What Is Plasma?
One common description of plasma is to describe it as the fourth state of matter. We normally think of the three states of matter as solid, liquid and gas. For a common element, water, these three states are ice, water and steam. The difference between these states relates to their energy levels. When we add energy in the form of heat to ice, the ice melts and forms water. When we add more energy, the water vaporizes into hydrogen and oxygen, in the form of steam. By adding more energy to steam these gases become ionized. This ionization process causes the gas to become electrically conductive.
Plasma – The fourth state of matter following solid, liquid, and gas. Plasma is an ionized (electrified) form of gas. In plasma cutting, a gas such as Nitrogen is sent under pressure through the torch where it begins to swirl and is forced out a small orifice at which point it passes through an electric arc and the gas is ionized. The electricity “excites” the electrons of the gas atoms. Regular air contains enough nitrogen that it is used for most shop size plasma cutters. It results in a very quick, clean cut and imparts little heat into the base metal. Plasma is one step down from a laser.
Plasma is a phase of matter distinct from solids, liquids, and gases. It is the most abundant phase of matter in the universe — both stars and interstellar dust consist of plasma. Although it is its own phase of matter, plasma is often referred to as an ionized gas. This is similar to a normal gas, except that electrons have been stripped from their respective nucleons and float freely within the plasma. Even if only 1% of the atoms have lost their electrons, a gas will display plasma-like behavior. Plasma is electrically conductive and can be manipulated by magnetic fields. It can be found in a variety of everyday contexts, including plasma displays, fluorescent lamps, neon signs, plasma balls, photolithographic etching machines, flames, lightning, aurora borealis, tesla coils, and more. Plasmas vary widely. Some parameters used for their classification are the degree of ionization, temperature, density of the magnetic field, and particle density. For example, the gas in a candle fla
Plasma is a gas that is essentially ionized, superheated air. A special plasma torch heats regular air to internal temperatures (inside the torch) as high as 25,000 degrees Fahrenheit and external temperatures (point of contact with the material) as high as 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The source of energy for the torch is electricity. The superheated air is used to thermally decompose whatever it comes in contact with. Steel foundries have used plasma to smelt steel for many years. Plasma is a well-established technology in many industries. Return to Top What is the difference between Plasma Gasification and standard gasification? Standard gasification technologies operate the reactor in the 700 – 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. range. They do not use any external heat source and rely on the process itself to sustain the reaction. Normal gasifiers are really “partial combustors” and a substantial portion of the carbon is combusted just to support the reaction. Their gasification process produce
