Chat with Greg Fridman

Gregory Fridman

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. Can Plasma Be Scaled Up? Why "Just Make It Bigger" Doesn't Work

    1d ago

    Can Plasma Be Scaled Up? Why "Just Make It Bigger" Doesn't Work

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma be scaled up? You built it in the lab, it works beautifully — now turn it into an industrial process. I wrote down 14 reasons that's harder than it sounds. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question: can plasma be scaled up? 00:28 Why I wrote down 14 points for this one 00:36 #1 Preserving the plasma regime — from a 2mm jet to a whole strawberry 01:53 #2 Power supply scaling — from a few watts to 100 kilowatts 02:52 The hard x-ray problem (Bremsstrahlung above ~100 kV) 03:13 #3 Uniformity — keeping electrodes parallel across 8 meters within microns 05:07 #4 Gas flow and mixing — non-equilibrium plasmas don't scale linearly 05:12 #5 Heat management — invisible at lab scale, critical at industrial scale 05:55 #6 Electrode erosion, durability, and 24/7 operation 07:14 #7 Chemistry changes with scale (and the ozone production/destruction tradeoff) 08:02 #8 Mass transfer limits — getting reactants out of the plasma 08:34 #9 Diagnostics — you can't deploy 500 optical emission spectrometers 09:12 #10 Energy efficiency — does 95% lab efficiency hold at scale? 09:46 #11 Modular vs monolithic — why industrial ozone systems use hundreds of small electrodes 10:35 #12 Safety and regulatory burden (FDA, CDC, USDA) 11:41 #13 Manufacturability and repeatability at scale 12:26 #14 Control, feedback, and electromagnetic interference between power supplies 13:21 Wrap-up: lasers and metallurgy face the same problem 13:45 The field is wide open — we need more people. Come help us scale plasmas. If you're a plasma researcher, process engineer, founder, or student deciding whether this is the field for you — this is the episode. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #ScaleUp #PlasmaEngineering #IndustrialEngineering #ProcessEngineering #Bremsstrahlung #Ozone #ChemicalEngineering

    14 min
  2. Can Plasma Be Used Safely Around People? (Spoiler: It Depends on Everything)

    3d ago

    Can Plasma Be Used Safely Around People? (Spoiler: It Depends on Everything)

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma be used safely around people? Short answer: it depends on your definition of "safely," "used," and "people." Let me walk you through what that actually means. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question: can plasma be used safely around people? 00:31 Why the question hinges on three definitions 00:41 The welding torch test: would you hand one to a 7-year-old? 01:16 The unplugged torch at show-and-tell — context is everything 01:35 Hazard #1: Ozone (and why it disappears in a sunny field but not in a hospital) 02:14 FDA limits on human ozone exposure 02:33 Why hospital patient treatment is hard — but hospital laundry might work 02:56 Hazard #2: Ultraviolet radiation (why welders wear masks) 03:17 Hazard #3: High voltage 03:23 Why I'm talking about this — trade-show questions and "can I buy one for home?" 03:46 The welding analogy: trained engineers are MORE afraid, not less 04:17 The helium plasma jet example — even "gentle" plasmas have safety considerations 04:59 OSHA and FDA ozone limits depend on jet size 05:15 What "safely" really means: which plasma, which application, which people? 05:55 The same logic applies to lasers, pharmaceuticals, and ethanol 06:24 Wrap-up — drop your "Can Plasma?" questions below If you work in plasma applications, medical devices, industrial safety, or you're just curious whether you can buy one and play with it at home — this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #IndustrialSafety #Ozone #PlasmaEngineering #OSHA #FDA #MedicalDevices #SafetyEngineering

    7 min
  3. Can Plasma Make Plastic Stick Better? (And Can It Make It Stick Worse?)

    5d ago

    Can Plasma Make Plastic Stick Better? (And Can It Make It Stick Worse?)

    Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma make plastic stick better? Yes — and the more interesting question is whether it can make plastic stick WORSE. We cover both. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The question — and the better question (stick worse?) 00:30 Two kinds of plastic: thermosets vs thermoplastics 00:55 A quick word on recyclability 01:16 How plasma activates a surface: breaking bonds, adding charges & oxygen groups 02:17 The water-drop test: hydrophobic vs hydrophilic surfaces 02:38 How long does the treatment last? (Everything depends on everything) 02:45 Why opening the chamber — or trucking a roll across the country — kills the effect 04:12 Corona treaters and the printing industry's naming quirk 04:38 The trickier question: can plasma make plastic stick WORSE? 04:54 Why most plastics are hydrophobic to begin with 05:32 Plasma polymerization: depositing a hydrophobic monomer 05:53 Medical applications: repelling blood and bacteria 06:45 The devil is in the details — analyze the whole process 07:20 Wrap-up — drop your "Can Plasma?" questions below If you work in surface engineering, packaging, printing, medical devices, or adhesives — this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #SurfaceTreatment #PlasmaTreatment #Adhesion #MaterialsScience #CoronaTreatment #PlasmaChemistry #MedicalDevices

    8 min
  4. Can Plasma Remove CO₂? No — But It Can Turn It Into Vodka (and Concrete)

    May 30

    Can Plasma Remove CO₂? No — But It Can Turn It Into Vodka (and Concrete)

