Plasma (from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma) 'moldable substance'[1]) is one of four fundamental states of matter (the other three being solid, liquid, and gas) characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons.

At the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, our researchers, educators, and students use plasma physics and fusion science to build a more sustainable future. Discover classes and courses of study available at the PSFC for Master’s and PhD students.

Plasma is superheated matter – so hot that the electrons are ripped away from the atoms forming an ionized gas. It comprises over 99% of the visible universe. In the night sky, plasma glows in the form of stars, nebulas, and even the auroras that sometimes ripple …

Mar 18, 2025 · Plasma, in physics, an electrically conducting medium in which there are roughly equal numbers of positively and negatively charged particles, produced when the atoms in a gas become ionized. It is sometimes referred to as the fourth state of matter, distinct from the solid, liquid, and gaseous states.

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May 22, 2024 · Plasma, making up 99% of the visible universe, exists predominantly in stars and space. It forms when electrons detach from atoms, creating ions and free electrons, a state that can conduct electricity and exhibits complex behaviors.

For more than 70 years, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has been a leader in the science and engineering behind the development of fusion — a clean, safe, and virtually limitless source of energy.

Plasma is often called “the fourth state of matter,” along with solid, liquid and gas. Just as a liquid will boil, changing into a gas when energy is added, heating a gas will form a plasma – a soup of positively charged particles (ions) and negatively charged particles (electrons).

A plasma is a gas in which an important fraction of the atoms is ionized, so that the electrons and ions are separately free. When does this ionization occur? When the temperature is hot enough. Balance between collisional ionization and recombination: Ionization has a threshold energy. Recombination has not but is much less probable.

A plasma is a gas in which an important fraction of the atoms is ionized, so that the electrons and ions are separately free. this ionization occur? When the tem