White Plasma Ball Demo

12 inch plasma globe filled with krypton gas. Power supply set at maximum
Music: Surrender by MKL (from Wipeout 3 videogame soundtrack)

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Plasma
• Ball

[drag0nfis7]

random question: what happens if there gets a hole?

[StandingWulf]

@drag0nfis7 Air rushes into the globe, replaces the krypton, and all you can get is a tiny hissing purplish-pink corona discharge about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long at the electrode. Plasma globes require a partial vacuum and the right gas mix to look right.

[fellerredseller]

it moves along with music??

[StandingWulf]

@fellerredseller It's not really synchronized or controlled by the music, but I was trying to make it look that way. I just picked a piece of music that seemed to track with the motion of the plasma arcs to make a "homemade light show" with a matching soundtrack.

[lightningman2]

Ha...No krypton guys! That is a good guess but we (Bill Parker and I) avoided Kr because of cost. If you knew about plasma physics, you realize that Bill Parker came up with a much different way to make "white"....Think about it...a clue, three compounds with a combined molecular weight of 212.96 g/M. Bill is a Physicist from MIT and I am a chemist that works with Bill. There are other ways to make plasma if you know exactly what you are doing. Cheers everyone and happy holidays

[StandingWulf]

@lightningman2 This is a used Bill Parker glass globe that was purchased empty from a science surplus dealer which I refilled myself with a test mixture of Krypton and a small amount of residual air. It is not a Bill Parker mixture or a published Edition Light Sculpture made by him. This is not an "Ice Trees" by Bill Parker. It is only a science experiment done by an amateur. I am not making any claims to know anything about gas mixtures use by Bill Parker or his associates.

[greenben101]

@drag0nfis7

It be broke.

[StandingWulf]

@snipeuout1000 It depends a lot on the size, intended use, and quality of the electronics used to power them. 4-8 inch diameter mass-produced globes that last a year or two start around $30 new. 12-inch musuem-quality globes designed to last for decades can go for $1k-3K depending on who makes them. Many of mine like this one are refill experiments inside recycled surplus globes. There is an online seller named Information Unlimited selling 12 inch museum-grade globes for around $600 each.

[StandingWulf]

@rmallat12 Nope. No electrostatic effects here--it's high frequency AC, not a static charge found in other machines. On high power settings you can sometimes hear a soft pinging sound as the gas molecules impact on the glass globe.

[rmallat12]

dose it make ur hair go up when u touch it