Plasma

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what makes the stars twinkle. That’s me. Have you ever felt the warm sunshine on your face. That’s me, too. I am the super-fast zig-zag of lightning that flashes across a stormy sky, and I am the beautiful, dancing colors you see way up north, called the Northern Lights. I am not a solid like a rock, a liquid like water, or even a gas like the air you breathe. I am something much more exciting, a fourth state of matter. Imagine a gas that gets so super-duper hot that it starts to glow and buzz with amazing energy, like a cloud full of tiny lightning bolts. That’s me. For thousands of years, I was the universe's best-kept secret, even though I am absolutely everywhere. In fact, I am the most common thing in the whole universe. It's so nice to finally introduce myself. Hello. I am Plasma.

For thousands and thousands of years, people saw me lighting up the sky, but they didn't have a special name for me. They just saw me as fire or light. Then, clever people called scientists started building special laboratories with all sorts of interesting tools to understand the world better. Back on a day in 1879, a curious scientist in England named Sir William Crookes was doing experiments with a long glass tube. He carefully took most of the air out and sent electricity through it. Suddenly, he saw me glowing inside. It was so beautiful and bright. He was so impressed that he called me 'radiant matter,' which is a fancy way of saying 'shining stuff.' It was a nice name, but it wasn't my forever name. Almost fifty years later, in 1928, another very clever scientist in America named Irving Langmuir was studying me, too. He noticed how I was amazing at carrying little bits of electricity and other particles around, flowing just like a river. It reminded him of how blood plasma carries important cells all through your body. So, he decided to give me the name I have today: Plasma. I liked it right away.

Now that you know my name, you'll start to see me everywhere, helping people in all sorts of amazing ways. Have you ever watched a big, bright television. I might be inside, helping make all the colors pop and look so vivid. I’m also inside the long, glowing tubes of fluorescent lights that brighten up your school or the grocery store. I am the reason cool neon signs can glow in bright reds, blues, and greens. Scientists are even learning how to use me to create clean energy, just like the Sun does. They hope that one day, I can help power our homes without making the air dirty. I am the power of the stars, brought right here to Earth, helping you learn, create, and dream of a bright future. So the next time you look up at the Sun, see a flash of lightning, or even turn on a light, give me a little wave. Remember me. I'm Plasma, and I'm here to make the world a much brighter place.