Plasma, the 4th state of matter. Is this widely recognized?

[wintermom]

Perhaps I've been living in the past and missed learning about this, or perhaps something else, but have you heard of plasma as a state of matter (not a blood part)? Has this been covered in the science curriculum and text books you use. I have to admit that I've not found any mention of it in the textbooks and materials I'm currently using.

 

Here is a definition and explanation according the the Coalition for Plasm Science (www.plasmacoalition.org)

 

Plasma is often called the "Fourth State of Matter," the other three being solid, liquid and gas. A plasma is a distinct state of matter containing a significant number of electrically charged particles, a number sufficient to affect its electrical properties and behavior. In addition to being important in many aspects of our daily lives, plasmas are estimated to constitute more than 99 percent of the visible universe.

[Arcadia]

Page 255 of Conceptual Physics 3rd edition (1999)

 

My kids learnt that earlier on from watching Nova though.

[HomeAgain]

Of course.  They Might Be Giants has a whole song about it. ;)

[TKDmom]

I learned it in college in the mid-90's. I don't think I've seen it specifically in any curriculum I've used, but ds12 (my mad scientist/engineer) somehow picked up on the fact that plasma is the 4th state of matter. He reads general knowledge science books for fun. I can understand why it's not discussed very often--you don't encounter plasma under normal conditions on Earth.

[Tanaqui]

I've certainly known about it for a very long time, though I don't recall where I first learned about it.

[Miss Tick]

Our science curriculum has an aside to the parents that while plans is another form of matter it doesn't get a lot of time because 3rd graders don't come across it on a regular basis. So we discussed it and played the TMBG homeagain linked and then moved on.

 

Aren't you supposed to be able to create plasma by microwaving a grape? If I ever come across a sacrificial microwave, or a scenario with plausible deniability, I'll give it a try.

[raptor_dad]

Just thought I'd add that I learned about the plasma state while learning about the sun in high school.  And, if memory serves me, it also exists in extreme cold (close to 0*K... I think?  

 

You're thinking of Bose-Einstein condensates... it is the weird matter near Absolute Zero where quantum phenomena become visible at non-subatomic  scale... until you interact with them and they warm up a minuscule amounts and turn back into normal matter.

Edited January 5, 2016 by raptor_dad

[TKDmom]

Aren't you supposed to be able to create plasma by microwaving a grape? If I ever come across a sacrificial microwave, or a scenario with plausible deniability, I'll give it a try.

Ooh, I had to look:

 

 

And this was fun:

 

 

And while we are microwaving things you should never try at home:

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Plasmas are used to strip photoresist and also to etch materials in the manufacture of silicon chips.

[tm919]

I think it is widely recognized, but still not in elementary curricula... Perhaps it could be covered when discussing space, in a way that made sense too young kids. I like the idea of sailing on the solar wind!

Edited January 5, 2016 by tm919

[desertflower]

Well, you are not alone.  I didn't learn it in school either. 

 

It's in the BFSU curriculum.  At least I'm pretty sure that's where I ran across it recently. 

[vonfirmath]

I can remember learning that when I was in high school, in the 1980's.  So I assume the idea has been around for a while.

 

Agreed. I remember hearing about it in High School. It isn't covered at the elementary level.

[Southern Ivy]

It was talked about in my college courses - early 2000s. 

[wintermom]

Well that is cool! I love learning new things. Though I feel a little like a dinosaur right now. ;) 

[Sherry in OH]

My children know about plasma, but I'm not sure when they first encountered it.  We read Stanford Solar Center's comic about plasma as part of our astronomy unit last year - http://solar-center.stanford.edu/comics/

 

[Matryoshka]

Of course.  They Might Be Giants has a whole song about it. ;)

 

:lol:  That's the first thing that popped into my head... The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma! :lol:

[Pen]

Yes.

 

I recall learning about plasma as the 4th state of matter, possibly in elementary/middle school, probably in high school, certainly in university.

 

Contexts included sun, neon, fusion, and, well, I went to Princeton where plasma physics is/was a big deal, as one of the top programs in plasma physics in the country, if not the world, is there.

[Kathryn]

I learned about it all throughout school, including elementary school, I'm sure. We were just told that plasma was the fourth state of matter and was found in the sun. That's all I recall.

[*Jessica*]

:lol: That's the first thing that popped into my head... The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma! :lol:

The sun's not simply made out of gas. No, no, no.

 

And that will be stuck in my head all....day....long, now. lol

[ElizabethB]

Pluto, W as a vowel, 4th state of matter, adding a domain and moving things around in different Kingdoms in biology, all the things I was taught in elementary school have changed, and we were taught they were absolute unchangeable facts!!

[katilac]

Pluto, W as a vowel, 4th state of matter, adding a domain and moving things around in different Kingdoms in biology, all the things I was taught in elementary school have changed, and we were taught they were absolute unchangeable facts!!

 

And don't forget Oceania. That one is catching on r-e-a-l-l-y slowly around here, we surprised my young 20s nephew with it just last month. 

 

OP, I don't recall plasma being taught in high school biology, but frankly that was a traumatic class that I have tried to wipe from my memory. My kids definitely learned it. 

[ElizabethB]

And don't forget Oceania. That one is catching on r-e-a-l-l-y slowly around here, we surprised my young 20s nephew with it just last month.

 

OP, I don't recall plasma being taught in high school biology, but frankly that was a traumatic class that I have tried to wipe from my memory. My kids definitely learned it.

