Today we visited a plasma research lab. This was very, very cool. When we walked in I didn’t know what to expect cause I barely knew what plasma was. I learned that plasma is a partially ionized gas, in which a certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to an atom or molecule. Plasma is created at extremely high temperatures of 1800° C or higher. This plasma is created in a vacuum, which sucks out all but 1/1000000000 of the air and impurities inside. The plasma is created by the reaction between an electron beam and helium or other gas inserted into the chamber. The plasma lasts for only a fraction of a second in the current chambers because otherwise it would melt the entire machine. In the 2 reactors we saw, the gas would be ignited every second creating a flash of light emitted through the windows of the chamber. Each chamber was massive and looked like giant inventions only to be found in a science fiction movie. Which makes one think how far away is science from creating many theatrical inventions such as a plasma cannons, light sabers, or anything found in a science fiction movie. The only problem with creating these inventions is portability, and how practical the device would be. The first dilemma is a power source strong enough to create the plasma. Currently the reactor running in the Basement of the Plasma Research Lab uses more energy that the entire city of Westwood. No power source yet exists that could produce such massive amounts of energy. Another problem is that with today’s technology, the machine would be way to bulky to be moved let alone portable. So sadly, a plasma rifle or cannon is far from being reality, but in 20 years, a whole new world of possibility will be open.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_(physics)
http://www.physorg.com/news92671947.html
http://www.oulu.fi/~spaceweb/textbook/theories.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_rifle
Interview of Eric Lerner, Lawrenceville Plasma Physics/Focus Fusion, by Sander Olson