Looking Into a Plasma Loudspeaker

Author

Sutton, Yvonne ; Moore, Jon ; Sharp, David ; Braithwaite, Nicholas St J

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys. & Astron., Open Univ., Milton Keynes, UK

Volume

39

Issue

11

fYear

2011

Firstpage

2146

Lastpage

2147

Abstract

A 325-kHz atmospheric discharge can be modulated at audio frequencies so that it acts as a loudspeaker by direct electroacoustic coupling, without any electromechanical components. In exploring the details of the mechanism, it has been useful to visualize the heated gas within and around the discharge plume using Schlieren techniques. This has enabled a 2-D reconstruction of the translational temperature of the neutral gas (up to 2500 K) that complements spectroscopic measurements of rotational and vibrational temperatures (up to 2700 K) in the luminous region.

Keywords

acoustoelectric devices; high-frequency discharges; loudspeakers; plasma devices; plasma diagnostics; schlieren systems; 2D reconstruction; Schlieren techniques; atmospheric discharge; audio frequencies; direct electroacoustic coupling; discharge plume; frequency 325 kHz; luminous region; neutral gas; plasma loudspeaker; rotational temperature; spectroscopic measurements; temperature 2500 K; translational temperature; vibrational temperature; Coils; Discharges; Loudspeakers; Plasma temperature; Refractive index; Temperature measurement; Acoustic transducers; atmospheric-pressure plasma; loudspeakers; plasma applications;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TPS.2011.2165560

Filename

6024475