Learn How to Identify Plasma With These Examples

Matter That Is Plasma

Closeup of a hand touching a plasma lamp.
Jim Foley / Getty Images
by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
Updated December 28, 2018

One form of matter is plasma. Plasma consists of free electrons and ions that aren't associated with atomic nuclei. You encounter it every day but may not recognize it. Here are 10 examples of forms of plasma:

  1. lightning
  2. aurorae
  3. the excited low-pressure gas inside neon signs and fluorescent lights
  4. solar wind
  5. welding arcs
  6. the Earth's ionosphere
  7. stars (including the Sun)
  8. the tail of a comet
  9. interstellar gas clouds
  10. a fireball of a nuclear explosion