ABSTRACT The topic of Flash‐Sintering has mutated into Flash+ because of its broad significance in Materials Science . The key element of Flash+ is ultra‐rates of diffusion that lead to rapid chemical reactions, phase transformations, and rapid‐rates of creep. The unexpected equivalence of flash in ceramics, as well as in metals, further broadens the reach of Flash+. It is estimated that very high concentrations of defects, up to nearly 40 mol%, are produced. In this study, we report evidence of flash‐plasmas. The following pathway for this phenomenon is proposed: (i) nonlinear lattice vibrations (phonons) of standing waves with large displacements create defects, (ii) the defects aggregate into extensive colonies that enable electronic conductivity, and finally, (iii) the electronic conductivity apparently generates flash‐plasmas. We suggest that the phonons provide the energy to sustain the plasmas through a resonance between the standing wave phonons and the plasma frequency. The energy of phonons is typically 10–100 meV; that is, the energy needed to sustain flash‐plasmas is unusually low. We show that Flash+ can generate plasmas. These plasmas can be manipulated with magnetic fields, leading to “touch‐free” flash sintering. This discovery may open the door to further developments in the science and application of flash.
Das et al. (Wed,) studied this question.