Scribd
Upload
78 views4 pages

Plasma Thesis

Plasma physics is the study of charged particles and fluids interacting with self-consistent electric and magnetic fields. Plasma is an ionized gas that exists in stars, interstellar space, and phenomena like auroras and lightning. Nearly all visible matter in the universe is in the plasma state. Plasma can be produced in the laboratory by heating a gas to a very high temperature, causing electrons to rip free and creating a conductive medium of positive and negative particles.

Uploaded by

Amir Rehman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
78 views4 pages

Plasma Thesis

Plasma physics is the study of charged particles and fluids interacting with self-consistent electric and magnetic fields. Plasma is an ionized gas that exists in stars, interstellar space, and phenomena like auroras and lightning. Nearly all visible matter in the universe is in the plasma state. Plasma can be produced in the laboratory by heating a gas to a very high temperature, causing electrons to rip free and creating a conductive medium of positive and negative particles.

Uploaded by

Amir Rehman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

 INTRODUCTION:

Plasma physics is the study of charged particles and fluids interacting with
self-consistent electric and magnetic fields. In physics and chemistry, a
plasma is an ionized gas, and is usually considered to be a distinct phase
of matter. ‘Ionized’ in this case means that at least one electron has been
dissociated from a significant fraction of the molecules. In other words,
plasma is an electrically conducting medium in which there are roughly
equal numbers of positively and negatively charged particles, produced
when the atoms in a gas become ionized. It is sometimes referred to as the
fourth state of matter, distinct from the solid, liquid, and gaseous.

The negative charge is usually carried by electron, each of which has one
unit of negative charge. The positive charge is typically carried by atoms or
molecules that are missing those same electrons. In some rare but
interesting cases, electrons missing from one type of atom or molecule
become attached to another component, resulting in a plasma containing
both positive and negative ions.

Nearly all the visible matter in the universe exists in the plasma state,
occurring predominantly in this form in the Sun and stars and in
interplanetary and interstellar space. Auroras, lightning, and welding
arcs are also plasmas; plasmas exist in neon and fluorescent tubes, in
the crystal structure of metallic solids, and in many other phenomena and
objects. The Earth itself is immersed in a tenuous plasma called the solar
wind and is surrounded by a dense plasma called the ionosphere.

A plasma may be produced in the laboratory by heating a gas to an


extremely high temperature, which causes such vigorous collisions
between its atoms and molecules that electrons are ripped free, yielding
the requisite electrons and ions. A similar process occurs inside stars.
 DEFINITION:

Plasma physics is the study of charged particles and fluids interacting


with self-consistent electric and magnetic fields.
A useful definition of plasma is as follow;
“A plasma is a quasi-neutral gas of charged and neutral particles which
exhibits collective behavior”.
The plasma is quasi-neutral; that is , neutral enough so that one can take
ni ≈ ne ≈ n, where “n” is a common density called plasma density, but not
so neutral that all the interesting electromagnetic forces vanish.
Two American physicists, David Bohm and David Pines, in 1952 first
considered the collective behavior of electrons in metals as distinct from
that in ionized gases.
On the other hand collective behavior mean motions that depend not
only on local conditions but on the state of the plasma in remote regions as
well. Because of collective behavior, a plasma does not tend to conform to
external influences, rather it often behaves as if it had its own mind.

 CRITERIA FOR PLASMA:

There are three basic conditions which are must be satisfied by a gas to be
called plasma. Which are described as follow;
(01) L ˃˃˃ λD ,
Which means that the size of the plasma is much greater then the
Debye length (1014m). We will need "quasi-neutrality" here (Ꝭ =∑j n_{j}
q_{j}=0)
(02) n λ_{D}˃˃˃ 1
Many particles in the Debye sphere, for collective (not 2-body)
interactions in the plasma.
(03) ωƬ ˃˃˃ 1
Negligible neutral collision within a collective time scale. Where Ƭ is the
mutual collision time (Ƭ≈(1/ω)). Time scale for collective plasma
phenomena. Here we don't want too many mutual collision happening
within time of interest, where we are calculating these collective effects.
 APPLICATIONS:

The unique properties of plasma mean that it has a wide variety of


technological applications. Because plasmas are conductive and respond
to electric and magnetic fields and can be efficient sources of radiation,
they are usable in numerous applications where such control is needed or
when special sources of energy or radiation are required.
Some important uses or applications of plasma are down below,

(01) GAS DISCHRGES LAMPS:


Gas discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources that generate
light by sending an electric discharge through an ionized gas, a plasma.
Typically, such lamps use a noble gas or a mixture of these gases. In
operation, some of the electrons are forced to leave the atoms of the gas
near the anode by the electric field applied between the two electrodes,
leaving these atoms positively ionized. The free electrons flow towards
anode and cations flow to the cathode. The ions collide with neutral gas
atoms. An electron is emitted, which after returning to the lower state emits
light of a characteristic frequency.
The fluorescent lamp is perhaps the best known gas-discharge lamp.
Compared to incandescent lamps, gas-discharge lamps offer higher
efficiency.

(02) SPACE PHYSICS:


Space physics is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the earth’s
upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it
encompasses a far-ranging number of topics, such as heliophysics which
includes the solar physics of the Sun, the solar wind, cosmic rays and
synchrotron radiation.
Space physics is distinct from astrophysical plasma and the field if
astrophysics, which studies similar plasma phenomena beyond the Solar
System. Space physics can be traced to the Chinese who discovered the
principle of the compass, but did not understand how it worked. It was
William Gilbert who explained why a compass needle points north.
(03) CONTROLLED FUSION:
The fusion of light atomic nuclei that occurs at high temperatures under
controlled conditions and is accompanied by an energy release. Fusion
reactions must occur in completely ionized plasma heated to a high
temperature. The big problem with nuclear fusion is confinement. The
fusion process requires highly energetic hydrogen nuclei to collide, but a
terrestrial (earth-based) plasma of such nuclei will quickly expand and cool
until there is no longer enough energy to keep fusion events going.

 OCCURRENCE OF PLASMA:

Plasma is by far the most common form of matter. Plasma in the stars and
in the tenuous space between them makes up over 99% of the visible
universe and perhaps most of that which is not visible. The word “Plasma”
was first applied to ionized gas by Dr. Irving Langmuir, an American
chemist and physicist, in 1929.
You don’t find naturally occurring plasmas too often when you walk around.
They aren’t things that happen regularly on Earth. A little farther away from
home, the Earth’s magnetosphere contains a plasma which is populated by
particles of the solar wind interacting with ones from the earth’s upper
atmosphere. The solar corona is a good example of a hot plasma.

You might also like