Customer Reviews

8" Nebula Plasma Ball

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'm no expert on plasma balls - I've seen some at department stores that I thought were rather small and which had somewhat unimpressive light displays. I've found products online that are big and which appear to have dazzlingly bright displays (these are usually a couple hundred bucks). This one boasted an 8-inch globe, with good display, for a reasonable price. It came very well packed, and when I put it on the table I didn't get that "this looks kinda small" feeling. The 8-inch size (a tad smaller than a soccer ball) is a plus for this product when you consider its price. So I'm plugging in the adaptor and thinking the trade-off for the price will be that the display will be weak. We were in our dining room in the daytime with quite a bit of light coming in the window nearby. I hit the switch on the base and it lit up with lots of dancing red tendrils - not stunningly bright but clearly visible. Very much, if not exactly like, the picture on this site. My first impression was that I had absolutely gotten my money's worth. I looked at my two boys and they were smiling ear to ear as they touched the glass and caused the tendrils to converge on their fingertips and become brighter.

Later, the room was lit up with the usual indoor lights, though there was no daylight coming through the window. In these conditions, the tendrils were a little brighter, with a little more reddish-purple color, and more clearly defined. I switched off the overhead light and its display really stood out. There was ambient light from the adjacent living room, but the ball really looked bright and the tendrils were lit up really well. Very cool looking and 500 percent better than anything I had seen at the department stores (of course those are under those very bright flourescent store lights). In total darkness the thing's just beautiful. Worth the money? You betcha.

A couple notes:
The base is not round as it appears in the picture, but oval (8" x 6"). What this means is that an over-enthusiastic hand placement from the "side" can knock the ball over. I actually tried to do this (ready to catch it of course) and I found that it is possible to knock it over. Not super easy or anything, but possible. From the look and feel of the glass (tapping on it) and from the very light weight of the entire device, I'm certain that if it fell over on my dining room table, it would break. I plan to make a base of some sort but initially I just secured it with a couple pieces of masking tape while my kids had their hands all over it. If it did break, I would order another one in a heartbeat.

Also, depending on how your'e touching the ball, it is possible to feel VERY slight arcs of electricity on your skin. These are much less than what you get when you occasionally touch someone or something and get a static spark - nothing like that. More of a slight sensation, and a neat one at that. I found that if I laid my palm across the top of the ball and someone else touched the top of my hand lightly with one finger, I recieved a stronger arc on my hand where their finger was. They couldn't feel it, but for me it was almost a slight stinging sensation. My boys were too chicken to try that one more than once! If you hold your finger on the glass long enough, you can begin to feel a little warmth. The manufacturer advises that you should never put metal objects up to the glass while it's on. My whole point here is that since it could be knocked over, and especially since there can be some slight electrical things happening "outside" the ball, following the manufacturer's warnings (e.g., adult supervision) is recommended here. I stupidly left it on one night and came out to get a drink of water in the middle of the night and I could see a bluish-green arc coming from the ball and going up to the ceiling...just kidding.

It has worked great now for months - just as bright. My kids still love it - everyone who sees it does. I was looking for a good plasma ball at a good price and I feel I found the best one out there. Highly recommended.

The item does exactly as it says and is very fascinating for kids. A fun learning tool. It is a bit delicate and feels like it weighs mere ounces. As long as it is kept on a table or shelf it is fine. Kids should not walk around with it to avoid an accident. It's not the type of toy they can take on the bus to show off at school unless packaged very, very well. One other point is when you try to surround the ball with as much of your hands and arms all at once, you will feel a slight shock. Kids should only use their finger tips. The looks of amazement over the tiny bolts of lightning following their fingers around are spectacular. Very cool toy, just very delicate.

Length:: 1:49 Mins

There are many different brands of plasma balls to be found on Amazon. I did the smart thing and purchased one of the best kinds that I could. This by far is one of the most impressive light shows I have ever seen. I am more interested in seeing plasma bolts jump and attack my fingers, then to see a stupid walking, talking, beeping, blinking, bleeping robot!

Some of you might be thinking about purchasing a smaller one to save money, take my advice, don't. Trust me on this, once you get this 8" ball, you will be glad you did. And keep in mind you are still saving money, cause years ago these things cost between $100 to $200 dollars. You don't believe me how beautiful and cool this thing is? Just watch the video! :-)

UPDATE NOV, 19 2010

I just wanted to let you all know that my plasma ball has officially already died! I only put a total of 3-hours on it at the most. I now give this product a 1 out of 5.

