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Gregory Fridman
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I'm Greg Fridman, a PhD in Bioengineering and an expert in non-equilibrium plasmas. This channel is a space for direct chats about the things that actually matter: the future of biotech, the fascinating physics of plasmas, and the unfiltered reality of the scientific life. No jargon, no gatekeeping—just the science. Subscribe to join the conversation as we explore how bioengineering is reshaping our world and what it’s really like to work at the edge of discovery.

  1. 3h ago

    Can Plasma Make Plants Grow Faster? The Magic Water Story That Changed My Research

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma make plants grow faster? Yes. I don't believe in magic. But I stumbled into plasma agriculture through a story that looked a lot like magic. Three parts: delivery routes, the biology, and why farmers care. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question, and my admission: I don't believe in magic 00:14 But I stumbled on plasma agriculture through magic 00:23 3 things: delivery routes, biology, farmer economics 00:41 The magic water story 00:44 15+ years ago in the lab, working on medical applications of plasma-treated liquids 01:14 Our secretary, not a scientist, called it "magic water" because it worked on cancer cells 01:36 A plant on my desk wilted and I threw it in the trash 01:43 A week later, she pulled it out of the trash and told my students to treat it with the magic water 01:58 I walked into the student area a week after that. Plant was alive. 02:14 Instead of laughing it off, I asked "wait a sec, what's happening?" 02:22 A couple of undergrads got assigned to investigate the mechanism 02:39 What we found: plasma acts on the whole plant lifecycle 02:47 Seed treatment cracks the outer shell so water can get in faster 02:58 Plasma-treated water: ROS stimulate plant development 03:08 Reactive nitrogen species are literal food for the plant 03:10 Bottom line: you need less N in your NPK fertilizer if you're using plasma-treated water 03:26 The magic wasn't magic. But that's how it started for me. 03:35 Biologically, there's also stuff around the plant 03:41 Plasma disinfects the environment, prevents mold growth 03:50 In hydroponic systems, plasma kills algae in the water 04:01 Undergrad-founded company: TATOH (Tabletop Hydroponics) 04:11 They graduated, the company went nowhere, but the system worked 04:15 A $3 Chinese power supply kept a hydroponic plant algae-free for 6+ months 04:40 (The control turned dark green with algae) 04:46 Recap: seed germination, plant development, plant protection, all separate plasma modes 04:56 Why farmers care 05:00 Higher germination rate → fewer seeds to buy 05:09 My grass lawn joke: I should plasma-treat next season's seeds 05:23 Faster growth rate is worth a lot to certain farmers 05:36 Cannabis growers, taxed by square foot and plant count (in some states), care most 05:46 Standard: 2 harvests per year per plant 06:02 With plasma-treated water in early development and throughout: 3 harvests 06:10 30% profit gain from a little bit of electricity applied to your water 06:20 Recap: yes, plasma makes plants grow faster 06:35 Whole lifecycle stimulated by plasma-activated liquids 06:40 Farmers are the beneficiaries If you're in ag tech, controlled-environment agriculture, cannabis operations, or hydroponics, this is the map. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #Agriculture #AgTech #Hydroponics #Cannabis #Farming #PlasmaAgriculture #ControlledEnvironmentAgriculture

    Can Plasma Make Plants Grow Faster? The Magic Water Story That Changed My Research

  2. 2d ago

    Can Plasma Heal Wounds Faster? A DARPA Cartoon, an FDA Story, and Why Korea Has It and We Don't

