emissions, in the visible, from exc

emissions, in the visible, from excited sodium atoms as well as
electronically excited atomic hydrogen and hydroxyl (OH) radicals. In barium chloride saline solutions, electronically excited
barium ions as well as atoms are observed, in addition to the hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals. We believe that the excited species
are formed by electron impact processes through electrons that
are emitted from the electrode when it is driven negatively with
respect to the return current electrode The plasmas appear to
cover the driven electrode with a surrounding vapor layer which
periodically forms bubbles that shed from the electrode. The
bubbles buoyantly rise to the surface of the solution.
In addition to the work on surgical applications, there have
been several related research articles published in recent years
on methods and processes for plasma formation in liquids, for
which the primary motivation was the need for effective, lowcost, and environmentally benign technologies for water purification. A number of workers have reported on a range of experimental approaches and the general effectiveness of electrical
discharges in liquids in terms of their sterilization, disinfectant,
and bactericidal properties has been well established [17]–[21].
High-energy electrical breakdown phenomena in electrolyte solutions have been reported [22], [23], including some features
similar to those observed by us, but the powers dissipated were
significantly higher than in our investigation.
This paper elaborates on our initial report and discusses the
electrical properties of plasma surgical devices. In addition, we
also present a physical model of the discharge that we developed
to better understand various aspects of plasma-enhanced surgery.