Question

solids and plasmas
quiz complete
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time remai
59:57
temperature depends on the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample. how does this help explain why a plasma-based light does not have a high temperature?
no particles in the plasma have high kinetic energy.
the fastest particles have the greatest mass.
most particles in the plasma are heavy, slow, and very low density.
the fastest particles transfer most of their energy through collisions.

Explanation:

Plasma in such lights has high-energy particles, but these fast particles collide with the surrounding low-density gas/particles, transferring most of their kinetic energy outward instead of raising the overall average kinetic energy (temperature) of the plasma sample. The other options are incorrect: plasma does have high-energy particles, fast particles have low mass, and plasma particles are not heavy/slow.

Answer:

The fastest particles transfer most of their energy through collisions.