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma heal wounds faster than pharma? Yes, for scrapes and cuts (not gunshot wounds, not broken hearts). Three parts: the dual mechanism, where it's already approved, and why it's not mainstream in the US yet. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question, and what kind of wound we mean 00:29 A mother of a 5-year-old's definition: scrapes, cuts, capillary bleeding 00:55 3 things to cover today 01:17 A funny story: how my career in plasma medicine started 01:32 A lunch-and-learn at a medical school by Dr. Satava, DARPA program director for directed energy medicine 01:57 His talk: medicine of 2030 (delivered in the very early 2000s) 02:11 The cartoon he showed at the end, made by EA Sports for DARPA 02:20 Military of the future: self-guiding bullets, night vision, seeing through walls 02:32 Then: soldier gets shot in the leg, robotic helicopter arrives, purple light closes the wound 02:47 Our very early funding was to figure out if that cartoon was true 03:00 The mechanism, in a real scrape 03:04 Capillary bleeding, tissue damage, bacterial contamination 03:16 Plasma UV and ROS/RNS kill bacteria immediately 03:27 Charges, electric fields, and ROS trigger both intrinsic and extrinsic coagulation cascades 03:43 Capillary bleeding (not gashing) coagulates very effectively 03:54 Cells respond to redox balance changes, and oxidative stress from plasma triggers tissue regeneration 04:20 Result: a pocket-sized battery-powered device you run over a scrape 04:33 Disinfected. Coagulated. Closes faster. No consumables. 04:49 Where it's approved: Europe, especially Korea and Germany. Specific clinical indications first. 05:22 The right way to commercialize a treatment: clinical studies before consumer 05:24 Easier to run those studies in countries with less stringent regulation than the US 05:36 Why not mainstream in the US 05:44 During COVID, we developed a plasma system called Oxystrike for N95 respirator disinfection 05:57 FDA feedback loop: 6 rounds of deficiencies, each round more stringent 06:24 One side of me is very supportive of FDA's rigor 06:36 After all that, FDA called us on the phone 07:00 "Your device is awesome, but we're no longer authorizing mask disinfection systems because COVID mask shortages are over" 07:22 Whoops. 07:32 Several companies are working on wound-healing plasma. Slow process. Give us a few years. 07:41 Recap: dual mechanism, pocket-sized, no consumables, approved abroad, US catching up If you're in dermatology, wound care, emergency medicine, defense medical devices, or FDA regulatory, this is the map episode. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaMedicine #WoundHealing #DARPA #FDA #Dermatology #MedicalDevices #DirectedEnergyMedicine #PlasmaScience

    Can Plasma Heal Wounds Faster? A DARPA Cartoon, an FDA Story, and Why Korea Has It and We Don't

  3. 4d ago

    Can Plasma Kill Bacteria on Food Packaging? Yes. Its Biggest Competitor Is Nothing.

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: if plasma is so good at killing bacteria, why do we still have foodborne illnesses from packaged food? Three things: how plasma actually kills microbes, where it's already deployed (including NASA and Campbell's), and why it hasn't taken over the food packaging industry. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question, and the paradox 00:24 3 things to cover: mechanism, deployment, and why it's not everywhere 00:38 What plasma is: highly ionized gas full of reactive species 00:58 ROS and RNS: peroxides, peroxynitrite, ozone, electronically excited oxygen 01:14 Electrons and charged species (catalytic) 01:33 Broad-spectrum UV down into vacuum UV (VUV) 01:43 VUV doesn't travel in air, but it's generated right next to the bacteria 02:02 High electric fields at the tip of every "micro lightning" 02:31 So how plasma actually kills microbes: ROS/RNS poison + high electric fields rupture cell membranes + UV disrupts DNA 02:47 The NASA story 02:52 Spacecraft disinfection work in two directions 03:00 "Sterilization" doesn't have a clean definition (6-log for most, 9-log for NASA) 03:11 NASA wants fewer than a couple of organisms per square meter of spacecraft material 03:26 The high-aspect-ratio (deep hole) problem: reactive species can penetrate 03:55 All mechanisms play a role in that geometry 04:24 In the US, microwave-plasma discharges are already deployed 04:29 A Campbell's Soup factory tour in New Jersey 04:37 A giant microwave system sterilizes pre-made packaged food 04:49 If Campbell's is already doing it, why hasn't this taken over? 05:05 Reason 1: plasma isn't cheap. Cost per tomato has to be way under a penny. 05:30 The biggest competing technology in food disinfection 05:36 The answer: NOTHING. Wash your own produce. 05:49 Farmer's market model: farmers hand off produce, you clean at home 06:11 A note: wash your produce, especially from farmer's markets 06:20 Grocery stores are generally safer than farmer's markets on this 06:33 Reason 2: high voltage. Occupational safety concerns. 06:41 Big plasma for big produce (like a potato) means 100+ kV supplies 06:59 Above 100 kV, electrons hitting surfaces produce Bremsstrahlung radiation 07:19 Which means hard X-rays. Small amounts, but real. 07:26 Extra worker protection is now required. Cost goes up again. 07:55 Package geometry adds constraints: plasma-activated water fog works for some products, not for potato chips (soggy) 08:16 Recap: yes, plasma kills. Deployed in some applications. Regulatory and health/safety keep it from being everywhere. If you're in food safety, packaging engineering, regulatory affairs, or NASA-adjacent sterilization, this is the map episode. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #FoodSafety #FoodPackaging #Sterilization #NASA #Bremsstrahlung #IndustrialEngineering #PlasmaChemistry

    Can Plasma Kill Bacteria on Food Packaging? Yes. Its Biggest Competitor Is Nothing.

