1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:06,480 Plasma. It's the most common form of matter in the universe. Yet, many of us 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:09,920 don't see it in consumer products, unless it's in fluorescent lights, neon 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:14,160 signs, or those little lightning ball knickknacks you can get in the mall. But 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:18,320 what exactly is this stuff? Well, plasma is similar to ordinary gas, but the 5 00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:21,840 difference is it's been ionized, meaning that the individual atoms or molecules 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:25,439 in the gas have been given an electrical charge by applying an outside energy 7 00:00:23,519 --> 00:00:29,439 source to it, such as heat or electromagnetic radiation. Because 8 00:00:27,599 --> 00:00:33,040 plasmas are energized in this way, their atoms can emit light by a similar 9 00:00:31,039 --> 00:00:37,520 process to lasers. You can learn more about how energized atoms give off light 10 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:41,680 in this video. But unlike laser light, which relies on additional equipment to 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:45,440 form a narrow beam, many plasma light sources are useful for illuminating 12 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:49,200 large areas. Whether it's a warehouse filled with fluorescent lights, a city 13 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:54,399 lit by a lightning bolt, or even the entire Earth, since the sun also uses 14 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:58,719 plasma to produce light. But a new crop of plasma lamps has opened up a whole 15 00:00:56,399 --> 00:01:02,480 new use for plasma light and is stealing headlines in the photography world. For 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,600 someone like me, proper lighting is extremely important. Whether I'm 17 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:09,040 shooting an episode of Linus Tech Tips or still photos of our team members in 18 00:01:07,439 --> 00:01:13,200 the office. And getting my lighting setup exactly right can be a bit tricky. 19 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:18,479 Plasma lamps though are trying to mitigate problems that have faced photographers and cinematographers for 20 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:22,479 years. One big issue that we regularly contend with is flicker. You see, all 21 00:01:20,479 --> 00:01:26,880 artificial light sources flicker to some degree, including popular HMI flood 22 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:30,400 lights widely used in the film industry, often due to the alternating current 23 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:35,680 that powers them when you plug them into a wall. And even though a typical 24 00:01:32,479 --> 00:01:38,320 flicker rate of 120 times per second or 25 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:42,079 120 hertz is imperceptible to the naked eye, it can be a huge problem when 26 00:01:40,079 --> 00:01:46,000 shooting in slow motion or at a very high frame rate, as the camera will 27 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:49,520 easily make this flicker visible. Plasma lamps though attempt to solve this 28 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:53,680 problem by converting argon gas into a plasma. Because of argon's chemical 29 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:57,520 properties, it flickers at such a high rate, hundreds of millions of times per 30 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:02,079 second, that the light it produces is flicker-free for video shoots in absurd 31 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:06,320 frame rates that can expose flickering in other light sources like LEDs. Plasma 32 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:09,759 lamps are also more neutral in color than many other kinds of bulbs, not 33 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,360 unlike direct sunlight, which tends to illuminate everything without giving any 34 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:18,800 noticeable color shift. Although lights like CFLs and LEDs often give objects a 35 00:02:16,239 --> 00:02:23,280 slightly green or magenta shift, plasma lamps are full spectrum so that the 36 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:28,000 colors can be filmed very accurately. And because plasma lamps use radio waves 37 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:31,520 instead of heat to produce their light, they're also very power efficient, 38 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:35,920 especially important since many kinds of professional lights are notorious energy 39 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:40,000 hogs. So, if you are serious about shooting video or even stills, plasma 40 00:02:38,239 --> 00:02:43,599 lamps might be a good idea for you, especially if you don't want your boss 41 00:02:41,519 --> 00:02:46,800 to freak out about the power bill. Speaking of plasma lighting, Hive 42 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:50,560 Lighting, they're a leading plasma lighting manufacturer based out of the 43 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:53,920 US for all your production needs. They have three different fixtures that can 44 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:57,280 be used in many versatile ways, from theater production on stage to the 45 00:02:55,599 --> 00:03:01,280 lighting we used for this video. The Loss, which is our fixture of choice, is 46 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:06,640 one of the most low power draw lights I've ever used, coming in at a mere 273 47 00:03:04,959 --> 00:03:11,040 watts and giving me the output of an incandescent light that could easily 48 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:16,480 draw six times more power, which makes it nice on the office power when I 49 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,480 accidentally leave lights 50 00:03:16,519 --> 00:03:23,760 on. Is this thing on? That's actually still not okay. I don't care how 51 00:03:20,959 --> 00:03:26,720 efficient it is. So, thank you guys for watching. And if 52 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,760 you didn't like this video, you know what to do. But if you liked it, give it 53 00:03:28,319 --> 00:03:34,159 a like. And while you're at it, check out the Channel Super Fun video where 54 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:37,519 Taran was pranked for nearly a year. It's really funny. Comment down below if 55 00:03:36,239 --> 00:03:42,239 you have any other topics you want us to cover. And do not forget to subscribe 56 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,239 and follow.