The Plasma State
Plasma is an ionized gas, electrons stripped free of their atoms, found in stars, lightning, and auroras; it conducts electricity and responds to magnetic fields, and makes up roughly 99% of the visible universe.
Strip the electrons loose, ionize the gas Free ions and electrons, a plasma is born Ninety nine percent of the visible universe, this state Not solid, not liquid, not gas, a fourth kind entirely Inside the sun's core, fifteen million Kelvin Hydrogen nuclei merge, plasma powers every star Lightning channels reach thirty thousand Kelvin Hotter than the surface of the sun, for an instant Charged particles conduct electricity through the sky Magnetic fields bend and steer this charged matter Solar wind streams toward the poles of earth Ionizing atmospheric gases, auroras painting green and red Neon signs trap a thin plasma inside glass tubes Electric current excites the gas to glow Reactors chase this same charged state on earth Magnetic bottles hold plasma hotter than any star Fourth state, rarest here, dominant everywhere else Plasma, charged and free, running the cosmos
Key Concepts: Plasma forms when energy strips electrons free of atoms (ionization), leaving free ions and electrons | Real temperatures: the sun's core (~15 million K), a lightning channel (~30,000 K, hotter than the sun's surface) | Plasma conducts electricity and responds to magnetic fields (auroras, magnetic-confinement reactor cores) | Roughly 99% of the visible universe is plasma | Companion to "I'm Plasmo"
Key Words: ionization, ion, magnetic confinement, aurora, nuclear reaction, plasma