Solid, liquid, gas and … plasma? - Michael Murillo

譯者: YuFei Liang 審譯者: Max Chern

Have you ever seen static electricity cause a spark of light?

你見過靜電所造成的火花嗎？

What is that spark?

那火花是什麼呢？

What about lightning,

閃電、

the Northern Lights,

北極光、

or the tail of a comet?

或者彗星的尾巴又都是什麼呢？

All of those things, and many others,

事實上，所有的這些， 以及宇宙中其他的物質，

in fact 99.9% of the universe, are made of plasma.

99.9% 都是由電漿組成的。

Plasma is a state of matter

電漿是一種物質形態，

drastically different from the more familiar forms.

大大不同於我們熟知的其他物質形態。

Take ice, for example.

以冰為例，

Ice, a solid, melts to become water, a liquid,

冰（固態）熔化變成水（液態），

which, when heated, vaporizes into steam, a gas.

當水被加熱時，會蒸發成水蒸氣（氣態）。

Continued heating of the steam at a high enough temperature

水蒸氣被足夠高的溫度持續加熱，

causes the water molecules in it to separate

會使水分子分解為

自由移動的氫原子和氧原子。

into freely roaming hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

With a little more heat, the ionization process occurs

再加熱些，就會產生電離現象，

and the negatively charged electrons escape the atoms,

帶負電的電子脫離原子，

leaving behind positively charged ions.

留下帶正電的離子。

This mixture of freely roaming negative and positive charges is plasma,

這種可自由穿梭在負電荷和正電荷 的混合物就是電漿，

and at a high enough temperature, any gas can be made into one.

在足夠的高溫下， 任何氣體都可製成電漿。

These freely moving charged particles behave very differently

這些可以自由移動的帶電粒子的表現，

from the particles in other types of matter.

和其他物質形態的粒子差異很大。

When a doorknob, a solid, has static electricity on it,

當一個門把（固態）上面攜帶靜電時，

it doesn't look or behave any differently.

它的外表及功能與原來並無不同。

And with the exception of a compass or other magnetic object,

但除了指南針或其它磁性物體，

we rarely see matter respond to a magnetic field.

我們很少看到物體對磁場有反應的。

But put a plasma in an electric field or magnetic field,

但把一個電漿體放入電場或磁場，

and you'll get a very different reaction.

你會得到一個非常不同的反應。

Because plasmas are charged,

由於電漿中有帶電粒子，

electric fields accelerate them,

電場會加速它們，

and magnetic fields steer them in circular orbits.

磁場駕馭它們在圓形軌道上。

And when the particles within plasma collide,

而當電漿中的粒子相互碰撞，

or accelerated by electricity or magnetism,

或因電力或磁力而加速時，

light is generated,

光因此而產生，

which is what we see when we look at plasmas

這就是我們看到的電漿，

like the Aurora Borealis.

就像北極光。

Plasmas aren't just beautiful, celestial phenomena, though.

可是，電漿不只是美麗的天象而已。

Imagine a tiny cube made of normal gas with a very high voltage across it.

想像一下，用普通氣體做成一個 極小立方體，極高的電壓通過它。

The resulting electric field

因此而產生的電場，

pushes some of the electrons off the atoms and accelerates them to high speeds

使一些電子脫離原子並使之加速運動，

causing the ionization of other atoms.

導致其餘原子也離子化。

Imbedded impurities in the tiny cube of gas

該方塊空氣嵌入的雜質，

cause it to gain and release a precise amount of energy

會使它獲得及釋放一定量的能量，

in the form of ultraviolet radiation.

以一種紫外線的形式顯現。

Attached to each tiny cube,

每個小方塊上都帶有

a fluorescent material glows with a specific color

發出特定顏色的螢光物質，

when ultraviolet light at just the right intensity reaches it.

當紫外線以正確的強度激發時， 我們就能看到這些光。

Now, make a rectangle out of a million of these tiny cubes,

現在，以百萬個這種小方塊 做出一個長方形，

each separately controlled by sophisticated electronics.

每個立方體都被精密的電子器件控制。

You may be looking at one now.

你可能現在就在看這個，

This is called a plasma TV.

它的名字是電漿電視。

Plasmas also have implications for health care.

電漿對人的衛生保健也產生影響。

Plasma chemists create highly specific plasmas

電漿化學家製造有特定功能的電漿體，

that can destroy or alter targeted chemicals,

可以摧毀或改變“標的物”化學物質，

thereby killing pathogenic organisms on food or hospital surfaces.

以殺死食物或醫院的病原體。

Plasmas are all around us,

我們的周圍到處都有電漿，

in forms that are both spectacular and practical.

它既壯觀又實用。

And in the future, plasma could be used

在未來，電漿可被用來

to permanently rid landfills of their waste,

永遠擺脫垃圾掩埋場，

efficiently remove toxins from our air and water,

高效地清除空氣與水中的毒素，

and provide us with a potentially unlimited supply

並供應給我們可能無限的

of renewable clean energy.

可再生乾淨能源。

翻譯：YuFei Liang