New PPPL YouTube Series Launched!

Have you ever seen plasma, the fourth state of matter? Shannon Swilley Greco, senior program associate for public engagement and workforce development at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, shares how a plasma ball demonstrates principles of electricity and electromagnetism.

In a plasma ball, a high-voltage electrode ionizes a gas inside a glass sphere, creating glowing filaments of plasma. When something is ionized, it gains or loses electrons and becomes electrically charged. Using a plasma ball you can observe how the plasma interacts with the electric field and other conductive objects, such as your hand.

🎬 Video credits: Filmed, edited and produced by Michael Livingston in collaboration with Shannon Swilley Greco