  4. Sep 12

    Can Plasma Make Hydrogen? A Silent-Tank Story, Off-Grid Farms, and On-Site Generation

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma make hydrogen without electrolysis? Yes. From water, methane, ammonia, biological waste, diesel fuel, or a mix of soil and cow manure. Plasma doesn't care about the source. On-site generation is where this gets interesting. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question, plus 3 things to cover 00:18 Point 1: plasma cracks water, methane, ammonia, and other hydrogen-containing feedstocks directly 00:29 Point 2: energy efficiency determines whether it's industrially viable 00:39 Point 3: plasma reactors can be small and cheap, which reshapes logistics 00:57 How it works: feedstock through plasma dissociates hydrogen-containing molecules 01:17 Farm example: convert hydrocarbon waste into hydrogen, feed a fuel cell, generate electricity 01:41 The silent tank story 01:51 Reconnaissance mission at night, tank needs to be quiet 02:02 Radar and coffee makers need electricity (soldiers need coffee to stay awake) 02:19 Old approach: idle a 12-cylinder diesel engine just to power onboard electronics 02:25 12-cylinder diesel = a lot of heat and a lot of noise 02:30 Our project: crack tank diesel through plasma, produce hydrogen, feed a Ceramatec fuel cell 02:55 Tank runs cold and much quieter 03:10 Plasma still makes some noise, but nothing like an idling 12-cylinder diesel 03:21 Plasma doesn't care how dirty the source is 03:33 Take soil mixed with cow manure, make hydrogen 03:38 Compared to electrolysis 03:44 Nuclear plants run electrolyzers at night with excess electricity 04:04 Problem: storing a shit ton of explosive gas next to a nuclear reactor 04:26 Plus transport, storage, and safety costs 04:37 Plasma alternative: much smaller reactor, place it directly where the hydrogen is needed 04:53 Hospital scenario: biological waste (garments, polymers, blood) → plasma → hydrogen → fuel cell → hospital electricity 05:14 No more hazmat waste bill. You've turned a cost into an asset. 05:29 Farm scenario (this is my favorite) 05:33 Prior US administration heavily invested in solar 05:42 Farmers built solar, generate way more than they need, sell it back 06:04 Long transmission distances from farm to city → electricity companies charge huge delivery fees 06:21 Farmers end up selling excess power for pennies on the dollar 06:26 Alternative: use that excess solar to power plasma, produce hydrogen 06:33 Burn it for heat, convert it back to electricity, or fuel farm equipment 06:41 I'm not a big believer in consumer hydrogen vehicles (logistics and highway explosion risk) 07:04 But for a single location (farm, hospital), hydrogen is fantastic 07:10 Off-grid farm with plasma converting trash + solar into hydrogen fuels all equipment 07:39 Recap: yes plasma can crack most hydrogen-containing precursors, efficiency is application-specific, on-site generation is the future If you're in energy, agriculture, hospital operations, defense, or hydrogen logistics, this is the map episode. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #Hydrogen #FuelCell #GreenHydrogen #Agriculture #Defense #EnergyStorage #OffGrid #Sustainability

    Can Plasma Make Hydrogen? A Silent-Tank Story, Off-Grid Farms, and On-Site Generation

  5. Sep 10

    "That's Just What You Believe." Here's Actually How I Decide What I Believe (3 Principles)

    Someone recently left a comment on one of my videos: "buddy, that's just what you believe." Yes, sir. Here's exactly how I got there, in three principles, plus two stories about being wrong. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The comment: "that's just what you believe" 00:12 Today: my belief system, and how I establish it 00:21 The three principles 00:25 1. Base beliefs on evidence and replication, not authority 00:34 2. Hold conclusions provisionally, always open to new evidence 00:52 3. Distinguish consensus from certainty. Distinguish data from interpretation. 01:10 Principle 1: the paver patio story 01:24 Our contractor put black weed-prevention fabric under the gravel, which is correct 01:49 They also extended it under the new sod, which the manufacturer says not to do 02:04 First check: Google, verify the product, verify the spec 02:24 Contractor was authoritative and dismissive: "I've been doing it like this for years" 03:14 Called two other lawn-care companies, both said no, grass will suffocate 03:41 Authority alone isn't enough. Evidence and replication is. 03:57 Principle 2: hold conclusions provisionally 04:03 The Apple story (embarrassing but instructive) 04:45 I was teaching a class 10+ years ago 04:51 Told my students Apple was actually run by a dozen people, everything else outsourced 05:03 (I have no idea where I picked that up. It sounded true to me.) 05:22 A student raised her hand and said "I work at an Apple store. There are thousands of us. My paycheck says Apple Inc." 05:39 I apologized on the spot 05:51 I said I'd verify and change my conclusion by next class if needed 06:09 Went home, checked, yeah I was massively wrong 06:18 Next class: apologized again, changed my conclusion, held the new one provisionally 06:39 (I'll change it again if Elon Musk turns out to run Apple) 06:44 Principle 3: consensus vs certainty, data vs interpretation 06:53 Consensus is interpretation of data, not data itself 07:03 "Best steakhouse in town" is opinion. To buy that steakhouse, I need the actual numbers. 07:26 Consensus can update. Data updates it. 07:49 To the commenter: yes, that's what I believe. This is how I got there. 08:03 What's your belief system? Comment below. If you're a scientist, engineer, founder, or anyone who's had to update a belief in public, this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe for more: @gregfridman #Science #Epistemology #CriticalThinking #Research #DecisionMaking #Founders #Beliefs

