Physics of plasma

Plasma and it`s different kinds

Essay by student,

Toka Emad Eldein Ibrahim

3rd Year Students Physics And Chemistry Department

Under supervision

Dr/Naglaa M. Elsayed

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 List of content

title Page

Introduction 4

Definition of plasma 5

Plasma as fourth state of 6

matter

Plasma types 9

Difference between plasma

and ordinary gas 11

Plasma action 13

References 14

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3
Introduction:

a plasma is a collection of free charged particles moving in a random direction that

is, on the average, electrically neutral and exhibits collective behavior.
The motion of the particles can cause local concentration of positive and negative
electric charge. These charge concentrations create long ranged coulombic fields
that affect the motion of charged particles far away from the charge
concentrations.Thus elements of plasma affect each other, even at large
separations, giving the plasma its characteristic collective behavior. A charged
particle in a plasma mowes along a path which on average follows the electric
field. In some conditions at low pressure, In some cases the plasma is called a
collisionless plasma. By collective behavior we can motions that depend not only
on local condition but on the state of the plasma in remote as well.
In a plasma, however, the electrons are liberated from the atoms and acquire
complete freedom of motion. With the loss of some of their electrons, atoms and
molecules acquire a positive electric charge; they are then called ions. Thus, a
plasma is a gas consisting of positively and negatively charged particles in such
proportions that the total charge is equal to zero. Freely moving electrons can
transport electric current; in other words, a plasma is a conducting gas.

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Definition of plasma

History of the plasma

Plasma[1] is one of the four fundamental states of matter, and was first described
by chemist Irving Langmuir [2]
in the 1920s. [3] It consists of a gas of ions – atoms
which have some of their orbital electrons removed – and free electrons. Plasma
can be artificially generated by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong
electromagnetic field to the point where an ionized gaseous substance becomes
increasingly electrically conductive. The resulting charged ions and electrons
become influenced by long-range electromagnetic fields, making the plasma
dynamics more sensitive to these fields than a neutral gas. [4]

A screenshot of the time-lapse video showing two bands of plasma shooting away
from the sun. (Image credit: NA

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Plasma as the fourth state of matter
Plasmas are often called a fourth state of matter. As we know, a solid substance in
thermal equilibrium generally passes into a liquid state as the temperature is
increased at a fixed pressure. The liquid passes into gas. At a sufficiently high
temperature, the molecules in the gas decompose to form a gas of atoms that move
freely in random directions. If the temperature is further increased, then the atoms
decompose into freely moving charged particles , and the substance enters the
plasma state . this state is characterized by common charged particle density

As the temperature of any solid material is raised, its state changes from solid to
liquid and then to gas. If we increase the temperature of a gas beyond a certain
limit, it enters a regime where the thermal energy of its constituent particle is so
great that the electrostatic forces which ordinarily bind electrons to atomic nuclei
are overcome. Instead of hot gas composed of electrically neutral atoms, we then
have a mixed population of charged and neutral particles. With increasing
temperature the number of ionized particles increases and the ionized gas starts
behaving differently. After the fraction of ionized particles is sufficiently high the

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ionized gas starts exhibiting the collective behavior and the state of matter is
plasma
Plasma and ionized gases have properties and display behaviours unlike those of
the other states, and the transition between them is mostly a matter of
nomenclature, and subject to interpretation. [5] Based on the temperature and
density of the environment that contains a plasma, partially ionized or fully ionized
forms of plasma may be produced. Neon signs and lightning are examples of
partially ionized plasmas. [6] The Earth's ionosphere is a plasma and the
magnetosphere contains plasma in the Earth's surrounding space environment. The
interior of the Sun is an example of fully ionized plasma, [7] along with the solar
corona [8] and stars. [9]

Positive charges in ions are achieved by stripping away electrons orbiting the
atomic nuclei, where the total number of electrons removed is related to either
increasing temperature or the local density of other ionized matter. This also can be
accompanied by the dissociation of molecular bonds, [10] though this process is
distinctly different from chemical processes of ion interactions in liquids or the
behaviour of shared ions in metals. The response of plasma to electromagnetic
fields is used in many modern technological devices, such as plasma televisions or
plasma etching. [11]

[12]
Plasma may be the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe,
although this hypothesis is currently tentative based on the existence and unknown
properties of dark matter. Plasma is mostly associated with stars, extending to the
rarefied intracluster medium and possibly the intergalactic regions. [13]

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Plasma is a state of matter that is often thought of as a subset of gases, but the two
states behave very differently. Like gases, plasmas have no fixed shape or volume,
and are less dense than solids or liquids. But unlike ordinary gases, plasmas are
made up of atoms in which some or all of the electrons have been stripped away
and positively charged nuclei, called ions, roam freely.

