Plasma

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and seen the sparkly, twinkling stars. Or watched a big storm and seen a super bright, zappy flash of lightning. That's me. I am a special kind of secret energy. I am not hard like a block, or wet like water, or floaty like the air you breathe. I am something different. I am the beautiful, dancing colors in the sky called the Northern Lights. I am the glow inside the big, warm sun. I am the fourth state of matter. My name is Plasma.

For a long, long time, people saw me everywhere but did not know my name. They saw me shining in the sun every single day. One day, a curious man named Sir William Crookes was playing in his lab. In the year 1879, he put a little bit of electricity inside a special glass tube and watched me glow. It was like a tiny lightning show just for him. He was the first person to see me up close. Later, another smart man named Irving Langmuir gave me my name. In 1928, he called me Plasma because I reminded him of how blood plasma carries important things all around our bodies. I carry lots of energy.

I am not just far away in the stars. I am here with you, too. I help make the pictures on some TVs bright and colorful so you can watch your favorite cartoons. Have you ever seen a fun, glowing sign that says 'OPEN' or 'ICE CREAM'. That's me, glowing inside the sign. I am the most common thing in the whole, big universe. From the giant stars in space to the little lights on your street, I love making the world a brighter, happier place to be.