Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo
-
0:08 - 0:12Have you ever seen static electricity
cause a spark of light? -
0:12 - 0:15What is that spark?
-
0:15 - 0:16What about lightning,
-
0:16 - 0:17the Northern Lights,
-
0:17 - 0:19or the tail of a comet?
-
0:19 - 0:21All of those things, and many others,
-
0:21 - 0:27in fact 99.9% of the universe,
are made of plasma. -
0:27 - 0:29Plasma is a state of matter
-
0:29 - 0:33drastically different
from the more familiar forms. -
0:33 - 0:34Take ice, for example.
-
0:34 - 0:38Ice, a solid,
melts to become water, a liquid, -
0:38 - 0:43which, when heated,
vaporizes into steam, a gas. -
0:43 - 0:46Continued heating of the steam
at a high enough temperature -
0:46 - 0:50causes the water molecules
in it to separate -
0:50 - 0:54into freely roaming hydrogen
and oxygen atoms. -
0:54 - 0:57With a little more heat,
the ionization process occurs -
0:57 - 1:01and the negatively charged electrons
escape the atoms, -
1:01 - 1:04leaving behind positively charged ions.
-
1:04 - 1:10This mixture of freely roaming negative
and positive charges is plasma, -
1:10 - 1:15and at a high enough temperature,
any gas can be made into one. -
1:15 - 1:19These freely moving charged particles
behave very differently -
1:19 - 1:22from the particles
in other types of matter. -
1:22 - 1:25When a doorknob, a solid,
has static electricity on it, -
1:25 - 1:28it doesn't look or behave any differently.
-
1:28 - 1:32And with the exception of a compass
or other magnetic object, -
1:32 - 1:37we rarely see matter
respond to a magnetic field. -
1:37 - 1:40But put a plasma in an electric field
or magnetic field, -
1:40 - 1:42and you'll get a very different reaction.
-
1:42 - 1:44Because plasmas are charged,
-
1:44 - 1:46electric fields accelerate them,
-
1:46 - 1:51and magnetic fields steer them
in circular orbits. -
1:51 - 1:53And when the particles
within plasma collide, -
1:53 - 1:56or accelerated
by electricity or magnetism, -
1:56 - 1:58light is generated,
-
1:58 - 2:00which is what we see
when we look at plasmas -
2:00 - 2:03like the Aurora Borealis.
-
2:03 - 2:07Plasmas aren't just beautiful,
celestial phenomena, though. -
2:07 - 2:13Imagine a tiny cube made of normal gas
with a very high voltage across it. -
2:13 - 2:15The resulting electric field
-
2:15 - 2:20pushes some of the electrons off the atoms
and accelerates them to high speeds -
2:20 - 2:23causing the ionization of other atoms.
-
2:23 - 2:27Imbedded impurities
in the tiny cube of gas -
2:27 - 2:31cause it to gain and release
a precise amount of energy -
2:31 - 2:35in the form of ultraviolet radiation.
-
2:35 - 2:37Attached to each tiny cube,
-
2:37 - 2:40a fluorescent material glows
with a specific color -
2:40 - 2:45when ultraviolet light
at just the right intensity reaches it. -
2:45 - 2:49Now, make a rectangle
out of a million of these tiny cubes, -
2:49 - 2:53each separately controlled
by sophisticated electronics. -
2:53 - 2:56You may be looking at one now.
-
2:56 - 2:59This is called a plasma TV.
-
2:59 - 3:02Plasmas also have implications
for health care. -
3:02 - 3:06Plasma chemists create
highly specific plasmas -
3:06 - 3:09that can destroy
or alter targeted chemicals, -
3:09 - 3:15thereby killing pathogenic organisms
on food or hospital surfaces. -
3:15 - 3:17Plasmas are all around us,
-
3:17 - 3:20in forms that are both spectacular
and practical. -
3:20 - 3:23And in the future, plasma could be used
-
3:23 - 3:26to permanently rid
landfills of their waste, -
3:26 - 3:29efficiently remove toxins
from our air and water, -
3:29 - 3:33and provide us with a potentially
unlimited supply -
3:33 - 3:35of renewable clean energy.
- Title:
- Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/solid-liquid-gas-and-plasma-michael-murillo
Have you ever seen static electricity cause a spark of light? What is that spark? What about lightning, the Northern Lights, or the tail of a comet? All of those things and many others – in fact, 99.9% of the universe -- are made of plasma. Michael Murillo gives the full picture on plasma.
Lesson by Michael Murillo, animation by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:52
Caroline Cristal approved English subtitles for Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo | ||
Caroline Cristal accepted English subtitles for Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo |