Plasma Physicist

Plasma is a state of matter, and it’s a lot like gas. You can’t see it, and it doesn’t hold a shape unless it’s put in a container. Unlike gas, however, plasma can form filaments and bands when it’s placed in an electric field. A Plasma Physicist studies this substance, figuring out how it works and how it can be turned into products that people are willing to pay for.

What kind of research you do as a Plasma Physicist depends heavily on the company you work for. If you’re employed by a power company, you spend most of your time trying to figure out how to turn plasma into energy. If you work as a Plasma Physicist for a television manufacturing company, you research ways to make smaller, better plasma television screens.

You may be given a specific product to improve in a specific way. You design a plasma experiment, determining each step as well as the expected outcome. You may heat up plasma, cool it down, compress it into a small space, or apply different magnetic fields to it.

You record all of your observations in detail, and write up reports explaining what you’ve found. The people who read your reports are likely not Plasma Physicists themselves, so you use familiar language and small words to explain your difficult concepts.

You may also do research on plasma applications that don’t currently have a commercial application yet. With a fabulous idea that you just know will form the basis of a wonderful product, you may spend weekends and holidays in the lab, working on your magical creation.