• Question: what is the dark thing or matter in space and what is plasma?

    Asked by XX Burner to Cat? on 18 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Cat Scott ?

      Cat Scott ? answered on 18 Mar 2016:

      Hey galaxygirls,

      We don’t really know what ‘dark matter’ is yet! It’s a bit of a mystery!!

      We can’t see dark matter, but scientists think that it must exist in order for things in the Universe to make sense. If it does exist it accounts for almost all of the matter in the Universe (more than 80%). We still don’t know exactly what it is – so if you would like an interesting job, I think being an astrophysicist and investigating dark matter would certainly keep you busy! ?

      Plasma is like a cloud ☁ of all the different bits that make up atoms/molecules (protons, neutrons and electrons), but where all the electrons (these are the negatively charged bits) have come loose – this means that the plasma acts like one thing rather than as a bunch of individual atoms. A plasma is more like a gas than a liquid or a solid, but it behaves differently from a gas.

      There is also plasma in our blood, but that is very different! ?

Comments

  • Photo: Helena

    Helena commented on :

    I always found it hard to understand what plasma is! I had to use it once for an experiment to change the surface of some plastics. It was like a bright pink glowing gas, really cool! We found that water didn’t like to stick to the surface as much after plasma treating our plastic!