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Chemistry In Pictures

Chemistry in Pictures: Glow discharge tube

by Craig Bettenhausen
August 24, 2023

Red ethereal balls slowly merge and move left in a clear tube. A purplish plume emanates from the right.
Credit: Craig Bettenhausen/C&EN

This air in this tube is being subjected to a high-voltage electric field, which frees some of the electrons that would normally cling tightly to the N2, O2, and other atmospheric gases inside, creating a plasma. The staff at the Exploratorium, a science museum in San Francisco, have set this one up with a magnet to perturb the electric field and a switch-operated vent hole to tweak the airflow, allowing visitors to manipulate the light show.

Credit: Craig Bettenhausen/C&EN

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