• Question: how do you make plasma

    Asked by ahmedhamood to Alison, Hannah, Jonny, MarthaNari, Paul on 20 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Paul Brack

      Paul Brack answered on 20 Jun 2015:

      A plasma is a gas that has been given enough energy that some of the molecules can separate into ions and electrons, but the electrons still travel with the ion from which they were freed (unlike in ionisation, for example, where the gas ions and their electrons would be completely separated). You can make a plasma by making a spark in a gas.

    • Photo: Hannah Greenwood

      Hannah Greenwood answered on 22 Jun 2015:

      Another type of plasma is all the components of our blood with the red and while blood cells removed. If you spin the blood at very high speeds (560 times gravity or more) then the cells form a red layer at the bottom ad the plasma forms a yellow layer top.
      For science we collect the yellow plasma layer and can use this to measure lots of things, for example the chemicals that are used by our immune system to communicate, levels of different proteins in the blood, we’ve also found some free DNA (that which has been released by a cell and is no longer bound by a membrane) floating in the plasma.
      The red layer, specifically the red cells are used when you have a blood transfusion as ‘pack cells’ to increased the cell volume of your blood so your blood can carry more oxygen and/or to quickly replace blood you may have lost.

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