Plasma (physics)

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/plasma-physics

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is plasma?Plasma is a gas where atoms have lost some or all of their electrons, leaving a mix of charged ions and free electrons. It can conduct electricity and reacts to magnetic fields.
2. Why is plasma called the fourth state of matter?Because it is different from solid, liquid, and gas. It has charged particles and behaves in special ways.

Ionization Energy: The minimum energy required to remove an electron from a neutral atom or molecule.
Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD): A field of physics that studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids, like plasmas, in magnetic fields.
Debye Length: A measure of the distance over which electric charges in a plasma are screened by mobile charges.