Plasma Physics
What is Plasma
Plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in
which a certain portion of the particles is
ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its
molecules or atoms (reduce or increase the
number of electrons in them), thus turning it
into a plasma, which contains charged
particles: positive ions and negative electrons
or ions. 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.
Common plasmas
Plasmas are by far the most common
phase of matter in the universe, both by
mass and by volume. All the stars are
made of plasma, and even the
interstellar space is filled with a plasma,
though a very light one. In our solar
system, the planet Jupiter accounts for
most of the non-plasma, only about
0.1% of the mass and 10-15 % of the
volume within the orbit of Pluto. Very
small grains within a gaseous plasma
will also pick up a net negative charge,
so that they in turn may act like a very
Definition of a plasma
Plasma is loosely described as an
electrically neutral medium of
positive and negative particles (i.e.
the overall charge of a plasma is
roughly zero). It is important to note
that although they are unbound,
these particles are not ‘free’. When
the charges move they generate
electrical currents with magnetic
fields, and as a result, they are
affected by each other’s fields. This
governs their collective behavior with
1. The plasma approximation: Charged
particles must be close enough together that
each particle influences many nearby charged
particles, rather than just interacting with the
closest particle (these collective effects are a
distinguishing feature of a plasma). The plasma
approximation is valid when the number of
charge carriers within the sphere of influence
(called the Debye sphere whose radius is the
Debye screening length) of a particular particle
is higher than unity to provide collective
behavior of the charged particles. The average
number of particles in the Debye sphere is
given by the plasma parameter, "Λ"
2.Bulk interactions: The Debye
screening length (defined above) is
short compared to the physical size
of the plasma. This criterion means
that interactions in the bulk of the
plasma are more important than
those at its edges, where boundary
effects may take place. When this
criterion is satisfied, the plasma is
quasineutral.
3. Plasma frequency: The electron
plasma frequency (measuring plasma
oscillations of the electrons) is large
compared to the electron-neutral collision
frequency (measuring frequency of
collisions between electrons and neutral
particles). When this condition is valid,
electrostatic interactions dominate over
the processes of ordinary gas kinetics.
Ranges of plasma parameters
Plasma parameters can
take on values varying by
many orders of magnitude,
but the properties of
plasmas with apparently
disparate parameters may
be very similar
Degree of ionization
For plasma to exist, ionization is
necessary. The term "plasma
density" by itself usually refers to
the "electron density", that is, the
number of free electrons per unit
volume. The degree of ionization of
a plasma is the proportion of atoms
that have lost or gained electrons,
and is controlled mostly by the
temperature.
Even a partially ionized gas in which as little
as 1% of the particles are ionized can have
the characteristics of a plasma (i.e., response
to magnetic fields and high electrical
conductivity). The degree of ionization, α is
defined as α = ni/(ni + na) where ni is the
number density of ions and na is the number
density of neutral atoms. The electron density
is related to this by the average charge state
<Z> of the ions through ne = <Z> ni where ne
is the number density of electrons
Temperatures
Plasma temperature is commonly measured in
kelvins or electron volts and is, informally, a
measure of the thermal kinetic energy per
particle. Very high temperatures are usually
needed to sustain ionization, which is a defining
feature of a plasma. The degree of plasma
ionization is determined by the "electron
temperature" relative to the ionization energy,
(and more weakly by the density), in a
relationship called the Saha equation. At low
temperatures, ions and electrons tend to
recombine into bound states—atoms, and the
plasma will eventually become a gas.
Thermal vs. non-thermal plasmas
Based on the relative temperatures of the
electrons, ions and neutrals, plasmas are
classified as "thermal" or "non-thermal".
Thermal plasmas have electrons and the
heavy particles at the same temperature,
i.e., they are in thermal equilibrium with
each other. Non-thermal plasmas on the
other hand have the ions and neutrals at
a much lower temperature (normally
room temperature), whereas electrons are
much "hotter".
A plasma is sometimes referred to
as being "hot" if it is nearly fully
ionized, or "cold" if only a small
fraction (for example 1%) of the gas
molecules are ionized, but other
definitions of the terms "hot plasma"
and "cold plasma" are common.
Even in a "cold" plasma, the electron
temperature is still typically several
thousand degrees Celsius. Plasmas
utilized in "plasma technology"
Potentials
Since plasmas are very good conductors,
electric potentials play an important role.
The potential as it exists on average in the
space between charged particles,
independent of the question of how it can
be measured, is called the "plasma
potential", or the "space potential". If an
electrode is inserted into a plasma, its
potential will generally lie considerably
below the plasma potential due to what is
termed a Debye sheath.
The good electrical conductivity of plasmas
makes their electric fields very small. This
results in the important concept of
"quasineutrality", which says the density of
negative charges is approximately equal to
the density of positive charges over large
volumes of the plasma (ne = <Z>ni), but on
the scale of the Debye length there can be
charge imbalance. In the special case that
double layers are formed, the charge
separation can extend some tens of Debye
lengths.
Magnetization
Plasma with a magnetic field strong enough to
influence the motion of the charged particles is
said to be magnetized. A common quantitative
criterion is that a particle on average
completes at least one gyration around the
magnetic field before making a collision. It is
often the case that the electrons are
magnetized while the ions are not. Magnetized
plasmas are anisotropic, meaning that their
properties in the direction parallel to the
magnetic field are different from those
perpendicular to it.
While electric fields in plasmas are
usually small due to the high
conductivity, the electric field
associated with a plasma moving in
a magnetic field is given by E = −v
× B (where E is the electric field, v
is the velocity, and B is the
magnetic field), and is not affected
by Debye shielding.
Comparison of plasma and gas phases
Plasma is often called the fourth state of
matter. It is distinct from other lower-energy
states of matter; most commonly solid, liquid,
and gas. Although it is closely related to the
gas phase in that it also has no definite form
or volume, it differs in a number of ways,
including the following:
1. is a state of matter similar to gas in
which a certain portion of the particles
is ionized.
2-4. Give the three criteria of plasma.
5. The degree of plasma ionization is
determined by?
Answers.
1.plasma
2-4. . The plasma
approximation, Bulk
interactions, Plasma frequency.
5. electron temperature
