**The Plasma Gun prototype** (NOW WITH VID)

[SpudUke5]

There is cold plasma, but this refers to a plasma in which only about 1% of the gas is actually ionized.

I have never heard of that.

You were making me think of bose einstien condensates, which is currently non existent, but in theory it is supposed to have no energy at all, very cold, and the electrons dont move around at all. By simply touching this, you would completely freeze yoyr finger and the bose einstein condensate wouldnt be any more because simply touching it transfers energy and therefore wouldnt qualify for a bose einstien condensate if it had energy.

[paaiyan]

Well the article I found that in once said that cold plasma is, well, like the ionized air between the two wires you use to make a spark in your cannon. Not all of the gas there is ionized, just enough to let the electricity pass. That's how I understood it anyway.

[singularity]

this is most definitely "hot plasma" have you ever held a screw driver between the terminals of small to medium sized high voltage capacitors? well i have and i will tell you there are nice big burn marks where the metal came in contact with the terminals. im sorry but "cold" things just dont make huge black marks in steel. that last time i checked a high voltage spark is in fact the ionization of air, which would mean it falls under the category of plasma. that would mean i can truly call this a plasma gun because it DOES use PLASMA

[Ragnarok]

I'm sorry but "cold" things just dont make huge black marks in steel.

It's more probable that the burns came from the insanely high currents the cap chucks out. However, I've created plasma from a 20 kV source with a very low current (about 0.5mA), which doesn't create current heating, but the plasma is definitely hot - I've set all kinds of things on fire with it.

[SpudUke5]

You should make a video of that. I think it would show us the power of plasma and how versatile its uses can be.

[singularity]

if it were to be from the high current wouldnt the whole shaft of the screw driver be burnt not just the point where the screw driver came close enough to the terminals to form plasma/sparks. current is the flow of electrons, and the electrons must have gone through the entire shaft not just the areas where sparks formed (and if not the entire shaft atleast the section which lead from one terminal to the other which was left largely unburned)

[Ragnarok]

if it were to be from the high current wouldnt the whole shaft of the screw driver be burnt not just the point where the screw driver came close enough to the terminals to form plasma/sparks.

Not really. The extreme heat comes from the current density - which is highest near the points where the sparks jumped, and because of the nature of the way current flows, lower elsewhere.
You can put 100 amps down a thick wire and it won't warm much. Put 100 amps down a narrow wire and it will burn up.

The sparks add a certain amount, but the biggest factor is the current.

[Hotwired]

Yes but the electrons don't actually do much moving, they just have to be free and present to allow electricity to pass.

The damage is caused by the arc itself and only to the points it touches, the more current flowing, the more heat generated.

The extreme being electrical welding. Piss-all voltage but it shoves a bucket of amps through, creating an arc hot enough to melt metal.

At the other end of the spectrum is a high voltage low current arc as on a stungun, it can jump a lot further but has so little current flowing that it doesn't damage the contacts at all.

Capacitors can pass enough current when the terminals are connected to a bit of metal to vapourise a little bit of metal at the points at which the terminals touch.

You can blow holes in tinfoil with a camera cap ^_^

[Copperboy]

check this out

http://www.powerlabs.org/electrothermal.htm

[FeLeX]

Ive been trying to folow his results for quite some time now but he hasnt updated it for over a year now. =/

[BigGrib]

I think that one day someone will create a nuclear powered plasma gun. that would be awesome. I think that this technology could be used for space travel too using plasma as a propulsion system

[Hotwired]

I think that one day someone will create a nuclear powered plasma gun.

I'll just hook up my capacitor bank to a power socket near a nuclear power station and there we have it.

Nuclear powered plasma gun ^_^

Of course if you're meaning harnessing an uncontrolled nuclear reaction then just remind me which country to avoid being in at the time.

[Ragnarok]

Of course if you're meaning harnessing an uncontrolled nuclear reaction then just remind me which country to avoid being in at the time.

I'd avoid being in Europe for the next week if I were you, I've planning something that will put spudguns on the map (because they'll have to redraw it after I'm done).

Seriously, nuclear reactions are beyond what we can possibly handle. A high power plasma cannon alone will push the limits.

[psycix]

Nuclear spudguns?
The two most awesome things in life are combined into one

Its time to shoot potatos into an orbit around the earth!

[paaiyan]

Nuclear spudguns?
The two most awesome things in life are combined into one

Its time to shoot potatos into an orbit around the earth!

Somehow, I doubt the potato would still be a potato. Besides, I'm pretty sure that would classify as solid propellant and make your spudgun an illegal firearm. As well as violationg various international treaties.