Editing Plasma globe (section)

== Interaction ==
[[File:Plasma lamp touching.jpg|thumb|The effect of a conducting object (a hand) touching the plasma ball]]
Placing a finger tip on the glass creates an attractive spot for the energy to flow because the conductive human body (having an internal resistance less than 1000 ohms)<ref>{{cite journal |journal=ePlasty |date=12 Oct 2009 |volume=9 |page=e44 |pmc=2763825 |pmid=19907637 |title=Conduction of Electrical Current to and Through the Human Body: A Review |first1=Raymond M. |last1=Fish |first2=Leslie A. |last2=Geddes}}</ref> is more easily polarized than the dielectric material around the electrode (i.e. the gas within the ball) providing an alternative discharge path having less resistance. Therefore, the capacity of the large conducting body to accept radio frequency energy is greater than that of the surrounding air. The energy available to the filaments of plasma within the ball will preferentially flow toward the better acceptor. This flow also causes a single filament, from the inner ball to the point of contact, to become brighter and thinner.<ref name=Gache/> The filament is brighter because there is more current flowing through it and into the human body, which has a [[capacitance]] of about 100&nbsp;pF.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Journal of Chiropractic Medicine |date=Dec 2014 |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=239–246 |doi=10.1016/j.jcm.2014.10.001 |title=Analysis of the Charge Exchange Between the Human Body and Ground: Evaluation of "Earthing" From an Electrical Perspective |first1=Kent |last1=Chamberlin |first2=Wayne |last2=Smith |first3=Christopher |last3=Chirgwin |first4=Seshank |last4=Appasani |first5=Paul |last5=Rioux |pmid=25435837 |pmc=4241473 }}</ref> The filament is thinner because the magnetic fields around it, augmented by the now-higher current flowing through it, cause a [[Magnetohydrodynamics|magnetohydrodynamic effect]] called [[Pinch (plasma physics)|pinch]]: the plasma channel's own magnetic fields create a force acting to compress the size of the plasma channel itself.

[[File:WLANL - petertf - Teslabol.jpg|thumb|left|A "Tesla ball" at the [[NEMO (museum)|NEMO science museum]] in Amsterdam]]
Much of the movement of the filaments is due to heating of the gas around the filament. When gas along the filament is heated, it becomes more buoyant and rises, carrying the filament with it. If the filament is discharging into a fixed object (like a hand) on the side of the ball, it will begin to deform into a curved path between the central electrode and the object. When the distance between the electrode and the object becomes too great to maintain, the filament will break and a new filament will reform between the electrode and the hand {{Crossreference|(see also [[High voltage traveling arc#Visual entertainment|Jacob's Ladder]], which exhibits a similar behavior)}}.

An electric current is produced within any conductive object near the orb. The glass acts as a [[dielectric]] in a [[capacitor]] formed between the ionized gas and the hand.
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