Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma weld metal? More than you know. Most welding you've seen is already plasma. The interesting part is what happens when you try it in space.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Can plasma weld metal? More than you know.

00:06 Most welding people know is plasma: a thermal arc between electrode and workpiece

00:28 Other kinds of welding: friction welding and more

00:37 Plasma in novel applications

00:49 My Texas A&M colleagues drill into rock with thermal plasma

01:03 Traditional hot plasma welding: boring, but works really well

01:11 Micro-welding: dissimilar metals, very thin metals, metals to non-metals

01:32 Glue people would argue gluing is chemical welding

01:47 The message: even a "boring" topic merits PhDs, new companies, and new products

02:05 SpaceX is all welded together

02:13 Manufacturing in space changes everything

02:17 You can't just put your TIG welder on a rocket

02:31 The Soviets, 1969: electron beam welding in space

02:48 The coolest thing I learned recently: cold welding in vacuum

02:59 Two perfectly clean, perfectly flat plates touch and fuse. No heat, no pressure.

03:15 Joining is easy. Getting the surfaces clean and flat is the hard part.

03:40 Plasma prepares the surface

03:58 Low-power cold plasma in vacuum (plus additives) removes oxides, oils, and contaminants

04:16 Welding in space is the frontier of space manufacturing

04:29 Microgravity is weird physics

04:33 Shielding gas blows molten metal all over the place

04:43 Metal particles get charged. On Earth gravity pulls them down. In space it doesn't.

05:05 We need new welding techniques for everything we'll build on Mars and beyond

05:21 Wrap-up

If you work in welding, aerospace, space manufacturing, or materials joining, this is the episode.

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Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: if plasma can make water safer to drink, why isn't it under your sink right now? Short answer: plasma does things almost nothing else can, including destroying PFAS. It also creates byproducts you don't want to drink.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 If plasma can clean water, why isn't it under your sink?

00:11 Can it clean your water? Yes.

00:15 Solar panel + cheap ozone generator + bubbles = oxidized bacteria and contaminants

00:37 Stronger plasmas destroy what filters and chlorine can't

00:53 PFAS: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the "forever chemicals"

01:03 Plasma has been shown to destroy PFAS in water, not just filter and store it

01:16 One of EPA's top recommended methods for PFAS: granular activated carbon (GAC)

01:34 You concentrate the toxic chemicals on GAC. Then what? Landfill.

01:45 It leaches back into groundwater, and you buy more GAC forever

01:56 Incineration? Very few facilities can burn PFAS without releasing it into the air

02:18 Plasma has been demonstrated to destroy PFAS on spent GAC

02:26 So why isn't plasma in your home?

02:38 You don't know what's in your source water

02:43 Trace bromine + plasma = bromate, which is toxic

02:53 Plasma also makes nitrates. You don't want to drink those either.

03:01 Plasma is part of the solution, not the whole thing

03:07 Potable water treatment has to be a holistic, multi-step process

03:38 Can plasma make water safer? Yes, and it can do things few other technologies can

03:47 Lots of engineering work before it shows up in your kitchen

03:55 Go to school, study plasma, become one of us

If you work in water treatment, PFAS remediation, utilities, or environmental regulation, this is the map episode.

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Round 5 of the Gloriously Dumb series. I asked AI to pretend it's a YouTuber and ask me the dumbest "Can Plasma?" questions it could think of. Today's category: Existential & Absurd. Five questions. One of them is actually a yes, and it's a big one.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 AI pretends to be a YouTuber and asks me gloriously dumb questions

00:14 Round 5: Existential & Absurd, five questions

00:26 Q1: Can plasma make me funnier? No. Certainly doesn't work for me.

00:43 Q2: Can plasma fix the economy? Actually, yes.

00:52 Fusion reactors are plasma

01:19 Imagine a $30,000 to $50,000 reactor built into your house

01:30 All electricity in that house, free forever

01:34 Charge your car once every 10 years

01:53 Imagine an economy where electricity is free

02:02 Q3: Can plasma end traffic?

02:09 Our plasma system for removing and redepositing road markings

02:20 Scarifiers leave "ghost markings" that confuse autonomous vehicles

02:44 Better road markings, yes. End traffic, no.

02:51 Q4: Can plasma make Mondays better? Only if you watch this channel every Monday.

03:01 Q5: Can plasma replace my morning alarm? Plasma-ball alarm clocks exist. So, yes.

03:20 Send me your questions in the comments

If you liked the earlier rounds (Food & Kitchen, Personal & Grooming, Animals, Household & Random), this is the next one.

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