Plasma

A Basic Introduction
&
Some Cool Stuff

Matthew Wan
PHYS 420
 What Is It?
A hot ionized gas

The fourth state of matter

Unlike gases, solids, or liquids, plasma does not
contain molecules

Instead, it is a gas that is composed of ions

Composes more than 99% of the known visible

universe
 So Whats In It?

Some, or all, of the electrons in the outer

orbitals have been stripped away

The result is a collection of ions and

electrons, which are no longer bound
together
 What Did That Mean?

Because the particles are not neutral:

Plasma behaves differently then regular
gases
For instance, in the presence of
electromagnetic fields
 Who Found It?

First discovered by Sir William Crookes, in

1879

But it wasnt called plasma until 1928,

when Irving Langmuir coined the term
 Characteristics: Temperature

Defines two kinds of plasma: Cold and Hot

Refers to the electron temperature

Ion temperature may be very different (lower)

 Cold Plasma
Isnt really cold
Typical electron temperatures for cold plasmas are in
the thousands of degrees

Only a small fraction of the gas molecules are

ionized (degree of ionization)
Usually on the order of 1%

Often created using strong electric fields

 Cool
Where Can I Find Cold Plasma?

Fluorescent Lights

Strobe Lights

Experimental Fusion
Research Devices
 Hot Plasma
Really hot
Like the Sun (15,000,000 C at the core)

The molecules are nearly if not fully

ionized
Created by heating the molecules to
extremely high temperatures
 Scorching
Where Can I Find Hot Plasma?
In Nature, actually
The Sun and other stars
Lightning
The Aurora Borealis
 Characteristics: Density
Plasma (electron)
density
The number of free
ne
electrons per unit
volume
Ion density
Related to above by
ne Z ni
the average charge
state:
 Density
Neutral Density
In hot plasmas, this
quantity is very small,
but may still determine
no
important physics

The degree of
ni
ionization is given by:
no ni
 Characteristics: Potentials
Plasmas are excellent conductors
Simple view:
Due to the above, the electric fields in
plasmas tend to be very small
Quasineutrality:
On the one hand, we can assume that
densities of positive and negative charges are
equal
However, we can assume that electric fields
exist as needed for the physics at hand
 An Application:
Lets Get Hands On (sort of)
Plasma Globes
An electrode sitting inside a vessel containing
some kind of inert gas
The electrode is energized by a high-voltage,
high-frequency power supply
This globe uses voltages around 10 000 volts,
and frequencies ranging from a few kilohertz
to a few 10s of kilohertz
The Power Supply:
 How It Works
The IC sends out pulses which trigger a
transistor

This causes a pulse of voltage to pass

through the coil

This induces a large burst of voltage on
the secondary of the coil
 Which Does?
The large voltage produced by the coil can be harnessed

to produce a cold plasma

The light bulb contains an inert gas that is relatively easy

to ionize

With any gas, a small fraction of the particles are always

ionized
 Cosmic
Cosmic rays that are constantly
bombarding the Earth ionize some of the
particles
The voltage and current from the power
supply accelerate these particles
As they move around the vessel, they
ionize other particles
 Exciting
The other particles are excited into a higher energy state

As they come back down to their ground state, they

release the extra energy:

Light, in the form of photons

Because particles have unique wavelengths, the colour

of the plasma depends on the gas inside the vessel

 Pressure
The gas vessel is at a reduced pressure

As a result, the particles are spaced out

This gives them time to accelerate

If the particles were tightly packed, they

would not build up enough energy to
initiate a cascade effect
 BE CAREFUL
The currents and voltages in this project

are extremely dangerous

Touching the wrong part could seriously

harm you

Ive already zapped myself. It hurt.