What is ionized gas? Briefly about plasma

Physics is a very interesting science. In it sometimes there are such concepts about which we have heard, but we have no real idea. And today, in the age of high technology development, the concept of plasma, or, in other words, ionized gas, is increasingly slipping. Many, only hearing this word, are frightened, and do not even try to find out what it means. But everything is very simple, and in this article we will tell you what is the ionized gas and what properties it possesses.

Before giving you detailed and exhaustive information, let's take a short digression into the history.

History

Plasma, or the fourth aggregate state of matter, was discovered in 1879 by William Crookes in experiments involving a voltaic arc. Subsequently, a whole science was created, called plasma physics. Where did the whole science come from and why is it needed? The whole point is that the study of plasma has found great application in various fields of science and technology. But we'll talk about this a little later. And now a little about the essence of the concept of "ionized gas."

What is plasma?

This word came in Russian from Greek. It means "decorated", "made." And these are not empty words. As is known, ordinary gas takes the form of the vessel where it is located (just like water). That is why it is chaotic and does not have a clear form. However, plasma is completely different. Knowingly it is called the fourth aggregate state of matter. It is radically different from all other states by its special properties. The fact is that all the atoms that make up the plasma have a positive or negative charge.

Before describing how the plasma is obtained and where it is applied, we will discuss aspects of the theory of plasma physics, because this is very useful for us for further narration.

Theory of Plasma

In the school course of chemistry, a lot of time is devoted to solutions and particles that are in them. These charged particles have unique properties and cause many physical and chemical characteristics of various "dissolved substance-solvent" systems. However, ions (charged particles in solution) exist not only in an aqueous medium.

As it turned out, the gas can also ionize and form atoms with a positive or negative charge. This can happen in the process of knocking out an electron from an atom by external forces. An ejected electron can also crash into some other atom and "knock out" another electron. But the reverse situation can also occur: an electron can fly into an ion and again form a neutral atom. And all these processes are constantly occurring in the plasma. It is quite unstable in the absence of outside forces supporting it.

The plasma is produced in a very simple way, accessible to each of us at home: by passing gas through an electric arc of high voltage. The higher the arc temperature, the more heated plasma we get at the output. The higher the voltage at its contacts, the more ionized the gas is after.

Plasma can also be divided into several types. About what kind of plasma (ionized gas) there is, you will learn from the next section.

Types of plasma

By origin, ionized gas can be divided into artificial and natural. With the first kind of everything is clear, a person easily creates a plasma and uses it for their own purposes (for example, neon lamps, lasers, controlled thermonuclear fusion). And what kind of plasma happens in nature? Its most famous manifestation is lightning.

To the ionized gas can also be attributed a phenomenon such as the northern lights, which not all the inhabitants of the Earth are happy to observe. Also, the solar wind existing in outer space is the fourth state of matter. If we consider plasma in a broader sense, it turns out that all of outer space is related to it.

The plasma can also be divided by its temperature. As is known, the hotter the gas, the more active the movement of molecules in it and the higher its energy. Since the plasma is also a gas, these statements are valid for it. и холодный (соответственно, температура меньше миллиона K) . Thus, starting from the temperature of the ionized gas, it is divided into hot (temperature one million K and above) and cold (respectively, the temperature is less than one million K) .

There is one more indicator - the degree of ionization. It shows the percentage of atoms in the plasma that decays into ions. This indicator distinguishes high-ionized gas and low-ionized gas. This is also included in one of the generally accepted classifications.

Conclusion

Plasma is not such a difficult thing to understand. Difficulties begin with a deeper study of it. But you can treat any thing like that. We did not specifically address mathematical calculations in order to explain the essence of this concept in as much detail as possible. Physics is a very interesting science, and it is necessary to study it, if only because it surrounds us in everything and everywhere. And our article is meant to prove it, because plasma is everywhere around us, just sometimes we do not understand the deep essence of the phenomena connected with it.