you use every day.