"A gas is made of neutral molecules and atoms," said Xuedong Hu, a professor of
physics at the University at Buffalo. That is, the number of negatively charged
electrons equals the number of positively charged protons.

"Plasma is a charged gas, with strong Coulomb [or electrostatic] interactions," Hu

told Live Science. Atoms or molecules can acquire a positive or negative electrical
charge when they gain or lose electrons. This process is called ionization. Plasma
makes up the sun and stars, and it is the most common state of matter in the
universe as a whole.

(Blood plasma, by the way, is something completely different. It is the liquid

portion of blood. It is 92 percent water and constitutes 55 percent of blood volume,
according to the American Red Cross.)

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Plasma Types

The plasma state in natural form in cosmos or is created under unique conditions
for specific purposes. The plasmas found in nature cover a very large range of
electron densities and temperatures the rang of density between 10 6 and 1030, while
the electron temperature can vary between 10-2 and 105 eV[14]

Temperature and densities of various plasmas

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1-thermal plasmas
LTE plasmas can exist under two circumstances:
 When the heavy particles are very energetic, at temperatures of the order of
106_ 108 K (102-104 eV (

 When the pressure is atmospheric, even at temperatures as low as 6000 K

An increase of pressure in the plasma causes an increase in the number of
collisions between the electrons and the heavy species , when the pressure
increases toward atmospheric pressure , the two systems tend to reach the same
thermodynamic equilibrium. Such plasmas can be produced by atmospheric arcs,
sparks and flames.[15]
In a high pressure gas discharge the collision between electrons and gas molecules
occurs frequently. This causes thermal equilibrium between the electrons and gas
molecules. We have Te ≃ Tg. We call this type of plasma a “hot plasma”.

2-cold plasmas
In low pressure discharged, thermodynamic equilibrium is not reached between
electrons and heavy particles[16] . these plasma are of the non LTE type.
The temperature of the electrons is much higher than that of the heavy particles
And Te >> Ti >> Tg where Te, Ti and Tg are the temperatures of the electron, ion
and gas molecules, respectively.the temperature of the gas “Tg” can be as low as
room temperature .This type of plasma is called a “cold plasma”.
Applications of cold plasmas are widespread and put to use in a variety of fields,
from microelectronic fabrication to surface hardening of metals .

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Difference between plasma and ordinary neutral gas
Plasma is often called the fourth state of matter after solid, liquids and gases,
despite plasma typically being an ionized gas.[17][18][19] It is distinct from these and
other lower-energy states of matter. 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:

Property Gas Plasma

A random
movement moves
in straight lines Collective behavior
Directions that do not affect A random movement The particles move,
each other by the affecting each other
way Brownian
motion

Very low: Air is

an excellent
insulator until it
Usually very high: For many purposes, the
Electrical breaks down into
conductivity conductivity of a plasma may be treated as
plasma at electric
infinite.
field strengths
above 30 kilovolts
per centimeter.[20]

One: All gas Two or

particles behave three: Electrons, ions, protons and neutrons can
Independently in a similar way, be distinguished by the sign and value of
acting influenced their charge so that they behave independently in
species by gravity and many circumstances, with different bulk
by collisions with velocities and temperatures, allowing phenomena
one another. such as new types of waves and instabilities.

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 Maxwellian:
Collisions usually
lead to a Often non-Maxwellian: Collisional interactions
Maxwellian
are often weak in hot plasmas and external
Velocity velocity
distribution forcing can drive the plasma far from local
distribution of all
equilibrium and lead to a significant population
gas particles, with
very few of unusually fast particles.
relatively fast
particles.

