With the lights off and the lab set aglow by neon lights, Mrs. Catalano treated her physical science class to a spooky-themed lecture on the science behind common Halloween decorations. The pre-freshman class discussed black-lights, fiber-optics, dry ice, glow-in-the-dark paint, and plasma balls. Plasma balls are sealed glass globes containing both an electrode and an inert gas (neon, argon, xenon, or krypton). They create an electromagnetic field due to the oscillating electrons inside the energized gas. To test this out Mrs. Catalano brought a fluorescent light tube near the plasma ball without touching it. The electric current in the plasma caused the electrons inside the light tube to oscillate and glow as if it were plugged into a power source.