ok, you know those little glass balls with all that electricty inside of them, and when you touch them, the electricity streams to your fingers, what are they? HOw do they work??
they read your kurlean aura and project psychic tendrils along lines of power created by your astrological sign and numerology.
or maybe its fairies. i forget which.
The common structure of a plasma ball is a small spherical metallic core encased in the center of a larger glass bulb. The metallic core is charged with static electricity. For sake of discussion, lets assume that this is a negative charge from the accumulation of electrons on the metallic core. Since like charges repel each other, these electrons will have the tendency to escape from the metallic core. They do so by leaping through the space between the core and the outer bulb, and landing on the dust particles that happen to settle on the outside of the bulb. After that, they may dissipate into the air by hitching a ride on water vapors. The space inside the bulb is filled with certain gasses that glow when electrons leap through them, exactly the same way a neon sign works.
Things are a little different when you touch the bulb with your fingers however. The Earth can act as giant reservoir of charges, and electrons will find it much easier to dissipate themselves into the Earth instead of the air. As you lay your fingers on the bulb, the electrons will leap onto your fingers, travel through your body, then plunge into the ground. If you happen to be insulated from the ground, the electrons will still travel through you and then dissipate into the air off of you (imagine yourself as being one huge dust particle). If it happens to be a dry day, then you may be up for a rather unpleasant static electric shock though. This can be avoided if you hold a key or coin in your hand and ground yourself through it.
The power of the plasma ball isn’t very strong, and that’s why you don’t get shocked when you touch the ball. Your plasma ball may still have enough power to light a small night lamp or LED however. If you hold a light bulb on the threaded sides and place the bottom of it on the plasma ball, you may be able to detect a small glow in a dark room. That just shows you that electrons are indeed traveling through the bulb, you, then to the ground.
The gas inside I usually argon. Its quite fun to wash one with windex or a simular glass cleaner.
They can get really hot if they are dirty. So keep’m washed 
The Urge
Around the world… around the world…
THANKS ALOT KOR!!!
Well, i noticed mine is getting rather warm, so i should wash it.
Another question, why, when i touch th eball, does it glow bright pink in the general area around my finger/hand? Gases??
Just curious…
The colored glow comes from the gases within the bulb. When electrons leap through the space between the glass bulb and the core to reach your finger, they will collide with the gas molecules that are in their way. If the electrons have enough energy, they can knock an additional electron off the gas molecules. If they don’t, they’ll just transfer some of their kinetic energy onto the gas molecules and move on. The excited gas molecule in the later case is not in a stable form, and it must find someway to get rid of its excess energy. In this particular scenario, it usually does so by emitting photons. Depending on the properties of the specific gas molecule, this photon can be of any of several wavelengths (i.e. color). If it’s pink, it could be Neon, and I seem to recall that Argon is blue or green. Don’t take my word for it on the specific colors though.
Does that answer your question? Or are you actually asking why the glow around your finger is stronger, or more wide spread?
If you want to have fun with your plasma ball, see what happens when you put your nose to it-
Another fun nose trick is as follows:
Try putting a fistful of Skittles into your mouth, then stand on your head, then swallow the masticated Skittles while upside down.
Something fun will happen!
Don’t ask how I discovered this…
Yeeeeeoooowwwowowoww!
Its like a Van de Graaff Generator from: http://www.howstuffworks.com/vdg.htm
Yeah, they show you how to make your own. fun
By the way, keep those things away from computer comonents.
“Gee, I wonder what’ll happen if I touch my mouse to it?”
zap
“Say, you don’t happen to know where I could find a replacement mouse port, do you?”
“There are only two things that are infinite: The Universe, and human stupidity-- and I’m not sure about the Universe”
–A. Einstein
thanks everyone, but still Kor, Why does the glass tislef around my fingers glow pink? And why when I hold my fingers just above the surface, does a little tiny pink glow appear between my fingers and the glass, like when I hold my fingerts a millimetre away from it??
THANKS EVERYONE!
You guys/girls are great!!
Scientists refer to these as ‘testicles.’ They work because of a hormone called ‘testosterone.’ Are you touching your own or someone else’s?
What game are YOU playing?
sorry, but my testicles are not glass.
PROBLEM! I was playing with my ball last night 
and i picked up a popcna, and held the pop can to the ball. The thing flowed to the pop can. Now, that’s not the problem. The problem is, is i held it there for a while, and then i bright flash went off, and then there was a little ornage glow between the can and the dome, and then POP!!!
The thing busted, and then turned funny colors, and burnt out. Did it leak the argon gass? and What was that little orange glow between the glass and the can?
I have a feeling that what you’re experiencing is just a visual illusion, kaos. Discharges through plain air are usually a bright blue in color, and I suppose that can explain the first flash you saw. If you’re seeing orange afterwards, it might just be the plasma ball being too bright itself, or because the earlier flash is messing with your vision. The glass making up the plasma ball will not glow under normal circumstances by the way.
ok, but my ball is still busted! When i turn it on, there is nothing isnside it, but when Iput my finger to the glass, it gets warm…
Is there no more gass inside?
If your fingers still get warm when you put them on the plasma ball, then there’s still a current flowing through. The lack of a colorful discharge can be attributed to a low current or the absence of gases within the plasma ball that glow. The first case could be a problem with the static charge generator, while the later could be a gas leak. You may want to just get a new plasma ball if it’s still within warranty…
well, i was thinking about that, only one problem… I bought it when I was on a trip to Indiana, and I live in Canada, so it will be a long drive just to get a refund, or a new one, so I don;t know. I guess I will just have to throw it out… 