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Expert: Kevin Johnson - 8/23/2009


Question
How will you create a plasma state? How it works? Is plasma state a very good conductor of electricity?

Answer
Hello Shameem,

a plasma is a state where the kinetic energy of the particles is so high that the electrons cease to be bound to the atomic nuclei. This is usually done by heating a gas in combination with lowering its density (i.e. lowering its pressure) in order to increase the mean free path - this is the mean path a particle travels between collisions. Since the positive atomic nuclei and the negative electrons are very free in their movement, a plasma is an excellent electrical conductor.

See here for more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma

I hope I could help you a bit.

Peace,
 Kevin

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Kevin Johnson

Expertise

I will try to answer any question in physics, but I do not provide homework solutions or project ideas. I have some teaching experience at university level but I am also skilled at explaining things in simple terms. My specialty areas are granular materials, computational physics, particle physics, quantum physics, econophysics and general physics. Questions in GERMAN are welcome, too.

Experience

I have graduated in physics, specialized in theoretical particle physics and quantum field theory, worked in the area of econophysics and am currently working on my PhD in granular materials and computational physics. I have some tutoring and teaching experience at University level.

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German Diploma in Physics (equivalent to M.Sc)

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