Plasma source
Generation of a plasma requires ionisation of neutral atoms and/or molecules of a medium. There are several ways to cause ionisation: collisions of energetic particles, strong electric fields acting on bond electrons, or ionising radiation. The kinetic energy for ionising collisions may come from the heat of chemical or nuclear reactions of the medium, as in flames, for instance. Alternatively, already released charged particles may be accelerated by electric fields, generated electrically or by radiation fields. If at least as many charge carriers are created per time unit as recombine, the plasma can be sustained.