Binary: Two-
Collective: Waves, or organized motion of
particle collisions
plasma, are very important because the particles
Interaction are the rule, three-
can interact at long ranges through the electric
body collisions
and magnetic forces.
extremely rare.

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Plasmas in action

One place you can see plasmas in action is in a fluorescent light bulb or neon sign.
In those cases a gas (neon for signs) is subjected to a high voltage, and the
electrons are either separated from the atoms of the gas or pushed into higher
energy levels. The gas inside the bulb becomes a conductive plasma. The excited
electrons that drop back into their previous energy levels emit photons – the light
we see in a neon sign or fluorescent lamp.

Plasma TVs work in the same way. A gas — usually argon, neon or xenon — is
injected into a sealed gap between two glass panels. An electrical current is passed
through the gas, which causes it to glow. The plasma excites red, green and blue
phosphors, which combine to give off specific colors, according to eBay.
Another use for plasma is in plasma globes, which are full of noble gas mixes that
produce the colors of the "lightning" inside them when an electric current ionizes
the gas.

Another example of plasma is in the auroras that surround the poles when the sun
is particularly active. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles (mostly
protons), which hit Earth's magnetic field. Those particles, being charged, follow
magnetic field lines and move toward the poles, where they collide with and excite
atoms in the air, mostly oxygen and nitrogen. Like a neon sign, the excited oxygen
and nitrogen atoms give off light.

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References

1. ^ a b πλάσμα Archived 18 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George

Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek English Lexicon, on Perseus
2. ^ a b c Goldston, R.J.; Rutherford, P.H. (1995). Introduction to Plasma
Physics. Taylor & Francis. p. 1−2. ISBN 978-0-7503-0183-1.
3. ^ Morozov, A.I. (2012). Introduction to Plasma Dynamics. CRC Press. p. 17.
ISBN 978-1-4398-8132-3.
4. ^ Morozov, A.I. (2012). Introduction to Plasma Dynamics. CRC Press. p. 30.
ISBN 978-1-4398-8132-3.
5. ^ Morozov, A.I. (2012). Introduction to Plasma Dynamics. CRC Press. p. 4−5.
ISBN 978-1-4398-8132-3.
6. ^ "How Lightning Works". HowStuffWorks. April 2000. Archived from the
original on 7 April 2014.
7. ^ Phillips, K. J. H. (1995). Guide to the Sun. Cambridge University Press. p.
295. ISBN 978-0-521-39788-9. Archived from the original on 15 January
2018.
8. ^ Aschwanden, M. J. (2004). Physics of the Solar Corona. An Introduction.
Praxis Publishing. ISBN 978-3-540-22321-4.
9. ^ Piel, A. (2010). Plasma Physics: An Introduction to Laboratory, Space, and
Fusion Plasmas. Springer. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-3-642-10491-6. Archived from
the original on 5 January 2016.
10. ^ a b Sturrock, Peter A. (1994). Plasma Physics: An Introduction to the Theory
of Astrophysical, Geophysical & Laboratory Plasmas. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44810-9.
11. ^ Chu, P.K.; Lu, XinPel (2013). Low Temperature Plasma Technology:
Methods and Applications. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4665-0990-0.

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 12. ^ Chu, P.K.; Lu, XinPel (2013). Low Temperature Plasma Technology:
Methods and Applications. CRC Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4665-0990-0.
13. ^ Chiuderi, C.; Velli, M. (2015). Basics of Plasma Astrophysics. Springer. p.
17. ISBN 978-88-470-5280-2.
14. https://www.livescience.com/amp/54652-plasma.html By Jesse Emspak
First Published 4 years ago

15. Maher I. Boulos, Pierre Fauchais, Emil Pfender, Thermal Plasmas:

Fundamentals and Applications (1994) Springer, ISBN 0306446073 (p.6)
ACADEMIC BOOK
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(page 299) ACADEMIC BOOK

17. Frank-Kamenetskii, David A. (1972) [1961–1963]. Plasma-The Fourth State

of Matter(3rd ed.). New York: Plenum Press. ISBN 9781468418965. Archived from
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18. Yaffa Eliezer, Shalom Eliezer, The Fourth State of Matter: An Introduction to
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19. Bittencourt, J.A. (2004). Fundamentals of Plasma Physics. Springer.
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