    Next up in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma remove CO₂? Short answer: no — but the longer answer is way more interesting. Plasma can take CO₂ and turn it into things people actually want to buy. In this episode I cover: Why "removing" CO₂ is the wrong framing — valorizing it is the real opportunityMaking syngas: reacting CO₂ with methane to produce CO + H₂, a building block of the chemical industryMaking alcohols from CO₂ and water — methanol, ethanol, and yes, actual vodka (one company sells plasma-produced vodka at a premium to climate-conscious buyers)Carbon suboxide (C₃O₂): a yellow-brown polymerizing powder you can make directly from diesel exhaust and use as soil filler or a construction materialThe surprising fact that hospital and university diesel backup generators are among the biggest CO₂ emitters in major cities — and what a trailer-sized plasma system parked next to one could doWhy scale-up is hard, and why a "valorize, don't prohibit" regulatory approach might be the unlockIf you care about climate tech, plasma chemistry, or unconventional carbon capture pathways — this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe for more in the "Can Plasma?" series: @gregfridman #CanPlasma #PlasmaScience #CO2 #CarbonCapture #ClimateTech #PlasmaChemistry #Syngas #CarbonUtilization #ChemicalEngineering

    6 min
  5. Can Plasma Help People With Hemophilia?

    May 28

    Can Plasma Help People With Hemophilia?

    Can non-equilibrium plasma help coagulate blood in people with hemophilia? That is a much harder question than it first appears. Plasma can dry blood, cross-link biological material, and under some conditions thermally coagulate tissue. But hemophilia is not simply “blood that will not dry.” It involves missing or deficient clotting factors, which means the normal biochemical clotting cascade may not produce a stable clot. In this video, I talk through why this is such an interesting scientific question, why the answer is not obvious, and why it could make a strong research project for someone interested in plasma medicine, coagulation biology, or hemophilia.

    5 min
  6. Could Plasma Make Hospital Laundry Sterile?

    May 26

    Could Plasma Make Hospital Laundry Sterile?

    Can plasma be added to hospital laundry systems to make sheets, gowns, towels, and clothing not just clean — but potentially sterile? In this video, I answer a viewer’s question about what plasma laundry might look like in a hospital environment. My basic idea is simple: add a plasma treatment step into the dryer cycle, right before drying. Plasma would not remove dirt or stains — that is still the job of washing — but it could significantly reduce bacteria, viruses, spores, mold, fungi, and other biological contaminants on fabrics. I also talk about why this kind of system could be useful in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings, why the benefits are potentially tremendous, and why regulatory hurdles may be one reason we do not already see plasma dryers everywhere. I also share a short story from COVID-19, when we built a plasma-based system for disinfecting PPE such as masks, goggles, face shields, and gowns. Can plasma replace laundry? No. Could plasma make laundry much safer? Maybe.

    8 min
  7. Can Plasma Coagulate Blood?

    May 23

    Can Plasma Coagulate Blood?

    Can plasma coagulate blood? Yes — but the real answer depends on the kind of plasma, the kind of bleeding, and the medical situation. In this video, I talk about how plasma can be used to help control bleeding, from established thermal plasma tools used in electrosurgery to newer approaches involving sparks, dielectric barrier discharges, and plasma jets. We also get into why blood coagulation is so sensitive to oxidation, and why plasma’s reactive chemistry can accelerate the process. I also share the story of how a DARPA “Battlefield 2030” presentation — and one lucky lunch during graduate school — helped launch my career in plasma medicine. Topics covered: * Can plasma coagulate blood? * Thermal plasma and electrosurgery * Cold plasma, sparks, DBDs, and plasma jets * Intrinsic and extrinsic coagulation cascades * Plasma oxidation chemistry * Blood coagulation, sterilization, and wound healing * How DARPA helped shape early plasma medicine research Plasma is not magic, but it is a powerful tool. In medicine, it may help stop bleeding, reduce microbial contamination, and support wound healing — depending on how it is used.

    9 min
  8. Can plasma surface treatment help with metal 3D printing?

    May 21

    Can plasma surface treatment help with metal 3D printing?

    Can plasma surface treatment help with metal 3D printing? In this video, I respond to a viewer question about whether plasma could be used as a DIY surface treatment method for metal additive manufacturing. We talk about metal powder bed fusion, wire-based metal printing, oxide layers, powder cleaning, plasma charging effects, hydrogen plasma, nitrogen/hydrogen mixtures, and whether plasma could realistically improve layer adhesion or replace laser sintering. The short answer: plasma may have some niche uses in metal 3D printing, especially in powder preparation or oxide reduction, but it is not an obvious DIY add-on. Metal powders are tiny, reactive, and easily disturbed, and plasma systems involve high voltage, gas chemistry, and safety challenges. If you have a specific idea for using plasma in metal 3D printing, leave it in the comments. I would love to discuss it. Topics covered: Plasma surface treatmentMetal 3D printingPowder bed fusionWire-based metal additive manufacturingOxide removalHydrogen plasmaDIY plasma safetyPlasma jets and metal surfaces#Plasma #Metal3DPrinting #AdditiveManufacturing #SurfaceTreatment #Engineering #3DPrinting #MaterialsScience #ColdPlasma

    6 min
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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
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