Plasma, Ionized gas and other fun stuff

ATS community

During some of my research, i have come up with somewhat of an issue that i am looking for various methods of solving. So, i propose this question for you guys.

Riddle me this..


How would YOU go about stripping electrons off of an atom and separating the ionized atom from its electrons indefinately, creating an ionized gas that would essentially be a "hot" plasma?

I don't know, but I'm sure that we'll find a way to manipulate that into a weapon of sorts, and that'll be an interesting outcome. Perhaps something like a Bio Force Gun or Plasma Gun.

reply to post by TheReaver


Generally, Hot plasmas are...hot, they are more or less a gas, but are affected by magnetic fields more so than any other element form.

SO, with that knowledge, maybe we could use a magnetic field to contain a plasma bolt, fire it from a gun, and it would be just like a plasma gun from ever so many video games.

Kind of a cool weapon, But im not interested in that. I know that plasmas are used in fusion research, but i dont know to what extent, and i still do not know how a plasma is "made"....Anyone else out there?

reply to post by LeeTheDestroyer

For plasma to exist, ionization is necessary. The term "plasma density" by itself usually refers to the "electron density", that is, the number of free electrons per unit volume. The degree of ionization of a plasma is the proportion of atoms which have lost (or gained) electrons, and is controlled mostly by the temperature. Even a partially ionized gas in which as little as 1% of the particles are ionized can have the characteristics of a plasma (i.e. response to magnetic fields and high electrical conductivity). The degree of ionization, α is defined as α = ni/(ni + na) where ni is the number density of ions and na is the number density of neutral atoms. The electron density is related to this by the average charge state of the ions through ne = ni where ne is the number density of electrons.

Source

reply to post by LeeTheDestroyer


Well, at any rate, they would still have to use ionization and some sort of magnetic field to contain the plasma so it doesn't dissipate. But also harnessing its as energy to power many things would be pretty useful too.