This works by injecting water into a reaction chamber, where it achieves plasma state through a high-intensity electrical field.

FORBES: Forget The Sequester: Entrepreneurs Are Saving The Future

After etching away the chrome, DuPont beams fluorine atoms in a highly excited plasma state to cut away parts of the quartz itself from selected parts of the design.

FORBES: Trick Of The Light

The equipment setup at the lab not only allows for the plasma to be created, but its properties can also be measured very closely, allowing the scientists to directly observe how matter behaves when its in its plasma state.

FORBES: Scientists Build The World's Most Powerful Laser