Plasma is the fourth state of matter, apart from solid, liquid, and gas. Plasma exists in many forms in nature and constitutes more than 99% of matter in the visible universe.
What is Plasma
The plasma state occurs when atoms or molecules of matter are ionized. Plasma is simply thought of as an ionized gas consisting of atoms, electrons, ions, molecules, molecular fragments, and various forms of electronic excitation. Currently, there are two main types of plasma, hot plasma and cold plasma.
Hot plasma
This type occurs when ionization occurs at thermal collisions between atoms or molecules at very high temperatures. When the temperature is high, the electrons will be separated from the atom, when the temperature is high, the atoms will be ionized. The most highly ionized atoms have only separated nuclei and electrons.
Cold plasma
Where ionization occurs due to receiving energy from outside. For example, electromagnetic radiation, at this time cold plasma appears. For example, the phenomenon of electrical discharge in electrification.
At that time, electrons are ejected from the cathode leading to the ionization of some neutral elements. The new electrons then rapidly cause extremely fast motion in the electrical medium and ionize other molecules.
The rapid ionization chain causes the gas to quickly change to the plasma state. At this time, the structure of the plasma will have positive ions, negative ions, electrons and neutral molecules.
Cooling neutral plasma by laser.
Factors closely related to plasma
Temperature
The temperature at the plasma will be measured in Kelvin or Electronvolt. High temperature strengthens the ionization process, breaking the bond between the nucleus of atoms and electrons. The ionization process is considered to be characteristic of plasma.
At low temperature, ions and electrons bond together to form atoms. At this moment the state of the plasma will change to gas.
Voltage
Plasma will appear in black holes with high potential, so voltage is important for plasma, which is a conductor of heat. The potential value is determined by measuring and finding the net charge density. Non-neutral plasma is low density with electrostatic repulsion.
Magnetization
The magnetization of the plasma affects the motion of charged particles by means of a strong electric field. Magnetic plasmas have the property of moving parallel to the other magnetic field direction.
Applications of plasma
Engineering Mechanics
In the field of mechanical engineering, a lot of people pay attention to the problems of plasma welding, plasma cutting, plasma cutting, plasma potential or plasma gas. It is clear that the application of plasma in this industry is widespread and results in high production efficiency.
It is the application of designing modern machine lines, increasing work productivity, creating products that meet quality standards. From there, it will save more labor than the traditional way.
There are many types of cutting machines that use advanced plasma technology. Technicians also apply this technology to manufacture high-grade equipment or steel structures. Plasma arc welding provides higher heat output, faster speed, more energy and better concentration.
Medicine
Currently in medicine, plasma technology is widely applied:
- Application of plasma to treat acute wounds, help in the treatment of dermatological diseases or in plastic surgery
- Doctors used cold plasma to heal wounds and limit infections. This technology uses electrons and ions to disrupt cell membranes formed by microorganisms
- Plasma produces large proteins or antibodies that eliminate the invasion of infectious microorganisms
Cosmos and astronomy
Plasma is an important state of matter in the universe, existing in the ionosphere. In the solar system and in other planets of the universe there are plasma in different forms. They will be related to aircraft entering space in the sky or projects to launch matter into space.