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Linking plasma formation in grapes to microwave resonances of aqueous dimers
- Source :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Significance In a popular parlor trick, plasma is created by irradiating grape hemispheres in a household microwave oven. This work ties the source of the plasma to microwave photonic hotspots at the junction of aqueous dielectric spherical dimers. We use a combination of thermal-imaging techniques and computer simulations to show that grape-sized fruit and hydrogel beads form resonant cavities that concentrate electromagnetic fields to extreme subwavelength regions. This is enabled by the large dielectric susceptibility of water at microwave frequencies. Furthermore, the absorptive properties of water are key to washing out complex internal modes and for allowing the evanescent hotspot build-up. Our approach to microwave resonances in high-dielectric materials opens a sandbox for nanocluster photonics research.<br />The sparking of cut grape hemispheres in a household microwave oven has been a poorly explained Internet parlor trick for over two decades. By expanding this phenomenon to whole spherical dimers of various grape-sized fruit and hydrogel water beads, we demonstrate that the formation of plasma is due to electromagnetic hotspots arising from the cooperative interaction of Mie resonances in the individual spheres. The large dielectric constant of water at the relevant gigahertz frequencies can be used to form systems that mimic surface plasmon resonances that are typically reserved for nanoscale metallic objects. The absorptive properties of water furthermore act to homogenize higher-mode profiles and to preferentially select evanescent field concentrations such as the axial hotspot. Thus, beyond providing an explanation for a popular-science phenomenon, we outline a method to experimentally model subwavelength field patterns using thermal imaging in macroscopic dielectric systems.
- Subjects :
- microwave photonics
Multidisciplinary
Aqueous solution
Materials science
Microwave oven
Surface plasmon
plasma ionization
Physics::Optics
02 engineering and technology
Plasma
Dielectric
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
01 natural sciences
Applied Physical Sciences
dielectric resonators
Chemical physics
Physical Sciences
0103 physical sciences
Thermal
SPHERES
morphology-dependent resonances
010306 general physics
0210 nano-technology
hydrogels
Microwave
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10916490 and 00278424
- Volume :
- 116
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....71769927cf73d905a5ce3567c3350bc3