# Cleaning the air with cold plasma? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401 "2014-11-12T01:59:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/1 "2014-11-12T01:59:29Z")
[Here](http://www.cnet.com/news/portable-squair-uses-cold-plasma-to-clean-your-air/)and [here.](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/900028474/squair-mobile-clean-air-wherever-you-go) “NTP (non-thermal plasma ) technology in Squair products has been proven to be extremely effective in fighting germs, viruses, bacteria, fungi and mold,” say the inventors. “Thorough testing has given us a lot of confidence that a new way to fight germs and bacteria like salmonella, SARS and bird flu is born. Even staph bacteria, regarded as the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria known, have been eliminated by NTP.” Does this product and its claims sound plausible or is this a gimmick. Anyone ever heard of using Cold Plasma to clean the air? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/2 "2014-11-12T04:03:35Z")
Somewhere between technobabble and technowoo. As the CNET article puts it, “it sounds good.” ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/3 "2014-11-12T05:24:58Z")
I clicked on the “detailed paper” on the CNET webpage (1st link) and my screen filled with red flag warning “MALWARE [AHEAD]”. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/4 "2014-11-12T12:08:06Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria known, have been eliminated by NTP." In the lab, at high doses… The question is whether you can tolerate it ? No … Concentrations high enough kill all bacterias will also harm you. I don’t see your mouth or eye membranes surviving “NTP” any better than a bacteria… What is NTP anyway ? Plasma, as in “Thermal plasma” means “so hot that Its just ions… the atoms lose the electrons”… So NTP must be an ion technology… Ion air cleaners have been around a while… they may help dust settle out of the air. You can use ions to kill bacteria, but it also makes large sparks and burns all the equipment… ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/5 "2014-11-12T12:46:26Z")
ions?! plasma?! Are Space Marines trying to clean the air in the distant future?!! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/6 "2014-11-12T13:57:37Z")
Unlikely. There’s very little air in space. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/7 "2014-11-12T14:59:20Z")
Ion tech that makes both positively and negatively charged oxygen ions. Wonder what effect that has on oxidation rates of stuff in the room. > [@msmith537](#): > > ions?! plasma?! Are Space Marines trying to clean the air in the distant future?!! Nuke the germs from space…only way to be sure! ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/8 "2014-11-12T16:12:48Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Unlikely. There’s very little air in space. In space, no one can hear you disinfect… ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/9 "2014-11-12T17:03:09Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Unlikely. There’s very little air in space. But there is an Air 'n Space Museum… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-the-air-with-cold-plasma/704401/10 "2014-11-13T00:07:25Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > But there is an Air 'n Space Museum… Agreed. There is air in the [Air and Space Museum](http://airandspace.si.edu/). Go there. Amazing place.