what is plasma? i am doing a report on properties of mater?

Answer 1

Plasma typically takes the form of neutral gas-like clouds or charged ion beams, but may also include dust and grains (called dusty plasmas). [5] They are typically formed by heating and ionizing a gas, stripping electrons away from atoms, thereby enabling the positive and negative charges to move freely.

Answer 2

In physics and chemistry, a plasma is typically an"Ionized" gas, "ionized", means that at least one electron has has been lost.

Plasma is the most common phase of matter (just not here on earth). Up to 99% of the entire visible universe is plasma.

Get an "A".

Answer 3

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.

On earth we live upon an island of "ordinary" matter. The different states of matter generally found on earth are solid, liquid, and gas. We have learned to work, play, and rest using these familiar states of matter. Sir William Crookes, an English physicist, identified a fourth state of matter, now called plasma, in 1879.

Plasma temperatures and densities range from relatively cool and tenuous (like aurora) to very hot and dense (like the central core of a star). Ordinary solids, liquids, and gases are both electrically neutral and too cool or dense to be in a plasma state.

The word "PLASMA" was first applied to ionized gas by Dr. Irving Langmuir, an American chemist and physicist, in 1929.


Plasma consists of a collection of free moving electrons and ions - atoms that have lost electrons. Energy is needed to strip electrons from atoms to make plasma. The energy can be of various origins: thermal, electrical, or light (ultraviolet light or intense visible light from a laser). With insufficient sustaining power, plasmas recombine into neutral gas.

Plasma can be accelerated and steered by electric and magnetic fields, which allows it to be controlled and applied. Plasma research is yielding a greater understanding of the universe. It also provides many practical uses: new manufacturing techniques, consumer products, the prospect of abundant energy, more efficient lighting, surface cleaning, waste removal, and many more application topics.

Answer 4

In physics and chemistry, a plasma is typically an ionized gas, and is usually considered to be a distinct phase of matter in contrast to solids, liquids, and gases because of its unique properties. "Ionized" means that at least one electron has been dissociated from a proportion of the atoms or molecules. The free electric charges make the plasma electrically conductive so that it responds strongly to electromagnetic fields.

This fourth state of matter was first identified in a discharge tube (or Crookes tube), and so described by Sir William Crookes in 1879 (he called it "radiant matter")[1]. The nature of the Crookes tube "cathode ray" matter was subsequently identified by British physicist Sir J.J. Thomson in 1897[2], and dubbed "plasma" by Irving Langmuir in 1928 [3], perhaps because it reminded him of a blood plasma

Answer 5

Plasma is a part of your blood. Take out the red and white blood cells, and you have plasma.

Answer 6

dude, instead of asking us and wasting 5 points, just search plasma...its simple

Answer 7

4th state of matter which is typically an ionized gas

look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_%28physics%29 for more info