Plasma (physics)

Okay kiddo, do you know what air is made of? It's not just empty space, there are tiny particles called atoms and molecules that make it up.

Now imagine if we were able to heat up the air really hot, the atoms and molecules would start to move around faster and faster.

At some point, they'd be moving around so fast that they can move apart from each other and start to lose their electric charge.

That's when it becomes a "plasma"!

Plasma is a special state of matter where the electrons get separated from their atoms and molecules, so it's made up of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons that are floating around freely.

Plasma can be found in things like lightning bolts, flames, and even the sun! It's super important in technology too, like making TVs, fluorescent light bulbs, and even in medicine for sterilizing equipment.

So when you heat up something really hot and give the atoms enough energy to break apart into positive and negative charges like in a plasma, you've got yourself a new state of matter!