Initial Draft

How to Make a Plasma Ball

Abstract

A plasma ball visually illustrates the behavior of ionized gasses combined with a central electrode powered by high voltage. This experiment aims to explore the relations between the intensity of voltage and ionization of noble gasses within a plasma ball. Using a custom built setup with materials including but not limited to a pulse generator and a DC power supply source, the system was able to generate quite a high amount of electricity at high frequency. During the process, it was observed that noble gasses and non noble gas components reacted differently when placed near the plasma ball. Since the neon lamp showed a stronger response, it is able to support the idea that increased ionization enhances the plasma effect.

Introduction & Hypothesis

A plasma on its own can be defined as a “hot ionized gas containing roughly equal quantities of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons.” But a plasma ball consists of a clear ball filled with noble gasses with an electrode containing high voltage at the center. When electricity reaches the plasma ball, various colored beams are created. The idea to be tested throughout the experiment is that the greater the ionization noble gasses is, the greater the impact of the generation of voltage and colored beams within a plasma ball.

Materials

• Gear shifter knob
• All thread rod
• Corian
• Globe
• Epoxy
• Spark plug wire
• Vacuum tube
• Plastic or wooden box
• DC power supply
• Circuit board
• Car ignition coil
• Pulse generator

Method

To start off, a box was used to create the mechatronics behind the functioning of the plasma ball. The DC power supply was placed in the box, which would go through a circuit board, connected to a car ignition coil, a type of transformer. To create the interior of the plasma ball, a gear shifter was attached to the all thread rod and then dropped to a countertop material known as corian. Epoxy was placed around the corian countertop material  in which the globe was attached. Next, it was time to determine the source of power. In order for this to happen, the outlet went into the DC power supply (also known as the AC to DC converter) and was plugged into one end of the transformer. The other end of the transformer went into an electronic switch also known as a relay which was switched on and off through a pulse generator. This process then connected the transformer to the entire system, allowing the plasma ball to generate voltage.

Results

When switched on and off at a rapid pace, the mechanism was able to generate 40,000 volts of electricity at a high frequency. Additionally, the glow was not uniform throughout the plasma ball. To test this, a fluorescent and neon lamp was lit at a distance from the plasma ball. It was found that when the neon light was placed at a distance from the plasma ball, there was sufficiently more light ignited, compared to the fluorescent lamp. Not only that, but it was observed that the strength of the electric field of the plasma ball increased as the distance decreased between the light and plasma ball.

Discussion

After analyzing the results of the experiment, my hypothesis was supported. Since neon is a noble gas, it supported the idea that because noble gasses are easier to ionize, the plasma effect is created. To add on, this effect that occurred inside the plasma ball was due to the contribution of the transformer, but on the outside, an electric ark was created.

Conclusion

The results of this experiment condemned that the ionization of noble gasses has a direct impact on the intensity of voltage generation, supporting the hypothesis. The experiment also demonstrated how various factors such as proximity of light have an effect on plasma behavior. The conducted research contributes to a better understanding of how noble gas ionization impacts plasma behavior, allowing further exploration of the topic in the future.

References

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_QewUAmTJk

https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-a-plasma-ball-work

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/16

Final Draft

How to Make a Plasma Ball

Abstract

A plasma ball visually illustrates the behavior of ionized gasses combined with a central electrode powered by high voltage. There are many potential practical applications of plasma that may play an important role in the future including but not limited to the generation of electric power. This experiment aims to explore the relations between the intensity of voltage and ionization of noble gasses within a plasma ball. Prior to the experiment, based on an educated guess, it was believed that the ionization of noble gasses and generation of voltage had direct correlation; when one increased, so did the other. To confirm this, an experiment was conducted.  Using a custom built setup with materials including but not limited to a pulse generator and a DC power supply source, the system was able to generate quite a high amount of electricity at high frequency. During the process, it was observed that noble gasses and non noble gas components reacted differently when placed near the plasma ball. Since the neon lamp showed a stronger response, it is able to support the idea that increased ionization enhances the plasma effect.

