Plasma weapons encompass a diverse set of weapons, ranging from firearms to blades, that damage a target by exposing it to intense energies, typically melting through the contact material and turning metal it comes into contact with into molten slag. Plasma weapons are misnomer, in a sense. Plasma at atmospheric pressure has an extremely low density, and while particles within the plasma are relatively energetic, the plasma viewed as a whole is not. Plasma weapons get their name because the energetic properties of the weapon or projectile generate a plasma trail. The most common way these intense energies are created is by ejecting a layer of protons surrounded by electrons.
The protons form a positively charged core surrounded by a thin electron layer with a charge nearly equal in magnitude to that of the core. A vacuum exists between the core and the electron layer containing an intense electromagnetic field, which is reflected and guided by the electron layer. The microwave field applies a ponderomotive force to the electrons preventing them from falling into the core until contact is made with a target, at which point the field collapses catastrophically.