Atomic, Nuclear and Plasma Physics

Non-Thermal Plasma/Cold Plasmas

Nonthermal plasmas on the other hand are non-equilibrium ionized gases, with two temperatures: ions and neutrals stay at a low temperature, whereas electrons are much hotter. A kind of common nonthermal plasma is the mercury vapor gas within a fluorescent lamp, where the "electrons gas" reaches a temperature of 10,000 kelvins while the rest of the gas stays barely above room temperature, so the bulb can even be touched with hands while operating.