Today we went and visited the UCLA Plasma Research Center. Plasma is said to be the fourth state of matter. I never had realized all the uses of plasma. when we went to the center today I was able to feel the electrical current going through the tube in the magnet which i thought was really cool. I was also able to see the pink light flash in the magnet. When the heat was turned up you could see a bright orange flame instead. The electrons are free in the gas rather being bound to the atom.
I also found it very interesting that we could not have any of our credit cards or anything near the magent. I just never though of that perspective. Plasma is steered by magnetic fields which allows that to happen.
Plasma is also used for therapies of certain disorders. Plasma is also used in critical care settings for treatment of shock and burns, during surgery, and for fluid replacement therapy. Plasma is used in surgery and the treatment of wounds to facilitate healing. Plasma is also used for certain respiratory diseases.
One thing I really enjoyed about the Plasma Research Center was being able to go up on the ladder and look at the electrical current. It was nice to have a hands on experience and see exactly what was going on. I really enjoyed learning about something new and how it pertains to certain uses in my life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_(physics)
http://www.plasmas.org/what-are-plasmas.htm
http://www.cslplasma.com/s1/cs/enps/1165268013535/content/1165268013059/content.htm