THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY November 21, 2002 plasma ______________ TODAY'S SPONSOR: VeriSign - The Value of Trust
Secure all your Web servers now - with a proven 5-part strategy. The FREE Server Security Guide shows you how to: - DEPLOY THE LATEST ENCRYPTION and authentication techniques - DELIVER TRANSPARENT PROTECTION with the strongest security without disrupting users. And more. Get your FREE Guide now: http://WhatIs.com/r/0,,7733,00.htm?freeguide ______________ TODAY'S WORD: plasma See our definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci864603,00.html Plasma is a form of matter in which many of the electrons wander around freely among the nuclei of the atoms. Plasma has been called the fourth state of matter, the other three being solid, liquid, and gas. Normally, the electrons in a solid, liquid, or gaseous sample of matter stay with the same atomic nucleus. Some electrons can move from atom to atom if an electrical current flows in a solid or liquid, but the motion occurs as short jumps by individual electrons between adjacent nuclei. In a plasma, a significant number of electrons have such high energy levels that no nucleus can hold them. An atom that has lost some of its electrons, thereby attaining an electric charge, is an ion. When a gas is subjected to heat or an electric field, some of its atoms become ions, and the gas is said to be ionized. An ionized gas, unlike a gas in its normal condition, can conduct electrical current to a limited extent. If the heat or electric field becomes extreme, many of the atoms become ions. The resulting super-ionized gas is a plasma, which can conduct a large and sustained electric current. The behavior and properties of plasmas have aroused interest and creative work among scientists and engineers. Applications include electric lamps, lasers, medical devices, energy converters, water purifiers, and flat-panel video displays (see plasma display). About 99% of the visible universe is formed of plasma. RELATED TERMS: electron http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212046,00.html atom http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci211610,00.html ion http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci859894,00.html plasma display http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci214631,00.html ______________________ SELECTED LINKS The Coalition of Plasma Science provides information about plasma characteristics and applications. http://www.plasmacoalition.org/what.htm ______________________ QUIZ #32 | Securing Your Network How much do you know about network security? Take our latest quiz and find out. >> Take the quiz http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci857673,00.html ______________________ CROSSWORD PUZZLE #6 | Wireless Improve your flexible thinking skills. Print out the puzzle and keep it nearby to work on throughout your day! http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci861329,00.html ______________________ REAL-LIFE CHALLENGE #20 | XP Pro or Win2k Pro? It's upgrade time. The branch office manager at Company X would like his staff to have "the best", which he thinks is XP Pro. The head of IT thinks that Win2k Pro is a better choice, but admits he's never worked with XP. Can you advise? http://whatis.discussions.techtarget.com/WebX?[EMAIL PROTECTED]@.1dcfae0e/169 ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES [1] Faraday constant http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci863897,00.html [2] glassfet http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci863813,00.html [3] public land mobile network http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci863525,00.html [4] antipattern http://searchvb.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid8_gci863345,00.html [5] write-only code http://searchvb.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid8_gci863343,00.html ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: LOWELL THING, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ____________________________________________________________________ MARGARET ROUSE, Associate Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ___________________________________________________________________ :::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ::::::::::::::::::::: Published by TechTarget (http://www.techtarget.com) TechTarget - The Most Targeted IT Media Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved. If you would like to sponsor this or any TechTarget newsletter, please contact Gabrielle DeRussy at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from 'Word of the Day' - Simply Reply to this Email with REMOVE within the Body or Subject > or - Go to: http://WhatIs.techtarget.com/register - Log in to edit your profile. - Click on the link to Edit email subscriptions. - Uncheck the box next to the newsletter you wish to unsubscribe from. - When finished, click "Save Changes to My Profile."
