🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <ZOWIE.92Nov8173659@daedalus.stanford.edu> zowie@daedalus.stanford.edu (Craig "Powderkeg" DeForest) writes:
>In article <baz> jbaez@riesz.mit.edu (John C. Baez) writes:
>   In article <bar> sichase@csa1.lbl.gov (SCOTT I CHASE) writes:
>   >In article <foo>, slovick@Apple.COM (Linda Slovick) writes...
>   >>2.) Is a flame a plasma?
>   >Yes. 
>
>   Anyone know HOW ionized a campfire flame is?
>
>Not very.  If you assume that the ionization potential of a typical
>air molecule is ~10V, (Nitrogen's is 14V, according to my handy CRC),
>you'd need to get ~10eV/particle of thermal energy to ionize most of
>the gas.  The temperature is just 10eV/Kb, or 110,000K (210,000F).
>This is about a factor of 20 times hotter than a typical campfire
>flame!

It also depends upon pressure and at an atmosphere of pressure 1.6ev
will due just fine to ionize the air (Saha).  

>Campfire flames glow because they're hot enough (~3,000K) to give off orange
>light by blackbody radiation, not because their charges are re-associating.

One can also observe the effect of natural CO2 laser mode patterns in 
the glowing coals.  Much of the gross patterns are produced by air 
currents, but with careful observation, one can also see the jumping 
of brightly glowing mode patterns in the hot ash of coal's surface.  
Burning charcoal is a more sensitive visualizing detector for CO2 
output than uv pumped phosphors that change decay rates with 
temperature induced by the heating of absorbed 10.6 micron radiation.  

>The best/most common places to see plasmas on the Earth are (a) fluorescent
>lights, including most city street lights, and (b) spark discharges 
>(lightning, spark plugs in cars, etc.).

One can slip a magnet in his pocket and visit a local tavern to see
how a magnetic field can move the plasma around in a beer sign plasma 
tube.  They are usually low enough to reach. However, stay away from 
the electrodes, transformer, etc  and that goes doubly for leaning 
parts of your central anatomy.  
>--
>Craig DeForest -- astrophysicist for hire.   DoD#314159; PhD#271828
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