Electric

currents in
gases

Gases

Gases are insulators. They do not conduct electric

current because they do not contain ions under
normal conditions.

A Gas becomes a conductor when its atoms become

positively or negatively charges ions.

Plasma state
For example by heating the gas. As we heat
the it, the kinetic energy of the atoms
increases, when the kinetic energy of an
atom exceeds the binding energy with its
electrons and they begin to ionise.
If the temperature of the gas is large
enough all atoms ionise and the gas
becomes a mixture of ions and electrons.
This state of a substance is called a
Plasma .

 Ionisation by an external source,

such as hearting or
electromagnetic radiation is
called the discharge of gas by
external ionisors.

Self ionisors
An electric current can flow through a gas without
employing an external ionisor.
This occurs when the electric field inside the gas
is very high, due to the presence of high voltage.
An electron is accelerated by this electric field
and gains a high enough kinetic energy over a
small distance, that when it strikes an atom, it
knocks out an electron and the atom becomes
ion. These two electron then have high enough
kinetic energy to strike other atoms, ionise them
also, and so on. The number of electrons and ions
increases in the gas and an electric current
begins to flow through the gas. This kind of
ionisation is called discharge by self-ionisors .

 The phenomenon of gaseous

discharge is used to construct
light bulbs and tubes containing
gas, especially for illuminating
billboards and for decorations.

Thank you,
Anyla
Kabashi
Erleta Morina