The states of matter are solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Plasma can be described as a gas of charged particles or a gas of ionized atoms. Most of the matter in the Solar System is plasma (throughout the interior of the Sun). In fact, most of the matter in the Universe is plasma; so is a candle flame. Use the information in Figure 29.12 to calculate the temperature to which Cs must be raised to turn into plasma by ionizing most of the atoms in a sample.

 

25- He Ar Kr Xe Hindding Rb 18- Ionization energy (eV) 20 10 5 0- 0 Li Figure 29.12 Ne Na K 10 8- 20 18 30 Cs 40 50 Atomic number, Z 60 32 70 80 Rn 90