    "That's Just What You Believe." Here's Actually How I Decide What I Believe (3 Principles)

  6. Sep 8

    Can Plasma Clean Cigarette Smoke in Your Apartment? Yes. Radioactive Isotopes Are the Real Problem.

    Follow-up to my last smoke and exhaust episode. Two viewer questions in one: why is bread exhaust alcohols, and can plasma clean cigarette smoke in your apartment? Yes to both, but cigarette smoke has a surprise you probably haven't thought about. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The two viewer questions in one 00:44 3 topics: VOCs, byproducts, and "some crap plasma can't remove" 01:15 Why bread exhaust is alcohols: yeast eats sugar and produces ethanol 01:40 Plus aldehydes, organic acids, esters (this is why fresh bread smells amazing) 02:14 One loaf smells wonderful. A factory produces clouds. 02:39 VOCs are easy for plasma to oxidize (alcohol burns readily) 02:58 Now cigarette smoke, which is the most studied smoke on earth (tobacco lawsuit funding) 03:22 Cigarette VOCs: easy. Nitrogen oxides from the thermal process: harder. 03:43 NO reacts with plasma-generated ozone to make peroxynitrite (which you also then need to manage) 03:55 The byproduct problem in both cases 04:12 What do you do with the ozone and peroxide plasma itself generates? 04:25 Cigarette smoke also has hydrogen cyanide and ammonia 04:37 Now you're putting an air scrubber in a house with kids in it 04:59 Filtration choices matter a lot 05:08 Point 3: some contaminants plasma just can't remove 05:14 Bread exhaust is mostly clean-able. Cigarette smoke is not. 05:41 The tar problem: particles/droplets are too big for non-equilibrium plasma 05:56 Plasma works one molecule at a time. Tar is thousands of molecules per particle. 06:16 One approach: use plasma to charge droplets, then capture with electrostatic precipitator 06:32 My favorite hidden problem: tobacco plants absorb radioactive isotopes from soil 06:40 Radioactive isotopes are in cigarettes, then in the smoke, then in the air 06:53 Trapping those is its own challenge 07:18 In a home system with children around, this all compounds 07:45 Commercial cigarette-air-cleaning systems use 5-6 filters in series 07:48 Plasma for VOCs, HEPA for particles, activated carbon for what plasma missed, pre-filter for dust, sometimes electrostatic precipitator on top 08:13 So: hire a plasma engineer or consult with one 08:23 Recap 08:34 VOCs from bread and cigarettes are both easy for plasma to remove 08:40 Byproduct management is the real engineering challenge 08:51 There is no magic. Plasma is a strong oxidizer. Some things it can't remove. If you're building an air purification product, working in industrial exhaust, or you were about to buy a "plasma cigarette smoke cleaner" for your apartment, this is the one to watch first. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #AirPurification #IndoorAirQuality #CigaretteSmoke #IndustrialExhaust #Filtration #EnvironmentalEngineering

    Can Plasma Clean Cigarette Smoke in Your Apartment? Yes. Radioactive Isotopes Are the Real Problem.

