Plasmas and Rainbows!

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Please Note: This was recorded before the onset of the current pandemic. That's why masks aren't being worn, people are closer than 6 feet and schools are actually in session. It was a simpler time...
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Experiment with the fourth state of matter!

Viewers with sensitivity should be aware of:

2:40-2:57 - Florescent lights and plasma tubes in the dark.
8:19-8:31 - Crazy ceiling rainbows!
8:38-11:10 - Flickering spectra in the dark.
11:37-11:50 - Green laser dancing on the wall.

Links to handouts and videos mentioned in the video:

Other segments from this presentation are available!

A more complete liquid nitrogen show, shot during one of Jefferson Lab's Open Houses, can be seen here:

#plasma #spectrum #statesofmatter #demo

[trygveplaustrum]

Even when covering topics that I thought I understood, you effortlessly explain it from a perspective I never saw before!
You folks are a blessing. I wish you success and subscribers, and I hope you continue to entertain us for many more years to come!

[michaelschwartz]

I can't believe how much I'm learning from you, and I'm 54!

[eltonronjovi]

When you make science accessible and fun, you have inspired a young mind to do incredible things.
I thank you for this big time along with the hard work you all do that's beyond a lay persons understanding.
Please continue to take us forward. 🙂

[Muonium]

There is nothing quite like the immediacy of actually SEEING the individual quantum transitions of atoms in a plasma with a prism or grating. For the brighter kids who 'get it', it leaves a lasting impression. These look like early high school kids to me so it may be a bit early to introduce it, but if you use a Plucker tube of hydrogen, a subtle but fascinating secondary phenomenon also becomes visible. In the hydrogen tube, the current density within the bright capillary region of the tube is high enough that it's producing the typical and expected Balmer lines of hydrogen atoms, but if one observes the diffuse and dimmer regions of plasma at the wider ends of the tube where the current density is much lower, one can plainly see -in addition to the Balmer series a multitude of other lines, particularly in the yellow-orange region. What's happening? The current density is too low at the ends of the tube to dissociate the hydrogen MOLECULES there into their two constituent H atoms; so you're seeing energy transitions of the H2 *molecules*, not just the H atoms, which are vastly more complicated and produce an enormously larger number of transitions than the atom alone.

[tkexploresengineering]

this channel is just wonderful. i wish the presenter (Mr steve wagnon, if I'm not wrong) delivered physics lectures too

[hseverins]

Your lectures are very rare! Just like Walter Lewin! But with more humor

[Caded]

How often do you have those "lessons" and who is the audience? I wish I could join you one day (maybe as a visitor?). Greetings from Switzerland

[trygveplaustrum]

8:06 Was... was that a Spongebob reference? In a Jefferson Lab video?
My brain needs a moment to process. Come back tomorrow.

[burhanuddinsiamwala]

man this thing should be on netflix as a series

[Darnash]

Great video! This helps me a lot in Physics!

[willopenatclose]

Thanks for the warnings and timestamps by the way! This is really really good, more people should do it like this.

[robertbackhaus]

Do you ever touch on the fluorescent tube being a mercury tube with a coating of many phosphors of all different colours?

[Muzamil_bhat]

In India we are still studying failed ancient theories 🥺

[wendikl]

I've always wondered why RGB is used...shouldn't it be red, yellow and blue? (since green is already yellow and blue?)

[trygveplaustrum]

I want a copy of the Table of Elements...

[seetavishwakarma]

The 5th state of matter is Bose-Einstein Condensate

[EweChewBrrr]

I would love a pair of those glasses.
Can they be made at home easily or would I need a PhD in something sciency and access to highly restricted materials?
I'm half expecting you to say "All you need is cling wrap."
The other half is expecting to hear "You will need access to the hadron collider."

[TheMayank]

So Deeply Hurting That His Hairs Are Turning White!!!

[MaximusVergil]

why is this downvoted at 15k but only upvoted 430