Plasma lighters — as their name indicates — use plasma in place of burning butane. Plasma — our universe’s most common state of matter — is a gas that’s been stripped of its electrons, ionizing it so that it’s electrically and magnetically active. In these lighters (as well as other plasma generators), a high-voltage current jumps between two nodes to ignite the spark. In effect, it’s a tiny lightning bolt you can hold in your hand. (Though I don’t recommend that you try to literally hold it; plasma burns suck.) (Video and image credit: J. Rosenboom; via Nikon Small World in Motion)
Celebrating the physics of all that flows