Definition of the Plasma State

Abstract

The plasma state is a gaseous mixture of positive ions and electrons. Plasmas can be fully ionized, as the plasma in the Sun, or partially ionized, as in fluorescent lamps, which contain a large number of neutral atoms. In this section we will discuss the defining qualities of the plasma state, which result from the fact that we have a huge number of charged particles that interact by electric forces. In particular we will see that the plasma state is able to react in a collective manner. Therefore, the plasma medium is more then the sum of its constituents.