Let's Learn Something Cool - Plasma, This Weird State Of Matter

Hello steemians! In my last post on the Hessdalen Lights we heard the word plasma, but do all of you know what it is? Plasma comes from the greek word πλάσμα, which basically means creature. In the world of physics plasma is used to describe the forth state of matter. A state where matter doesn't actually respond in the same way as it does in its solid, liquid or gas form.

(Image source: flickr.com)

How is it formed?

If you put the states of matter in line you go from the sturdy solid, to a runny liquid, then to a restless gas and you end up with an untamed plasma. What is needed for the transition each time? HEAT! You heat up a solid and turn it into a liquid, you heat the liquid even more and it becomes gas. Heat that gas and there you have it...plasma.

(Image source: commons.wikimedia.org)

Within a gas, all electrons orbit the nuclei of their atoms/molecules. But when heat is applied, these electrons get a little more "excited" and start moving around restlessly, abandoning their regular course. The same happens if you apply electricity instead of heat. The extra energy makes the electrons move faster and at one point they escape their orbit. Inside this "ionized gas", the unleashed, negatively-charged electrons wander among the positively-charged nuclei in a neutral-charge mass of plasma.

(Image source: flickr.com)

What are its qualities?

Whereas gas acts as an insulator, plasma is a great electricity conductor. As we said, plasma has a neutral electrical charge, because the number of negative charges equals the one of positive charges. But plasma works on two "charge-levels", the first one is the neutral charge of its mass as a whole and the second one is the sub-particle level where we have negative electrons and positive nuclei (protons) wandering around. Due to this movement of ions within its mass, plasma allows electricity to pass through. Another trait of this strange "expression of matter" is that it can form magnetic fields thanks to the flow of the charges. So within this continuous movement of charges we spot an electrical current in a magnetic field.

Uses?

Finding plasma run free in nature can be really hard, but not impossible. Lightning is an "expression of plasma". Think of it, during a typical discharge the air gets heated up to exceed almost five times the temperature of the sun's surface, leaving as with a "plasma pathway" as hot as 28,000 °C. Plasma is also what we see in auroras and solar wind. Stars emit plasma, because the temperatures over their body are extremely high, making these electrons crazy!

(Image source: flickr.com)

Back on earth again, plasma is what neon light bulbs work on. There is a gas within the tube and when electrical current is applied plasma shows up, in a color that depends on the gas inside the tube. Plasma globes work that way too and so do fluorescent light bulbs. Finally, in case it still hasn't occurred to you, plasma screens function is based on this "technology", where thousands of tiny gas "pockets" are triggered to produce plasma and when their colors combine we get to view complex images and all sorts of colors.

This video from FuseSchool will give you a great presentation of what plasma is:

References

livescience.com
chem4kids.com
wikipedia.org

Thank you for stopping by and reading this post! If you liked my work you can always visit my blog, @ruth-girl, and check out my previous posts like the bizarre natural phenomena series and lesson plans.

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(Original image credits: Nick Youngson - nyphotographic.com)

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