Can Plasma Work Without Chemicals? Not Really. It Makes Its Own.

Chat with Greg Fridman · Oct 24, 2026 · 6m

Next in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma work without chemicals? I keep talking about reactive this and reactive that, so it's a fair question. Short answer: you don't need to add any chemicals. Plasma makes its own.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 What do I actually do for work?

00:06 Can plasma work without chemicals? (I keep saying "reactive species")

00:30 My job: atmospheric pressure plasma chemist

00:49 To make plasma you need gas (like air) and electricity. Nothing else.

01:20 The trick: it's not exactly chemical-free

01:27 Air is oxygen, nitrogen, water, plus trace gases like methane and…