Ionic Plasma thumbnail
Ionic Plasma

Plasma from a physalis dimer in a microwave oven. With an index of refraction of 8.5 at 2.5 GHz, aqueous spheres may act as resonant cavities, concentrating electric fields at the point of contact and creating an ionic plasma. The image was captured with a digital SLR, focusing through the door of a commercial microwave oven. The plasma is initiated by gently forcing contact between the two spheres via placement on a watch-glass. The oven is then powered on high for 6 seconds, and…voila! 

—Aaron D. Slepkov Trent University