Plasma- where it is in our surroundings and its uses
Sonali Purohit
1/8/2019
Gateways
Throughout the matter changes from solid to liquid to gas, there are many stages that occur. The process goes from solid, liquid, gas and the least known; plasma. Plasma is the last stage and occurs during the ionization of a gas. Now, most know plasma as either the cutter or the thing in our bodies. However, the other form of plasma is the ionized gas. The gas is all around but is hard to identify in our surroundings.
Plasmas are a lot like gases, but the atoms are different, because they are made up of free electrons and ions of an element such as neon (Ne). You don't find naturally occurring plasmas too often when you walk around. They aren't things that happen regularly on Earth. If you have ever heard of the Northern Lights or ball lightning, you might know that those are types of plasmas. It takes a very special environment to keep plasmas going. They are different and unique from the other states of matter such as gas or liquid. Plasma is different from a gas, because it is made up of groups of positively and negatively charged particles. In neon gas, the electrons are all bound to the nucleus. Whereas, in neon plasma, the electrons are free to move around the system.
Plasma is not all that uncommon, it is actually constantly around us when we never know it or pay attention to it. While perhaps natural plasmas aren't found around you that often, man-made plasmas are everywhere. Think about fluorescent light bulbs. They are not like regular light bulbs. Inside the long tube is a gas. Electricity flows through the tube when the light is turned on. The electricity acts as an energy source and charges up the gas. This charging and exciting of the atoms creates glowing plasma inside the bulb. The electricity helps to strip the gas molecules of their electrons. Another example of plasma is a neon sign. Just like a fluorescent lights, neon signs are glass tubes filled with gas. When the light is turned on, the electricity flows through the tube. The electricity charges the gas and creates plasma inside of the tube. The plasma glows a special color depending on what kind of gas is inside. Inert gases are usually used in signs to create different colors. Noble gases such as helium (He), Neon (Ne), Argon (Ar), and Xenon (Xe) are all used in signs. Now, the color of the sign or letters depends on the type of gas. That is actually where the name originates from, Neon lights were named for neon, a noble gas which gives off a popular orange light, but other gases and chemicals are used to produce other colors, such as hydrogen (red), helium (yellow), carbon dioxide (white), and mercury (blue). You also see plasma when you look at stars. Stars are big balls of gases at really high temperatures. The high temperatures charge up the atoms and create plasma. Stars are a good example of how the temperature of plasmas can be very different. Fluorescent lights are cold compared to really hot stars. However, they are still both forms of plasma, even with the different physical characteristics including size.
A plasma is an ionized gas, a gas into which sufficient energy is provided to free electrons from atoms or molecules and to allow both species, ions and electrons, to coexist. Although it is the 4th state of matter, Many places teach that there are three states of matter; solid, liquid and gas, but there are actually four. The funny thing about that is, that as far as we know, plasmas are the most common state of matter in the universe. They are even common here on earth. A plasma is a gas that has been energized to the point that some of the electrons break free from, but travel with, their nucleus. Gases can become plasmas in several ways, but all include pumping the gas with energy. A spark in a gas will create a plasma. A hot gas passing through a big spark will turn the gas stream into a plasma that can be useful. Plasma is so energetic or "hot" that in space it consists solely of ions and electrons. It is only when plasma is cooled that the atoms or molecules that are so predominant in forming gases, liquids, and solids that we are so accustomed to on Earth, is possible. So, in space, plasma remains electrically charged. Thus plasmas carry electric currents and are more influenced by electromagnetic forces than by gravitational forces. Outside the Earth's atmosphere, the dominant form of matter is plasma, and basically, empty space has been found to be quite "alive" with a constant flow of plasma.
Hopefully, plasma will be able to be used medically. The electrical charge could also be used in technology, perhaps with a little bit of editing, even fuel for a car. With the research I have conducted, compact accelerators are in process right now. Along with those accelerators, particle accelerators are also in motion. If humans are already accomplishing this much in 2019, who knows what is possible for the future
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