Plasma (from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma) 'that which has been formed or moulded or the result of forming or moulding') is a state of matter that results from a gaseous state having undergone some degree of ionization. It thus consists of a significant portion of charged particles (ions and/or electrons). While rarely encountered on Earth, it is estimated that 99.9% of all ordinary matter in the universe is plasma. Stars are almost pure balls of plasma, and plasma dominates the rarefied intracluster medium and intergalactic medium. Plasma can be artificially generated, for example, by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field.
The presence of charged particles makes plasma electrically conductive, with the dynamics of individual particles and macroscopic plasma motion governed by collective electromagnetic fields and very sensitive to externally applied fields. The response of plasma to electromagnetic fields is used in many modern devices and technologies, such as plasma televisions or plasma etching.