Studies of Flow in Ionized Gas: Historical Perspective, Contemporary Experiments, and Applications

Since the first observations that a very small ionized fraction (order of 1 ppm) could strongly affect the gas flow, numerous experiments with partially or fully wall-free discharges have demonstrated the dispersion of shock waves, the enhancement of lateral forces in the flow, the prospects of levitation, and other aerodynamic effects with vast potential of application. A review of physical effects and observations are given along with current status of their interpretation. Special attention will be given to the physical problems of energy efficiency in generating wall-free discharges and the phenomenology of filamentary discharges. Comments and case examples are given on the current status of availability of necessary data for modelling and simulation of the aerodynamic phenomena in weakly ionized gas.