Rectification of plasma-powered active matter into macroscopic work
Abstract
Plasmas sustain strong energy and momentum flux, yet this activity is typically treated as a dissipative loss channel rather than a usable resource, and its conversion into macroscopic work remains challenging. Here we demonstrate a plasma-powered active engine by coupling self-propelled micromotors to ratchet rectification. Dielectric microspheres in the plasma sheath spontaneously develop asymmetric surface charging and undergo a Quincke rotational instability, forming fast micromotors that extract energy directly from the plasma. Their stochastic impacts are rectified by a sawtooth rotor into a directed angular-momentum flux that drives steady rotation, while an outer asymmetric gear organizes the active bath into coherent circulation to amplify torque transfer. Operating in an inertia-relevant regime, the engine achieves orders-of-magnitude enhancements in both power output and end-to-end efficiency compared with liquid-phase active engines, and remains functional down to the single-micromotor limit. More broadly, our results establish a general route to rectify nonequilibrium plasma activity for macroscopic work.
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BibTeX
@misc{yao2026rectification,
title = {{Rectification of plasma-powered active matter into macroscopic work}},
author = {Ting-yu Yao and Shuo Wang and Shao-peng Li and Ming-hang Zhao and Bao-quan Ai and Ya-feng He},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.37257},
eprint = {2609.37257},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.37257},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Rectification of plasma-powered active matter into macroscopic work
AU - Ting-yu Yao
AU - Shuo Wang
AU - Shao-peng Li
AU - Ming-hang Zhao
AU - Bao-quan Ai
AU - Ya-feng He
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.37257
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.37257
AB - Plasmas sustain strong energy and momentum flux, yet this activity is typically treated as a dissipative loss channel rather than a usable resource, and its conversion into macroscopic work remains challenging. Here we demonstrate a plasma-powered active engine by coupling self-propelled micromotors to ratchet rectification. Dielectric microspheres in the plasma sheath spontaneously develop asymmetric surface charging and undergo a Quincke rotational instability, forming fast micromotors that extract energy directly from the plasma. Their stochastic impacts are rectified by a sawtooth rotor into a directed angular-momentum flux that drives steady rotation, while an outer asymmetric gear organizes the active bath into coherent circulation to amplify torque transfer. Operating in an inertia-relevant regime, the engine achieves orders-of-magnitude enhancements in both power output and end-to-end efficiency compared with liquid-phase active engines, and remains functional down to the single-micromotor limit. More broadly, our results establish a general route to rectify nonequilibrium plasma activity for macroscopic work.
ER -