This is a very fragile piece. It should be used like a lamp and less like a toy. It is educational, in that, it describes what happens when you charge inert gasses with a high voltage. These lamps are very similar to neon signs, the only difference is shape and volume ( which leads to the glowing filaments inside) The gas goes to a super excited state which is plasma. This particular model is nice and large and glows brightly in a dimly lit room. Most of all I stress the fragility of it. I'm in my late 20's and I bought for me ( i don't have kids and I don't teach)
Enjoy!

I rated this as one star for the reason it died just after the 30 day
warranty ran out. Amazing timing.

Otherwise the unit performed fine. It looked fine while it worked and
delivery from the supplier here at Amazon was great.

If your buying this be aware the warranty out of the box is 30 days for a reason.
When I opened the box and saw the warranty period I knew I had a potential
piece of junk on my hands.

I left mine on pretty much non-stop during the period I had it on display.
There were periods of non use but it was on more often than not.

The power supply is a external wall wart that supplies 12-16v AC to the plasma
ball and it runs wall wart runs HOT, very hot.
If your buying this be aware that the wall wart power supply runs so hot it could be considered a serious fire risk. The heat indicates a serious design error. It is made in China...

After the unit died I replaced the wall wart with a larger more robust 12V AC supply in the hopes that was the cause of death. It was not. The problem
is somewhere in the inside of the unit. As I write this I do not know if it
was a loss of rare element gas inside the ball envelope or a problem with
the high voltage supply inside. I suspect the latter.

P.S. I checked the output of the above mentioned Wall Wart and my larger
much more robust supply with a Fluke multimeter. Both units were supplying
the specified voltage the plasma ball requires.

Also, the plasma ball itself (the plastic base) does not run very hot, merely
warm, as expected. (when it worked).

As others have stated this unit would be very tip over prone. It would be
wise to mount it on a heavy wooden base if that was a issue for your location.

I'd not recommend this unit for purchase due to the failure and short warranty.
Yes, mine may be a freak of nature failure but I'm sure they only warranty it for 30 days due to their (the makers) knowledge it is made cheaply.

Oh, and NO I did not abuse this unit. I did not perform silly aluminum foil tricks. This unit just sat on a nearby desk and was touched by hand from time to time. Oh, and my cats were occasionally interested enough to poke their noses at the unit but that only lasted till they were bored (a day or so).

I purchased this item for my son. He really liked it and used it about 5 times for about 10 minutes each time during the first week, then he would connect it and use it for about 15 min a week; he really liked it. Unfortunately, a few days after the 45 day warranty expired the item no longer worked. The beam would barely reach the glass in only one spot when touching it with the hand (instead of illuminating all his fingers like before). It no longer works and my son is disappointed and sad that it lasted so little time and after so little use. My son handled this item with a lot of care, so it wasn't anything he did that would have caused it to fail. I contacted the manufacturer but they indicated it was out of warranty and there was no way to repair it. A few other reviewers noted that it quit working after the warranty expired, and unfortunately the same happened to us.

The plasma ball is a real hit. My son, a middle schooler, who wanted it loves to watch it and is totally fascinated with it. I have two other sons, high school age, who also found it very intriguing. They touch it and wonder how the electricity inside moves like it does. One of the better gifts we got the kids this year. Even adults are fascinated with it. My husband and I each have given it a try and liked it. The grandparents also thought it was neat.

After deciding I just had to have one of these I shopped all over the web and landed on this one due to the price and the size. It's twice as big as others this price. After it arrived I was amazed how big it really is, more than I expected. It seems fairly solid and sturdy considering it's a glass ball and would break if dropped. When I turned it on and started to play around with it, it is genuinely amazing. You've got to use it in a fairly dark space to really appreciate it. It produces loads of electrical static arcs between the inner coil and the glass ball. The color is great, a pretty violet at each end of the arc and sort of cobalt blue in between. You don't have to actually touch the ball to interact with it; just putting your hand near the ball causes the arcs to be attracted to you, and when you make contact with the ball the arc turns white. Way cool. Way worth it. I spray painted the base hammered copper making sure no paint touched the glass ball, and I love the result.

awesome plasma ball, the arcs of lightning as it focuses on your fingers or hand are really cool. the only downside is, no power adjustment- so you can't lessen or increase it's intensity (also, the oval base is a bit odd). But other than that, it's exactly as advertised, made great gift for my dad.

it only work 2 week

2 week later i mail to seller

but no answer

adaptor looks heat up then stop run.

i want exchange adaptor . but no answer

during 2 week good toy for me

but two week later stop run.

so i,m not recommend this stuff