Plasma, the Fourth State
Yes, plasma. Thanks to my plasma tv, I discovered the complete range of the states of matter. One day, I was sitting watchin the tv (the tv itself, not what was on) and I asked myself: what the hell is plasma? Of course, that drove directly into the net. And I started to find out about plasma:
Plasma is one of four states of matter (...) plasma is actually the most common form of matter; in fact, plasma makes up 99% of all visible matter in the Universe.
99% of all visible matter and I hadn't even heard about it before the plasma screens came out. Putting it very simply, plasma is an ionized gas. Ionized means that an atom has lost or gained electrons becoming an ion, with an electrical charge. In the case of plasma, all the electrons have been stripped from it, so we can say the composition of plasma is bare nuclei and free electrons.
Even though 99% of matter in the universe is plasma, on Earth it is not so common because it is too col here for it to form: plasma is created at several million degrees Celsius, and as the temperature goes down, the electrons recover their position in the atom leaving, therefore, the state of plasma.
Where can you find plasma?
Bose-Einstein Condensate, the Fifth State of Matter.
99% of all visible matter and I hadn't even heard about it before the plasma screens came out. Putting it very simply, plasma is an ionized gas. Ionized means that an atom has lost or gained electrons becoming an ion, with an electrical charge. In the case of plasma, all the electrons have been stripped from it, so we can say the composition of plasma is bare nuclei and free electrons.
Even though 99% of matter in the universe is plasma, on Earth it is not so common because it is too col here for it to form: plasma is created at several million degrees Celsius, and as the temperature goes down, the electrons recover their position in the atom leaving, therefore, the state of plasma.
Where can you find plasma?
- All the space (meaning the space in between planets and stars) is filled with plasma (eventhough it is very cold in most points. I don´t understand how is this possible, let me know if you do please).
- Stars, including the sun of course, are made out of plasma.
- Lightnings are plasma.
- The ionosphere is made out of plasma.
- Plasma tvs.
- Fluorescent lights.
- Neon signs
- Rocket exhaust
- And many more places.
Bose-Einstein Condensate, the Fifth State of Matter.
It is, basically, the reverse of plasma. It is matter formed by bosons cooled to temperatures very near to absolute zero. At a certain temperature, the atoms collapse into a state in which quantum effects become visible on a macroscopic scale. What happens is that all the atoms become one single super atom, occupying all of them the same space!
These state of matter was predicted years ago by Nath Bose and Einstein, but the Bose Einstein condensation wasn't achieved until 1995: "It really is a new state of matter," one of its discoverers said. "It has completely different properties from any other kind of matter."
You will not encounter this state as often as plasma, because it is a very fragile sate and although the possibilities are endless, still not many aplications (for us regular people, physicians are having their fun) have been found but the revolution has not stopped yet.
These state of matter was predicted years ago by Nath Bose and Einstein, but the Bose Einstein condensation wasn't achieved until 1995: "It really is a new state of matter," one of its discoverers said. "It has completely different properties from any other kind of matter."
You will not encounter this state as often as plasma, because it is a very fragile sate and although the possibilities are endless, still not many aplications (for us regular people, physicians are having their fun) have been found but the revolution has not stopped yet.
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