I'm glad to find a globe with the neat discharge of what I think are xenon -helium and look forward to your green plasma globe,
After ordering the Promethean Fire (and watching several online videos
of the unit in action), I was fully expecting a large & beautiful plasma globe that would dwarf anything I might’ve owned in the past. However, when the unit arrived at my door (very quickly, I might add), I was *still* blown away by it’s sheer size and mesmerizing kinetic beauty in action. So much so, in fact, I ordered both the Phoenix Rising and Tyrian Purple globes less than a week later, and I fully plan on completing the line once the other two units are back in stock. As a kid, I owned one of those small, novelty plasma globes you could find at the mall for $20, and now, as an adult collector, it’s difficult to overstate how grateful I am to have discovered Aurora Plasma Design and their awesome works of art.
As a high school physics teacher, I have purchased several plasma globes over the years and this one is BY FAR the best! The quality is exceptional, from the function of the globe and the look of the display down to the superior wood finish of the base. Also, the price is AMAZING compared to other 15 inch or larger globes I looked at online. I will be purchasing another globe (or two!) next year for my colleagues!
I bought a Promethean Fire that was in the 'scratch and blemish' section and it's been about 3 weeks since I got it, it is an absolute work of art. The scratch isn't even noticeable unless you *really* look for it even in bright lighting, which is great! Scratch aside, this globe is amazing, worth every penny.
It's almost as if you combined a lightning bolt and the Aurora Borealis and trapped it inside a globe. The energetic strikes of bright white lightning mixed with the gentle, "flowing" tendrils of pale green is really beautiful and hypnotic. Family members and friends see it and immediately want to stare at it for as long as they can!
One thing that's especially striking is the unique patterns that occur when a hand or finger is near the glass, as you can see in the photo. Very fast moving fractal patterns. Also notice the intense green, that can sometimes occur around your fingertip and it looks like the streamer is releasing neon-green energy. The whole globe slightly glows with a very unique sky blue color that doesn't really pick up well on camera.
There's even sound. Other than the small fan whirring softly. When the globe is at full power, the strikes against the glass make a crackling or 'sizzling' sound which is quite interesting, though sometimes a bit distracting so I turn it down a bit. I like the sounds though, it was a nice surprise! Due to the proximity of my other globes, i had to do some fiddling with the power adjustments on 'em, because all of them at full power makes some rather unpleasant 'teapot whistle'-type sounds. I figured it out though! Probably not an issue if you don't have 4 globes in a row like I do.
I look forward to seeing the globe slowly break-in and become graceful, and it looks amazing next to all my other lights and Aurora Globes! I definitely want to get another big one, been eyeing the Emerald Fury but I'm waiting for them to get back in stock. When will that be? Hopefully soon!
What can I say about this globe aside from it being absolutely stunning! As other reviewers have stated, the pictures and videos do not do justice to the beauty of this globe in not just the colors, but the interactivity and the sounds. At full power holding a finger on the globe creates a coruscating web of green tendrils that can cover a third of the globe’s surface and the glass being hand blown means the effects and reflections are slightly different from every viewing angle. The globe creates a deep electric hiss with rumbling snaps at half power or greater that is both pleasing to listen to and harmonizes well with the fan which, while certainly noticeable, also has a deep tone and I found was muffled considerably just by putting a table runner underneath it. Fresh out of the box, #76 was just on the edge of the ‘early’ stage and now after a month it is in the ‘middle’ stage.
The packaging is excellent, you can tell Aurora has shipped a lot of globes by UPS and know how to design their boxes for both protection and efficiency. The convenience of being able to rebox the globe as securely as it was shipped to take to a friend’s house to show and back again in minutes without fiddling with massive pieces of styrofoam or loose packing materials was a huge plus.
The only thing to note, as other have, is that the globe can be difficult to ignite.
So I have always liked plasma globes since I was a kid. I recently decided to get one and I’m glad I did some searching and came across Aurora Plasma. I went with the Promethean Fire and received #87. Now let me tell you that pictures and videos do not do it justice. This thing is truly impressive! Everything from the build quality to the effects and colors. It’s so enjoyable to have this guy going in a darkened room and the globe has a blue hue around the edges and looks magnificent. I even enjoy it in the daytime as long as it’s not too sunny. Right away #87 had the thick greenish-whitish tentacles. They are more greenish like shown after you “break-in” the gas. So I was pleasantly pleased to see the beautiful colors right away. I like to try the different power settings and see the different effects and can spend an hour just touching the globe and moving my hands around in different patterns and techniques. I also ordered the plasma wand and the supercell. I highly recommend these as well as they are a lot of fun and provide much entertainment. My wife enjoys the globe as well and even my 16 month old baby loves to touch and play with the globe. Thank you Aurora for your beautiful amazing piece of treasure that you sell and that you continue to do great work and improve. I look forward to purchasing another globe in the future! Probably the Genesis!
