The Plasma Universe

The most abundant form of matter in the universe isn’t solid, liquid or inert gas, but plasma. Yet few people have heard of it, and even fewer know what it is.

The reason for this is that plasma isn’t a state of matter, but a condition.

Defining plasma

All plasmas are gases with the additional quality that their electrons have been separated to some degree from their molecules.

The overall charge of them is zero, or close to zero. However, a large number of the molecules in thee gases are missing an electron. They are ionized, with their electrons floating freely between molecules, or attached to other, negatively charged molecules.

The gases aren’t charged, because that would imply an overall excess or deficiency in electrons. It’s therefore wrong to say that plasmas are charged gases. The correct description is that they are charge-separated gases with an overall neutral charge balance.

The most common type consists of free floating electrons separated from positively charged molecules. But a mix of positively and negatively charged molecules will also do.

The key factor is charge separation within a gas, with individual molecules positively or negatively charged, while the overall body of gas remains neutral.

Properties of plasma

Charge separation in gases can be achieved in multiple ways. Photon radiation, heat and electric fields all have the ability to tear electrons from molecules. So, it’s no wonder that the universe is full of this stuff.

The resulting plasma is an electric conductor with a remarkable ability to self-organize. All sorts of interesting patterns can be created with relative ease.

Kristian Birkeland made several experiments at the University in Oslo, more than a hundred years ago. Among other things, he replicated Earth’s Auroras, Saturn’s rings, and various features of the Sun.

This was proof that many astronomic observations can be explained as plasma related phenomena.

Wolf–Rayet star

Recently, we’ve seen the SAFIRE project make several experiments with their own terrella.

As it turned out, one of their experiments proved to be rather prophetic, as can be seen in this video. Because astronomers recently discovered a Wolf–Rayet star with ripple-like rings surrounding it, similar to what was observed in the SAFIRE project.

This should come as no surprise because Wolf–Rayet stars exist in environments of highly ionized gases. The conditions surrounding such stars are identical in nature to those created in the plasma chamber used by the SAFIRE project.

Conclusion

It’s well known that our universe is dominated by gases in their plasma state. So, similarities between astronomic observations and electric lab experiments should come as no surprise.

Yet, mainstream astronomers persist in their insistence that it is gravity, rather than plasma, that dominate the inner workings of the universe.

It’s high time for a change.

An active terrella

By David Monniaux – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link