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From:
Educational Resource Center <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informal Science Education Network <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 13 Oct 2005 15:57:42 -0600
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ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Please send messages to [log in to unmask] if you have any knowledge of a
demonstration using a polystyrene (perhaps) ball surrounded by a 
"electrified"
wire mesh, and a "plasma shooter" to simulate the magnetosphere protecting
the Earth from the Solar wind.

What I've heard of the demo is that plasma is "shot" at the mesh covered 
ball.
The mesh repels the plasma in the first trial of "shooting plasma" at it.
In the second trial, the ball is supposed to ignite, after being "struck"
by plasma, the result of no protection from the mesh. The flames illuminate
the hazards of plasma being able to reach the "surface" of our planetary 
body.

"Shooting" the plasma we can address with our big Tesla coil and grounding
out the mesh (Faraday cage) in experiment one, and then switching to a 
second,
grounded polystyrene ball for experiment two. I'm wondering if in the 
original demo,
another way of "shooting" the plasma was used and that a "deflection" 
occurs
through, maybe, charging the Faraday cage and grounding the ball?

Cheers,
Tim,
 UCAR Education and Outreach, Interpreter

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