Drews, Aaron M.Cademartiri, LudovicoChemama, MichaelBrenner, MichaelWhitesides, GeorgeBishop, Kyle J. M.2014-03-172012Drews, Aaron M., Ludovico Cademartiri, Michael L. Chemama, Michael P. Brenner, George M. Whitesides, and Kyle J. M. Bishop. 2012. AC Electric Fields Drive Steady Flows in Flames. Physical Review E 86, no. 3: 036314.1539-37551550-2376http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11931821We show that time-oscillating electric fields applied to plasmas present in flames create steady flows of gas. Ions generated within the flame move in the field and migrate a distance δ before recombining; the net flow of ions away from the flame creates a time-averaged force that drives the steady flows observed experimentally. A quantitative model describes the response of the flame and reveals how δ decreases as the frequency of the applied field increases. Interestingly, above a critical frequency, ac fields can be used to manipulate flames at a distance without the need for proximal electrodes.en-USJournal Article2014-03-1710.1103/physreve.86.036314