Zac_William

Haha I'm not really as intelligent as people might assume. I honestly think its because I know how to market myself well.

Most, no. I've been interested in just about everything for the longest time; I'm an insomniac, so I spend a lot of nights just reading wikipedia. I did take a Physics course last year, though, which helped me understand the mathematical representations of the concepts I had already read. I've always been into computers and programming, which helped me get my foot in the door. However, it was my research on a more cost-effective hydrogen fuel cell that really got me there.

I was developing a model for plasma actuators, which are basically like mechanical flaps without any moving parts. They work by ionizing the air and creating a non-thermal plasma, which imparts a momentum on the nonionized air surrounding it. However, it can't be used in large aircraft because it doesn't create enough thrust; my team was trying to change that.

In microgravity, we are developing a project for a small local oxygen source for use on the ISS. Its basically just a fancy electrolysis unit.

Edit: since people are asking for an ELI5 version:

I was creating a lumped circuit model (just a circuit diagram like this for a device with a high voltage that breaks apart the air. When the air breaks apart, the electrons go flying around, bouncing into a bunch of things, imparting a momentum (think of someone running into you). However, the nucleus (which is ~99% of the weight) stays still. Plasma actuators look like this.

Electrolysis is relatively simple. It just separates the hydrogen and oxygen in water!

Really? That's awesome! I'd love to!

Haha dang it was always my dream to be raped by a giant green alien:(

It's insanely awesome to just say, hey I work at NASA. However, the people there are VERY serious about their work. It honestly felt very stiffling at times haha, there was no personality whatsoever. Also the campus was bland as could be.

While there is that romanticism about working there, at the end of the day, it was still a job.