  7. Sep 5

    Can Plasma Clean Without Touching? Yes, at 8 Meters Per Second (Ask Kodak)

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma clean a surface without touching it? Yes. Reactive gas-phase species do the work with zero physical contact. Great for organic contamination. Bad for big chunks and metals. Fast enough for Kodak to use on film production at 8 meters per second. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question, and 3 things to cover 00:07 Reactive species vs physical contact 00:20 What plasma can and can't remove 00:25 Why this matters industrially 00:31 Reactive species work one molecule at a time 00:51 Big chunk of contamination? Plasma is not your tool. It'll take forever. 01:06 Where plasma shines: low-level contamination on a surface 01:12 Gas-phase reactive species near the surface, no contact required 01:30 What plasma removes well: organic contaminants 01:37 Dielectric barrier discharges are especially good at this 01:46 Oils, proteins, fingerprints 01:57 What plasma can't remove: metal salts, metals, large chunks 02:14 Any organic contaminant? Plasma is fantastic. 02:20 Industrial case study: my Kodak collaboration 02:33 Engineers from Kodak, the last generation of Kodak film (APS, Advanced Photo Systems) 02:49 That film was made on a web (continuous roll fed through processing) 02:56 Look up "web press" vs "sheet-fed press" if you're curious 03:11 Kodak ran their film through plasma at 8 meters per second 03:31 Two goals: clean the film, and make it hydrophilic so coatings stick better 03:58 Kodak managed all of it at 8 meters per second 04:02 Touchless matters when you're moving material that fast 04:05 No scraping. No physical modification. Gas-phase only. 04:15 Alternative would be spraying chemicals on it 04:22 But chemicals are sticky, and you then need to neutralize them 04:28 Reactive plasma species have sub-second lifetimes, so nothing to neutralize downstream 04:36 Recap 04:41 Reactive species vs physical contact 04:47 Organics yes, metals and chunks no 04:59 Touchless matters at high industrial speeds, and it's a repeatable process If you work in continuous-process manufacturing (film, packaging, textiles, semiconductors) or you've wondered how you clean a surface at meters per second, this is the episode. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #SurfaceCleaning #WebPress #Manufacturing #SemiconductorManufacturing #Kodak #IndustrialEngineering

    Can Plasma Clean Without Touching? Yes, at 8 Meters Per Second (Ask Kodak)

  8. Sep 3

    Can Plasma Clean Smoke and Exhaust? Yes. Soot Is Where It Struggles.

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma clean smoke and exhaust? Yes, it's a proven after-treatment technology. Three catches: soot is hard, ozone is a byproduct, and electricity costs more than natural gas. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question, and 3 things to cover 00:10 Non-thermal plasma is a proven exhaust after-treatment technology 00:19 Catch 1: soot and particulate matter 00:29 Catch 2: byproducts (ozone) and electricity cost 00:52 The Campbell Soup / Pepperidge Farm story 01:07 Baking thousands of loaves of bread produces alcohol vapors 01:37 Their current solution: burn off residual smoke with methane flame 01:47 The trap: burning methane uses your CO₂ credits, buys natural gas, adds compressed-gas safety overhead 02:16 Plasma becomes an attractive alternative 02:25 The soot problem: exhaust with unburned diesel or fine particulates 02:37 Non-equilibrium plasma is too slow: breaks down molecules one at a time 02:55 If it's volatile organics only, no problem. Soot changes the game. 03:07 A mentor of mine at MIT commercialized a plasma afterburner for diesel truck exhaust 03:23 The story: idling semi truck outside my student apartment all night 03:36 Loud, smoky, running the AC on the diesel 03:55 Gliding-arc (transitional) plasma is higher power and can actually burn soot 04:06 The trade-off: electricity cost 04:09 Not commercialized for diesel trucks yet because you'd need to carry a battery for the plasma 04:21 Catch 3: ozone byproduct 04:35 The FAA airplane story 04:41 We can plasma-clean airplane cabin air (enclosed environment, people sneezing/coughing) 04:59 But ozone byproduct plus plasma as ignition source with fuel leaks = no-go 05:13 Recap 05:21 Yes, it works. The 3 catches are soot, ozone byproducts, and electricity cost. If you work in emissions control, diesel exhaust after-treatment, industrial ventilation, or aviation, this is the map episode. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #EmissionsControl #ExhaustAfterTreatment #Diesel #IndustrialVentilation #AirQuality #EnvironmentalEngineering

    Can Plasma Clean Smoke and Exhaust? Yes. Soot Is Where It Struggles.
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About

I'm Greg Fridman, a PhD in Bioengineering and an expert in non-equilibrium plasmas. This channel is a space for direct chats about the things that actually matter: the future of biotech, the fascinating physics of plasmas, and the unfiltered reality of the scientific life. No jargon, no gatekeeping—just the science. Subscribe to join the conversation as we explore how bioengineering is reshaping our world and what it’s really like to work at the edge of discovery.

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  • Creator
    Gregory Fridman
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Gregory Fridman
  • Show Website
    Chat with Greg Fridman