T.l.

A plasma globe or plasma lamp (also called plasma ball, dome, sphere, tube or orb,
depending on shape) is a clear glass container filled with a mixture of various noble
gases with a high-voltage electrode in the center of the container.

When voltage is applied, a plasma is formed within the container. Plasma

filaments extend from the inner electrode to the outer glass insulator, giving the
appearance of multiple constant beams of colored light (see corona
discharge and electric glow discharge). Plasma globes were most popular as novelty
items in the 1980s.[1]

The plasma lamp was invented by Nikola Tesla, during his experimentation with high-
frequency currents in an evacuated glass tube for the purpose of studying high
voltage phenomena.[2] Tesla called his invention an "inert gas discharge tube".[3] The
modern plasma lamp design was subsequently developed by Bill Parker, a student
at MIT.[1]