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 What’s 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 wasn’t 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
• Isn’t 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

ne
• Plasma (electron)
density
– The number of free
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:
Let’s 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 10’s 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

• I’ve already zapped myself. It hurt.