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How to (sort of) shock people like Emperor Palpatine

The dark side of the Force offers many benefits, including the power to electrocute those who oppose you. Unfortunately, force lightning remains a skill only available in the "Star Wars" universe, but YouTuber Nighthawkinlight dreamed up a static-electricity generator device that gives aspiring Emperor Palpatines the ability to shock someone (or something) with 7,500 volts through their fingers. … Read more

Hot and dirty is out, plasma is in

Medical instrument sterilization is a hot, dirty, expensive business involving chemicals, ozone-depleting aerosols and hazardous waste, but a new plasma technology promises to change the way we kill germs.

Atmospheric Glow Technologies of Knoxville, Tenn., is building a portable medical device called the Steriglow Sterilization System that it says will produce no waste or heat and costs much less to operate than existing technologies.

The process takes plasma, the same stuff found in flat-screen TVs, and creates "short-lived reactive chemical species from air" that neutralizes all biocontaminants. Viruses, bacteria, fungi--it kills them all. It's so effective that … Read more