Glowing plasma created by a high speed jet of water

TL;DR

This video demonstrates how a high-speed jet of water can create a glowing torus of plasma when it impacts a glass surface.

Transcript

today and Applied Science I'd like to show you a really unusual phenomenon if you take a plain glass microscope slide and plain pure water and spray the water in a stream onto the slide like this it creates a glowing torus of plasma sounds like an April Fool's joke but actually it isn't check it out this is just a really high speed jet of water imp... Read More

Key Insights

• 🚄 A high-speed jet of water impacting a glass surface can create a glowing torus of plasma.
• 🚄 The setup involves using a hydraulic cylinder to generate high pressure and an orifice to achieve the desired water speed.
• 💦 The tribal electric charging effect occurs due to the extreme change in direction of the water.
• ❓ Different clear materials can be used to create the plasma effect.
• 💦 Only pure water without salts should be used to prevent a short circuit.
• ⌛ The plasma burns brightly initially but dims over time due to charge depletion.
• ❓ The setup can be used with different fluids for various experiments.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the setup for creating the plasma effect work?

The setup involves a hydraulic cylinder, a pressure gauge, a valve for control, and an orifice of about 100 microns. By applying high pressure to a larger cylinder, a high-speed jet of water is produced.

Q: Why does the water become tribal electric when it changes direction rapidly?

The extreme shearing of the water when it changes direction rapidly causes a tribal electric charging effect. This effect is similar to when two objects rub against each other and become charged differently.

Q: Can any clear material be used, or does it need to be specific?

The video shows that various materials like glass, polycarbonate, and acrylic can be used to create the plasma effect. The interaction between the material and water does not seem to be critical.

Q: Why does the plasma burn brightly for a short time and then dim?

The plasma's brightness diminishes over time because the charge in the region of the substrate gets depleted. Moving the substrate to expose a fresh area leads to a brighter plasma.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• By using a high-speed jet of water, the video shows the creation of a plasma effect when the water impacts a glass surface.

• The setup involves a hydraulic cylinder to generate high pressure and a smaller orifice to achieve the desired speed of the water jet.

• The phenomenon occurs due to a tribal electric charging effect caused by the extreme change in direction of the water.