I am not sold on the whole Oceana thing. And, W as a vowel has not caught on yet, but I just uploaded a YouTube video starring W as a vowel and co starring Pluto. My son did the voice of Pluto and my daughter drew the W! She is making a bunch of comics for me for a phonics chart so didn't want to draw Pluto, too. I had to do that, so he's not as cute as the W, my artistic abilities are limited.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jNpjxakqtqk

[ktgrok]

I learned about it all throughout school, including elementary school, I'm sure. We were just told that plasma was the fourth state of matter and was found in the sun. That's all I recall.

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure I've always known about it. 

[ktgrok]

And don't forget Oceania. That one is catching on r-e-a-l-l-y slowly around here, we surprised my young 20s nephew with it just last month. 

 

OP, I don't recall plasma being taught in high school biology, but frankly that was a traumatic class that I have tried to wipe from my memory. My kids definitely learned it. 

 

Wait....w as a vowel???? I've got about a dozen phonics programs in my house, none of them claim w is a vowel. Are people just messing with us now?

 

And I still am not sure I buy Oceania. 

 

But plasma was taught about in my elementary school. I've always known there were 4 states of matter...at least as soon as I learned about states of matter I've known it. 

[Tanaqui]

Wait....w as a vowel???? I've got about a dozen phonics programs in my house, none of them claim w is a vowel. Are people just messing with us now?

 

I was taught as a child that w is "sometimes a vowel", just like y. My teacher was pretty old-school, though, so I doubt it was a new thing to her!

 

The reasoning given was that it acts as a vowel in words like how or snow or law.

[Mergath]

I learned about it in high school. Not in great depth or anything, but I knew it was a state of matter. I've mentioned it briefly to dd.

 

And according to Stuff You Should Know (which is the best podcast in the universe, if you haven't heard of it) plasma could be the future of sustainable everything. If I had money to invest, I would totally invest some in plasma waste converters.

 

http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/please-listen-to-how-plasma-waste-converters-work/

[ElizabethB]

Wait....w as a vowel???? I've got about a dozen phonics programs in my house, none of them claim w is a vowel. Are people just messing with us now?

 

And I still am not sure I buy Oceania.

 

But plasma was taught about in my elementary school. I've always known there were 4 states of matter...at least as soon as I learned about states of matter I've known it.

I don't buy Oceana either, but W makes sense, watch the movie!!

 

Noah Webster said W and Y are semi-vowels, and I have other proof there. W is not yet accepted as a vowel, but he used to be, I'm trying to get his status back.

[Kathryn]

And don't forget Oceania. That one is catching on r-e-a-l-l-y slowly around here, we surprised my young 20s nephew with it just last month.

 

OP, I don't recall plasma being taught in high school biology, but frankly that was a traumatic class that I have tried to wipe from my memory. My kids definitely learned it.

Wait, what about Oceania?

[Heathermomster]

CIA Physical Science covered it along with the 5th state of matter known as the BEC or Bose-Einstein Condensates. I learned about plasma on NOVA first.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Heathermomster

[creekland]

I can remember learning that when I was in high school, in the 1980's.  So I assume the idea has been around for a while.

 

I don't remember actually learning it, but I distinctly remember we were supposed to know it the first day of Bio class back when I took it in high school (earlier 80s).  I know it because we were doing review questions (orally) and that was my question.  

 

Fortunately, I knew it 'cause it was my starting day in a fancy private school with a bunch of super rich kids.  It made me feel like I belonged academically when I could hold my own...   :coolgleamA:

[ElizabethB]

Wait, what about Oceania?

I don't totally buy it, I taught both, though, so my kids would know about it.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceania

[Alessandra]

You're thinking of Bose-Einstein condensates... it is the weird matter near Absolute Zero where quantum phenomena become visible at non-subatomic scale... until you interact with them and they warm up a minuscule amounts and turn back into normal matter.

There is a PBS documentary, The Search for Absolute Zero, that is interesting. I also read the book. Most reviewers liked it; I found it disorganized.

[Alessandra]

I learned about it in high school. Not in great depth or anything, but I knew it was a state of matter. I've mentioned it briefly to dd.

 

And according to Stuff You Should Know (which is the best podcast in the universe, if you haven't heard of it) plasma could be the future of sustainable everything. If I had money to invest, I would totally invest some in plasma waste converters.

 

http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/please-listen-to-how-plasma-waste-converters-work/

I will have to check this out. As I get older, there seem to be more gaps in my knowledge. :-(

[Alessandra]

For op's question. Four states of matter were in my ds's sixth grade physical science textbook. Holt Science & Technology, a pretty standard middle school text.

[ondreeuh]

For op's question. Four states of matter were in my ds's sixth grade physical science textbook. Holt Science & Technology, a pretty standard middle school text.

 

Hm, we are using HST Physical Science this year and it's only briefly mentioned twice. Chapter 3 (States of Matter) only covers three states of matter in the regular text. Plasma is only briefly described in the "Science in Action" page at the very end of the chapter (after the chapter review and standardized test prep). It isn't covered on any of the summaries, quizzes, or tests for that chapter. Then it is mentioned very briefly in ch. 16 (Atomic Energy) under Nuclear Fusion. I don't recall it being on the test for that chapter, and many teachers skip that chapter anyway. It would be very easy to miss any mention of plasma in the book.