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Plasma

Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter and is composed of ionized gas containing positive ions and free electrons. It can be created by heating a gas to induce ionization, or by applying strong electromagnetic fields or electric fields to a gas. Plasma is electrically conductive and strongly interacts with electromagnetic fields, giving it unique properties different from solids, liquids, and gases. It is the most common state of ordinary matter in the universe.

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51 views1 page

Plasma

Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter and is composed of ionized gas containing positive ions and free electrons. It can be created by heating a gas to induce ionization, or by applying strong electromagnetic fields or electric fields to a gas. Plasma is electrically conductive and strongly interacts with electromagnetic fields, giving it unique properties different from solids, liquids, and gases. It is the most common state of ordinary matter in the universe.

Uploaded by

Rakesh Sahu
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Plasma (from Greek , "anything formed"[1]) is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the

others being solid, liquid, andgas). It comprises the major component of the Sun. Heating a gas
may ionize its molecules or atoms (reducing or increasing the number of electrons in them), thus turning it
into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions.[2] Ionization
can be induced by other means, such as strong electromagnetic field applied with
a laser or microwave generator, and is accompanied by the dissociation of molecular bonds, if
present.[3] Plasma can also be created by the application of an electric field on a gas, where the
underlying process is the Townsend avalanche.

The presence of a non-negligible number of charge carriers makes the plasma electrically conductive so
that it responds strongly toelectromagnetic fields. Plasma, therefore, has properties quite unlike those
of solids, liquids, or gases and is considered a distinctstate of matter. Like gas, plasma does not have a
definite shape or a definite volume unless enclosed in a container; unlike gas, under the influence of a
magnetic field, it may form structures such as filaments, beams and double layers. Some common
plasmas are found in stars and neon signs. In the universe, plasma is the most common state of
matter for ordinary matter, most of which is in the rarefied intergalactic plasma (particularly intracluster
medium) and in stars. Much of the understanding of plasmas has come from the pursuit of
controlled nuclear fusion and fusion power, for which plasma physics provides the scientific basis

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