Introduction & Hypothesis

A plasma on its own can be defined as a “hot ionized gas containing roughly equal quantities of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons.” But a plasma ball consists of a clear ball filled with noble gasses with an electrode containing high voltage at the center. When electricity reaches the plasma ball, various colored beams are created. It is hypothesized that the greater the ionization noble gasses is, the greater the impact of the generation of voltage and colored beams within a plasma ball.

Materials

• Gear shifter knob
• All thread rod
• Corian
• Globe
• Water-based epoxy
• Spark plug wire
• Vacuum tube
• 16 Qt wooden or plastic storage box
• DC power supply
• Circuit board
• Car ignition coil
• Pulse generator

Method

To start off, a box was used to create the mechatronics behind the functioning of the plasma ball. The DC power supply was placed in the box, which would go through a circuit board, connected to a car ignition coil, a type of transformer. To create the interior of the plasma ball, a gear shifter was attached to the all thread rod and then dropped to a countertop material known as corian. Epoxy was placed around the corian countertop material  in which the globe was attached. Next, it was time to determine the source of power. In order for this to happen, the outlet went into the DC power supply (also known as the AC to DC converter) and was plugged into one end of the transformer. The other end of the transformer went into an electronic switch also known as a relay which was switched on and off through a pulse generator. This process then connected the transformer to the entire system, allowing the plasma ball to generate voltage. To better understand the correlation between ionization and plasma, a lux meter was used to measure the amount of light on the plasma beams with neon (a noble gas) vs the amount of light on a fluorescent lamp. The observed reaction would then be written down. This should be recorded every 30 seconds. Additionally, a fluorescent and neon lamp was lit at a distance from the plasma ball to test the strength of the electric field and visualization of the plasma.

Results

When switched on and off at a rapid pace, the mechanism was able to generate 40,000 volts of electricity at a high frequency. Additionally, the glow was not uniform throughout the plasma ball. It was found that when the neon light was placed at a distance from the plasma ball, there was sufficiently more light ignited, compared to the fluorescent lamp. To add on, this effect that occurred inside the plasma ball was due to the contribution of the transformer, but on the outside, an electric ark was created. Not only that, but it was observed that the strength of the electric field of the plasma ball increased as the distance decreased between the light and plasma ball. When it came to the lux meter, it was possible to get numerical values, which showed that the neon light created more plasma.

Discussion

After analyzing the results of the experiment, my hypothesis was supported. Since neon is a noble gas, it supported the idea that because noble gasses are easier to ionize, the plasma effect is created. With that being said, there were several limitations in this experiment. To start off, much of the data relied on visual observations of the beam brightness and color changes. People have different ways of thinking and this method may introduce bias amongst the results. Despite this, the quantitative results of the lux meter were able to back up the results of the visual observations. Furthermore, it was possible that a proper controlled environment was not established. Variables such as humidity and pressure could have impacted the results of the experiment.

Conclusion

The results of this experiment condemned that the ionization of noble gasses has a direct impact on the intensity of voltage generation, supporting the hypothesis. The experiment also demonstrated how various factors such as proximity of light have an effect on plasma behavior. The conducted research contributes to a better understanding of how noble gas ionization impacts plasma behavior, allowing further exploration of the topic in the future. For instance, one of the most important applications of plasma in the future is power production. Using a fusion reactor and some elements of plasma, large amounts of energy would be released. Not only that, but a deeper understanding of how ionization affects plasma formation would contribute in advancing the knowledge of the physics field in areas such as space exploration and astrophysics.

References

The King of Random. “How to Make a Plasma Ball from Scratch! Is It Easier than You Think?” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_QewUAmTJk.

“How Does a Plasma Ball Work?” Wonderopolis, wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-a-plasma-ball-work.

Yunusov, R F, and Yunusova, E R. “Investigation of the Electric Field of the Plasma Ball.” Iopscience.Iop.Org, 2020, iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1683/3/032006/pdf.

Liley, Bruce Sweet, and Michael C. Kelley. “The Ionosphere and Upper Atmosphere.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, inc., 20 Sept. 2024, www.britannica.com/science/plasma-state-of-matter/The-ionosphere-and-upper-atmosphere.