The Effect of Water Concentration on a Fruit's Ability to Produce Plasma
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Physics
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
In the past 10 years, a modest home science trick of a grape split in half spitting plasma has perplexed scientists. That is, until Hamza K. Khattak, Pablo Bianucci, and Aaron D. Slepkov performed a study "Linking Plasma Formation in Grapes to Microwave Resonances of Aqueous Dimers." They found that the sliver of skin left between the grapes held electromagnetic hotspots, using the microwave radiation to create and emit plasma. (Khattak, Bianucci, and Slepkov, 2019) In this study, the effect of a fruit's water content on its ability to emit plasma was investigated. Fruits with water contents 74%-94% were studied: banana, grape, cherry, blueberry, cantaloupe, and cherry tomato. Each fruit was microwaved for 1 minute and videoed with an app that did not edit aperture. The number of sparks and spark intensity were recorded for three trials of each fruit. The study found that plasma was maximized at 85% water content, in the center of the sample set, and dropped off h. However, the results are not statistically significant because the F critical value was greater than the F value.
Recommended Citation
Cook, Addie-Grace, "The Effect of Water Concentration on a Fruit's Ability to Produce Plasma" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 99.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/99
Location
Furman Hall 127
Start Date
3-28-2020 9:45 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effect of Water Concentration on a Fruit's Ability to Produce Plasma
Furman Hall 127
In the past 10 years, a modest home science trick of a grape split in half spitting plasma has perplexed scientists. That is, until Hamza K. Khattak, Pablo Bianucci, and Aaron D. Slepkov performed a study "Linking Plasma Formation in Grapes to Microwave Resonances of Aqueous Dimers." They found that the sliver of skin left between the grapes held electromagnetic hotspots, using the microwave radiation to create and emit plasma. (Khattak, Bianucci, and Slepkov, 2019) In this study, the effect of a fruit's water content on its ability to emit plasma was investigated. Fruits with water contents 74%-94% were studied: banana, grape, cherry, blueberry, cantaloupe, and cherry tomato. Each fruit was microwaved for 1 minute and videoed with an app that did not edit aperture. The number of sparks and spark intensity were recorded for three trials of each fruit. The study found that plasma was maximized at 85% water content, in the center of the sample set, and dropped off h. However, the results are not statistically significant because the F critical value was greater than the F value.
