Touch Plasma Ball Lamp

A sealed glass globe with a single electrode at its centre, sitting on a black plastic base. Switch it on and thin filaments of pink and violet light crawl out of the middle and reach for the inside of the glass, drifting and re-forming on their own.

Put a fingertip against the surface and they gather and follow it. That part is real and it is the whole reason to own one: your hand gives the current an easier route to ground, so the filaments bend toward wherever you touch. It is a lights-off object — in a bright room there is not much to see.

Sizes and power — read this before you pick one

• 3 in — runs from USB or batteries. Batteries are not included. This is the one that works anywhere.
• 4, 5 and 6 in — mains only, and they ship with a two-pin European plug. The manufacturer rates them at 220 V. If your mains is 110–120 V, a plug adapter alone will not make one of these safe to use. Buy the size that matches your supply.

Details

• Glass globe on a moulded plastic base; the lamp is built in, so there is no bulb to buy
• Touch-reactive — the filaments follow a finger on the glass
• Sizes are the globe diameter: roughly 3, 4, 5 or 6 inches
• Dim by design; it is a low-output light, not room lighting

The glass gets warm in use. Keep it off anything that minds heat, and keep phones, cards and other electronics off the globe while it is running.