MadSci Network: Physics |
The main obstacle to answering your question is that the conditions which are good for the human body (temperature and pressure) are not so good for a plasma, and vice versa. A plasma is a superheated gas, superheated to the point where the very atoms and molecules of the gas have been broken down into free electrons and ions. Creating and sustaining such a gas generally involves either: ionizing and heating the gas with large electrical currents; or, maintaining the ionization in a diffuse gas using high voltages or significant amounts of high-energy light (UV light, for example). Either way, a human exposed to these conditions will have far more urgent concerns than how the plasma will affect his/her complexion. If a plasma were to be exposed to the temperatures and pressures necessary for human life, the result would be the rapid "snuffing-out" of the plasma, as the free ions and electrons collide with the relatively slow molecules of the air (or the wall or the human), and give up their thermal energy. The main point to consider here is the rather low heat capacity of any plasma -- it is, after all, a gas, meaning that there isn't much mass in which to store thermal energy. The total thermal energy in the plasmas of most university fusion experiments, for example, is (at most!!) measured in hundreds of Joules, less than the heat energy in a hot cup of coffee. So, your question is an interesting one, but it seems that any human-plasma interaction involves either a soon-to-be-ex-human or a soon-to-be-ex-plasma. Or both. I hope that you find this helpful. Aaron
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