Plasma 2009-04-05 07:27:30 2009-04-05 07:50:22 Definition state of matter plasma physics ionized gases gas ions electrons emf electron-ion coupling in plasma sun % almost certainly you want these \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath, amssymb, amsfonts, amsthm, amscd, latexsym, enumerate} \usepackage{xypic, xspace} \usepackage[mathscr]{eucal} \usepackage[dvips]{graphicx} \usepackage[curve]{xy} \theoremstyle{plain} \newtheorem{lemma}{Lemma}[section] \newtheorem{proposition}{Proposition}[section] \newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section] \newtheorem{corollary}{Corollary}[section] \theoremstyle{definition} \newtheorem{definition}{Definition}[section] \newtheorem{example}{Example}[section] %\theoremstyle{remark} \newtheorem{remark}{Remark}[section] \newtheorem*{notation}{Notation} \newtheorem*{claim}{Claim} \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\ensuremath{\fnsymbol{footnote}}} \numberwithin{equation}{section} \newcommand{\Ad}{{\rm Ad}} 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\def\baselinestretch{1.1} \hyphenation{prod-ucts} %\grpeometry{textwidth= 16 cm, textheight=21 cm} \newcommand{\sqdiagram}[9]{$$ \diagram #1 \rto^{#2} \dto_{#4}& #3 \dto^{#5} \\ #6 \rto_{#7} & #8 \enddiagram \eqno{\mbox{#9}}$$ } \def\C{C^{\ast}} \newcommand{\labto}[1]{\stackrel{#1}{\longrightarrow}} %\newenvironment{proof}{\noindent {\bf Proof} }{ \hfill $\Box$ %{\mbox{}} \newcommand{\quadr}[4] {\begin{pmatrix} & #1& \\[-1.1ex] #2 & & #3\\[-1.1ex]& #4& \end{pmatrix}} \def\D{\mathsf{D}} \begin{definition} \emph{Plasma} is often defined as the fourth state of matter (beyond the `usual' solid, liquid and gas phases) consisting of a mixture of ionized gas (or gases) with quasi-free electrons that, however, interact with each other and the ions in plasma, as well as the electromagnetic and gravitational fields present in the plasma. \end{definition} Ominuous examples of plasma are our sun, all the visible stars, `neon' or mercury, fluorescent lights, plasma TV's and monitors, lightning and any other plasma formed during electrical discharges. Plasmas are estimated to constitute more than 99 percent of the visible universe, but it may not be present in dark matter so called because it is invisible to our instruments except for its gravitational effects. Moreover, dark matter accounts for a very substantial part of our universe. Plasma studies may eventually lead to controlled thermonuclear fusion as an almost inexhaustible source of energy. The international ITER experiment anticipates successful breakeven in energy generation from nuclear fusion by the year 2030, which is supposed to happen either in France or Japan where ITER projects are cetralized and currently under development with an investment on the order of twelve billion US dollars (indeed: \$12,000,000,000 !). Note that in medicine and biomedical research the term ``plasma'' is used with a completely different meaning as the fluid solution in which blood cells are suspended in containing mostly water, disolved salt ions, lipoproteins, enzymes, antibodies, and so on; often the term is also employed in the medical field for an artificial replacement of the entire (`biological') plasma that may contain only water and certain disolved salt ions close to neutral pH.