Plasma Ball

Hover your mouse over the plasma ball to turn it on and turn off the room lights.

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The glass ball contains noble gas atoms. The electricity from the Tesla Coil makes the noble gas atoms SO hot that electrons separate from the noble gas atoms. This mix of positive ions and electrons is plasma!

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Click on one of the circles that represents a noble gas ion in the plasma ball.

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This is a mini Tesla Coil. It's a special electrode that emits high voltage, low current, high frequency electricity.

Click on the Tesla Coil.

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The wiggling bright lines are the result of electrons flowing away from the Tesla Coil, taking the easiest path possible away from other electrons. The gas atoms in the plasma ball release light energy as the electricity passes through them.

Click on one of the streams of light in the plasma ball.

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The color that a plasma ball glows depends on the type of gases inside the plasma ball. Most plasma balls have a mixture gases that might include neon, argon, xenon, and krypton.

Click on plasma ball you like the most.

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This is just like when the filament in a light bulb releases light as electricity passes through it.

The light you see is not the electrons themselves, but rather the effects of the flowing electrons (electricity) passing through the gas atoms.

Click on the filament inside the light bulb.

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Where do the electrons go?

Usually the electrons flow out into the surrounding air. But when someone touches the plasma ball, the electrons travel through the person's body to the ground. The body is better at conducting electricity than air. Electrons will always take the path of least resistance!

Click on the plamsa ball.

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Return to DEMOS list.

Glass tube filled with mercury gas (a common fluorescent light bulb)

Glass tube filled with krypton gas

Glass tube filled with neon gas

Hover your mouse over the images to see the colors that the tubes filled with neon, krypton, and mercury gas glow as they are brought into the electromagnetic field created by the plasma ball.

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Hover your mouse over each Van der Graaf Generator image.

What happens to the paper when the Van der Graaf wheel is turned? Why?