Understanding Plasma- Fourth State Of Matter

Hello, Everyone!

We are all well acquainted with the three states of matter: solid, Liquid & Gas. However, there is a fourth state of matter as well called Plasma. It is a significant component of stars, nebula-gigantic clouds comprising of gas and dust , and the auroras that appear as bright lights near the poles.

A cosmic nebula consist of plasma

Pic Source: https://www.universetoday.com/61103/what-is-a-nebula/

Here in this blog post, we will understand Plasma and its constituents.

Plasma is a significant constituent of cosmic matter -about ninety-nine percent of the cosmos has been prevailed by plasma. The plasma is a scorching matter poised to become an ionized gas due to the stripping of electrons from its atoms forming ions. It is noteworthy that plasma's atoms are neither deficient nor surplus of electrons, but its considerable amount of atoms are ionized-i.e. they are been ripped off with a minimum of one electron.

But how does this happen:-

A normal atom has an equal number of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. Thus the overall charge of an atom is neutral or zero. However, when this atom is subjected to extreme heat or a large voltage then this normal atom can lose one or more electrons. This leads to the creation of positive charge ion {due to loss of negatively charged electron} and it has a number of protons> number of electrons. This process of formation of ions is called Ionization.

Now in soaring temperatures in the Sun's Corona-Outermost layer of the Sun's environment temperatures, a considerable amount of atoms become ionized. This leads to a mixture of positive ions and negatively charged electrons- called PLASMA. The overall charge of Plasma is neutral, regardless of the individual particles being electrically charged.

However, it does not imply only positive ions are present in plasma. Negative ions too exist in cosmic plasma. E.g. at Saturn's largest moon -Titan large negative hydrocarbon ions were found according to a study. Also in research according to a astrophysics news , a compound called octatetraynyl had been found which is a negatively charged ion.

Plasma is also formed when a gas is subjected to high heat. But how?

When a gas is subjected to high temperatures the atoms in the gas gain thermal energy. This thermal energy in an atom leads to the excitement of electrons orbiting the respective nuclei and get extremely energetic. When large temperatures are applied to the gas the electrons get away from their respective atoms overcoming the electromagnetic force- force that holds the electron in its orbit and it is due to the force of attraction b/w positively charged protons within the nucleus and negatively charged electrons orbiting the nucleus. This phenomenon is termed ionization. Now since the atom has been ripped off an electron a positive ion is formed. Also, the electron which has been ripped off is now a free electron. This mixture of positive ions and free electrons is referred to as plasma.

Let us now understand how the plasma is traced in the celestial world. One of the key methods to figure out plasma is by employing a spectrometer to observe the light which is emanated by the cosmic entities through a technique referred as Spectroscopy.

-> Spectroscopy: This mechanism is leveraged to observe the light emanated by the cosmic entities. If the excited and energetic ions or atoms {deprived of an electron} come to their lower energy state-a relaxed state , a particular wavelength of light is emanated. Thus, by carefully studying this emitted light the astronomers can identify what are the elements which are present in the plasma and what is their charged state.

Conclusively , we can say that by understanding plasma and its formation we can understand the cosmic phenomenas associated with it such as coronal mass ejections ,coronal rain and solar flares to name a few , in a better way.

Thank You.

References:

https://www.psfc.mit.edu/vision/what_is_plasma

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/heavenly-chemistry-astronomers-announce-astrophysical-anion

https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/science-enabling-technology/tracing-the-origin-and-energization-of-plasma-inthe-heliosphere/