The first plasma ball (patented as
an ‘Inert Gas Discharge Tube’) was
invented by Nicola Tesla in 1894. It
wasn’t commercially produced until
the 1970s, when it was renamed by
scientist and inventor James Falk.
Your plasma ball is a glass sphere
containing a special gas:
neon (Ne), which is one
of the six noble — or inert — gases on the periodic
table. At the center of the plasma ball is a high voltage
electrode. When you switch your plasma ball on, the
electricity flowing into the electrode heats up and
energizes the gas, which causes
electrons to break free
from their neon atoms. This creates positively charged
neon ions (+) that fly around along with the negatively
charged electrons (–) in a soup of plasma.
So what is plasma anyway? Plasma is a highly-
energized gas. Plasma is actually the
fourth state of
matter — in addition to solid, liquid, and gas — and it is
the most abundant state of matter in the universe.
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENT 1
Slide the plasma ball switch to the middle position, and
then touch it with your fingers. Observe the plasma ball.
What’s happening? When you touch the plasma ball,
you create an
electric glow discharge, a path for the
electrons to travel to Earth through your body. Similar
to a bolt of lightning, the electrons want to move toward
Earth because it has a lower voltage. As the ionized gas
conducts electricity from the electrode to your hand,
you see a bright, colorful path of light. Your hand does
not get shocked because the glass is an insulator.
EXPERIMENT 2
Slide the plasma ball switch to the middle position. Hold
your hand on the side of the plasma ball. You will notice
the plasma threads form and re-form. In other words,
the threads are a bit jumpy. Now, hold your hand on the
very top of the plasma ball. You will notice the thread is
steady. Remove your hand after a few seconds because
the glass will heat up.
What’s happening? Plasma threads are very hot, and
they will rise due to their
buoyancy in the other gas
inside the ball. A horizontal thread wants to rise, while a
vertical thread is stabilized by the buoyancy.
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Nicola Tesla
EXPERIMENT 3
Slide the plasma ball switch to the left-most position.
Clap, speak loudly, or play music near the plasma ball.
Observe the plasma ball.
What’s happening? Your plasma ball has a tiny
microphone inside it. The microphone picks up sound
waves in the immediate area and converts them into
electric signals. When there is no sound, the circuit is
open, so you don’t see any light. When the microphone
registers a sound wave, the circuit closes, and the
plasma ball turns on.
EXPERIMENTS 4 AND 5
You will also need:
Fluorescent light bulb or tube
Slide the plasma ball switch to the middle position. Hold
a fluorescent light bulb very near — but not touching
—the plasma ball. What do you notice? You can also try
touching the bulb to the plasma ball.
Now, rest the fluorescent bulb on a book or other object
(so that you’re no longer holding it), so it is very near
(but not touching) the plasma ball. What happens when
you touch the bulb with your finger?
What’s happening? The movement of charged particles
inside the plasma ball creates an
electric field, which
in turn creates a
magnetic field around the ball. This
field causes the electrons inside the fluorescent bulb to
move around, which creates an electric current inside
the bulb. The bulb lights up even without making direct
contact with the plasma ball! When you touch the bulb,
your body creates a pathway for the electrons to flow to
Earth, just like you saw in experiment 1.
You are the conductor
Sound machine
Plasma buoyancy
Let there be light
