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Levitation of pollen particles has been demonstrated in a radio frequency (RF) plasma. Pollen particles from Japanese cypress are levitated to various heights from lower electrode, where they spontaneously form quasi ordered state. Levitating pollen particles are identified from divinylbenzene particles in real-time using the polarization imaging technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A crystallike structure was successfully formed as a result of the levitation of a kind of bacillus microorganisms $Klebsiella ~pneumoniae$ in a radio frequency (RF) plasma. The crystallike structure was confirmed to be hexagonal from top-view photograph. Neutral gas friction cools the particles down to equilibrium positions. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) measurement suggests that RF plasma processes the surface of levitating microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the levitation of micro-organisms in the sheath of radio-frequency (RF) plasma. Based on simple force-balance calculations, the required electric field for the levitation of micro-organisms has been estimated. It is predicted that micro-organisms could levitate at the periphery of the sheath. Experimental results demonstrate the levitation of two species of bacillus micro-organisms Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae in an RF plasma. The almost monodiverse Klebsiella pneumoniae levitating in the RF plasma formed an ordered state similar to a 2-D Coulomb crystal. Diverse E. coli particles demonstrate the tendency that the levitating height of micro-organisms decreases as the radius of particles increases. Levitating micro-organisms in plasmas can be referred as dusty plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]