Topical issue on Plasma Physics and Technology

Plasma physics and technology; industrial applications

Plasma technologies offer a wide spectrum of possible treatments of materials. In particular, in function of the peculiar physical characteristics of the plasma, produced by different ionisation systems, three types of processes on the materials can be activated: (1) Destruction of toxic/harmful materials; (2) Superficial modification of existing materials; (3) Creation of new materials. Therma...

Physics and Technology of the Feasibility of Plasma Sails

Plasma sail technology, in which an artificial magnetosphere is generated around a spacecraft and is coupled to and dragged by the solar wind, has been proposed as a propulsion technique to rapidly travel to the outer regions of the solar system and heliosphere. An examination of the physics and planned implementation of plasma sail propulsion indicates that the proposed technology does not pro...

Topical Issue: Acu-obesity and Diabetes.

Obesity hasbecomeamajorpublic health issueworldwide. It is a contributing factor in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer, osteoarthritis, asthma, and sleep apnea [1], and one of the components ofmetabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a state of chronic low-grade inflammation as a consequence of a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. It is c...

Special issue on atomically controlled fabrication technology

Editorial The Global Center of Excellence (GCOE) for atomically controlled fabrication technology was established in 2008 by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), as a succession program of the 21st Century COE program for atomistic fabrication technology promoted from 2003 to 2007. The GCOE program is implemented by three departments, namely the De...

Editorial: Special Issue on Agent Technology