A genius of an air filter

The University of Michigan team has developed Genius, the next-generation air filter that surpasses all its analogue counterparts. All airborne bacteria and viruses get killed as soon as the device is turned on.

The filter uses non-thermal plasma, a phenomenon discovered more than a century ago, which can be described as a «flame without the heat». It resembles static electricity and is produced when oxygen goes through an electromagnetic reactor.

Plasma is the Ionized, or charged air particles. The Genius filter is a tube filled with glass beads that capture these charges.

It is the plasma that kills bacteria: it destroys the cellular membrane of microorganisms, killing them in the blink of an eye — in about a second after the device is activated. Viruses die even faster — in a quarter of a second.

Purity and sterility are extremely valuable in many industries, so the air filter is sure to be in demand, especially in the medical field.