I got this for my brother for Christmas and he likes it quite a bit. I also like to go in his room and mess with the plasma. It looks especially pretty in the dark, and it's quite large compared to what you'd find elsewhere. When we first got it I thought it was defective because the plasma wasn't happening, but it turned out I just needed to turn it on while touching the globe itself (still took multiple tries though). I had to do that a few times but now it seems broken in and always turns on like it should. I look forward to seeing it evolve.
No need for me to go on about how impressive the display is. That has been more then adequately described by the other reviewers here. It is all that. My only concern is the constant noise of the power supply cooling fan. I can easily hear it 40 feet away in my house, and my hearing is not that sharp these days. It detracts from what otherwise might have been a near zen-like experience. Come on guys! How about a variable speed 120mm low rpm fan, or some form of Hybrid Peltier system? Try a ducted cooling system with an air muffler ... anything to quiet that thing down. I want to hear the zaps and snaps, not the constant WHOOSH of the fan. Just saying. Still love the display. Oh, and randomly, it is a bit hard to get started from time to time. Even when I follow the Emerald Fire advice to lay a hand on the globe.
Hi Richard,
The fans purpose is to cool the electronics which is especially important with the Promethean Fire which is our most power hungry and warmest running globe. Your suggestions sound pretty exotic but we are willing to investigate them for future use if you could give us more details. Hopefully they would be inexpensive modifications as our goal has always been to sell and affordable large globe. Right now we are 1/2 the price of our competitors that make high quality globes and we really don't want to be only 30% less.
New for 2021
Introducing the perfect accessory to play with your new “Museum Series” Plasma Globe! These “Magic” Plasma Wands light up without any internal power source. Simply hold them close to your “Museum Series” Plasma Globe, and the electrical field of the globe will ignite the plasma inside!
This is the second series of our popular “Promethean Fire” globe. This new series will be outfitted with a brass plaque identifying the globe as “Promethean Fire Series II”.
This unique globe requires a “Break-In Period” to achieve its optimum display characteristics. The globe is beautiful from day one but after about 1,000 to 2,000 hours of activity it will be even better. This description follows that maturing process. There is also a video comparison further down the page.
The “Promethean Fire” Plasma Globe produces an unearthly blue aura which glows more intensely as the power is turned up. Greenish white, wispy, soft tendrils appear at the center electrode when the globe is turned on. As power is increased the center electrode and the globe’s interior wall begin to glow blue while the interior fills with a bluish fog. All of this presents a nice contrasting background as the ever enlarging green and white tendrils reach out and strike the glass. As the power level approaches 50% some of the tendrils erupt into bright white lightning bolts that are very energetic.
The upper range of power is where the Promethean Fire globe starts to show why it is really special. By now the lightning strikes are filling the globe and placing a hand on the globe will produce tendrils with sustained looping characteristics which our other globes cannot duplicate. These long-lasting rope-like effects are what we were trying to achieve when the gas mixture was formulated.
New globes are usually a bit too active to get the best looping effects but as they mature the effects soften and slow a bit when the globe is untouched. This softening and fattening of the tendrils also results in the greenish color becoming more vibrant. With this maturing a hand will now produce more sustained beautiful long looping ropes when the globe is touched. This break-in period takes about 1,000 to 2,000 hours of operation to occur but the globes are gorgeous from day one so we strongly suggest that you enjoy every hour and not rush the process.
After 3,000 to 5,000 hours an unattended globe will have vivid greenish white tendrils waving slowly in a bluish fog inside of an electric blue colored globe with occasional spontaneous white lightning strikes to the glass. Touching the globe will make it come alive! Long looping tendrils will reach out to your hand and you can drag them down the globe and release them to explode on their own against the base and electrode tower.
We have found that after about 3,000 to 5,000 hours the globe effects stabilize. (In case you are wondering, we installed electronic timing meters in the base of our test globes and videoed them periodically). The main video on this site shows our test globe when it had logged just around 10,000 hours. There is another video that shows a comparison of three globes at various stages in the maturing process. Please keep in mind that no two globes are ever exactly alike and our testing can only give a close approximation of what can be expected of another globe.
Important Note: All of the pictures and videos on our website were taken in near darkness. The descriptions of the effects are based on observations of the globes in the same near darkness. Just as the Northern Lights cannot be seen during the day, our globe’s effects are best viewed in a darkened environment. Increasing levels of ambient light will wash out the effect colors until they almost disappear under full sunlight.
Also, please be aware that no two plasma globes are exactly alike, and there may be slight variations in color and effect from globe to globe. We make every effort to photograph and present our globes as accurately as possible, but due to differences in the way that your computer screen displays colors, what you see on screen may differ to some degree from the actual plasma globe you receive.
