Customer Reviews

8 Inch Plasma Ball

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Out of the box it was wonderful, beautiful! Then, after six months, things went downhill. Issues:

1) Aging: the power supply or gas became depleted: After starting the globe, the unit degraded to just a mellow blue glow around the center sphere, so,

2) Support: I sent an email to Can You Imagine requesting information about 1): Their reply:

Your email is being forwarded to our Customer Care Department. One of our
Customer Care team members will be in contact with you shortly to assist you
with the issue you are having.

Regards,
The Can You Imagine Service Team (800) 275-4624

....and they never replied, so I forgot the unit on my shelf, so,

3) Glass: While moving a speaker wire, I hit the globe and it fell to the carpet. It made a noise like MMMPOKKKKK. I think that it imploded rather than exploded but the effect was to send glass shards ranging from 3 inches to microscopic over a radius of about 15 feet. This sort of thing happens but you have never seen a delivery system like this: The glass is extremely thin. Glass shards that end up curving into the carpet cannot all be vacuumed and are just about invisible.

What I finally did was put on hard leather soled shoes and vacuumed and walked around until all shards were broken into tiny fragments. Even then, I still get glass shards in my feet.

Next time, I'll get a lava lamp.

I'm glad I bought this plasma lamp. It's the largest one I've found on the web for a reasonable price. Shipping was fast (I got it within a week even though I live in Montreal, Canada), and it was very well packaged to avoid any damage. The hand blown glass globe is beautiful and the beams of plasma are very bright. I'm really happy I bought this !

This was a gift for my 10-year old stepson. It looks a little different than the one in the picture but it's still stylish and works great!

The globe itself if 8" in diameter and has a central electrode inside that emits the lighted "plasma" arcs.

As far as being an educational toy, it's fantastic because it gives a pretty hands-on display of the 4th state of matter, which is plasma. You can't get a better display of plasma than this, other than looking at a neon sign or telescope pictures of neublas or solar flares.

It works by charging special inert gases and noble gases (neon, xenon or krypton) in a vacuum inside the sphere with high frequency (30,000+ hertz, household AC current is 60 hertz), high voltage (2,000+volts) DC electrical current from a transformer in the base. The electric charge comes out of the electrode and excites the gases' electrons and causes them to illuminate as plasma filaments eminating from the center electrode. The filments reach out from the source to touch the glass sphere, which acts like an insulator to block the current from coming out.

When you touch it with your hand (the body is conductive and has good resistance) the high frequency electromagnetic field (flourescent tubes also have this) around the sphere is altered and a single filament of plasma forms from the inner electrode and flows to the contact point.

Now, these are fascinating things, but the physics that makes them work also makes them a little dangerous. The high frequency electromagnetic field surrounding the sphere can cause problems with other electronic devices. It can cause electromagnetic interference, put stress on delicate electronic components, or even damage circuits. The high frequency current can also interfere with cell phones, computers, touch screens, WiFi devices, wireless routers, even other toys that use radio frequency or electromagnetic fields to work.

The globe is also charged with high voltage static electricity which can arc or discharge from your hand if you touch a metal object or electronic device. I had this happen. I had my hand on the globe and brushed my arm up against a desk light and got a pretty good shock! The globe also makes some of my son's electronic toys go bezerk when you put them up to it!

Another hazard comes from the ionization of the air surrounding the sphere from the high frequency current. Ozone gas can form on the outside of the sphere and build up. Ozone is toxic to humans, and if allowed to accumulate can reach toxic levels quickly. Use the unit in large, well-ventilated areas to minimize this effect.

For durability, the duty cycle is good. Used intermittantly it would last for years and years, but the glass sphere is thin and fragile. I had one break on me before, and even a slight bump could cause it to break and release tons of sharp glass shards.

Overall, this is a fascinating demonstration of plasma, ionization, and electrical current, but it's definitely not a toy in my book.

Amazing when i got it for cristmas my whole family were playing with it so I had to lock it in my room so only me and my friends could play with it. buy this toy it is sooooooooooooooo cooooooooooooooooool

My son asked for this for Christmas. He absolutely LOVES it. He had played with a bigger one at a science museum and asked for one. We were not disappointed.

After seeing the plasma ball at the local mall my son pleaded to have one. I read all the other reviews understanding the glass is something to be careful with. Overall, we are pleased with the product and value. The Amazon cost was $30 cheaper than the mall price.

One odd note is the headache and ringing in our ears after it had been used for a duration of 30 minutes. I'm not sure what that was about but I have asked my son to limit the amount of time he uses it and keep it unplugged when he's not using it.

I have had this plasma ball for over a year now and it has never over heated or cracked or anything like that. The price is reasonable for this good of quality plasma ball, and the globe is about the size of a soccer ball. I think this ball is super fun when it touches your fingers because they turn bright red, my opinion is that if your looking for a good plasma ball you should buy this one.

Pros: Good size, bright
Cons: base could have been designed better to prevent tiping, expensive for not having audio interactive mode