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Plasma reaction with Water?

  1. Aug 12, 2008 #1
    what happens to a body of water when coming in contact with plasma - such as the plasma cutters? I've been thinking if you had a cylinder filled with some water and something like a plasma "spark plug" you could get some serious vapor pressure.

    Is this an accurate estimation, or am I way off? If it is accurate, then is it possible to use water as a combustion material - like a modern steam engine?

    I seem to recall at extremely high pressures, water acts like a lubricant.
  2. jcsd
  3. Aug 12, 2008 #2


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    Staff: Mentor

    The water would be heated, and perhaps boil or vaporize with sufficient heat transfer. The water would have to be pressurized, which is what high pressure water jets do for cutter. They require sapphire nozzles because metals would corrode and erode.




    In a steam engine, most of the water is boiled by heat from a fire. Water vapor is a combustion product, but is very small compared to the mass of water that is boiled. Steam locomotive exhausted steam in an open cycle, whereas many electrical plants using the Rankine (steam) cycle have a closed loop.

    At high pressure, or rather high velocities, water erodes materials.
  4. Sep 8, 2011 #3
    I have heard about waterjet cutting only, and with laser maybe possible, but never heard with plasma

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