I may be a fairly good writer, but I'm still rather young. All this physics ad maths is lost upon me...I shall try to contribute.
Plasma, as I remember, is the fourth state of matter. And example of plasma is lightning (I think?) Would you call lightning a gas? No, if it struck you, you would certainly know about it.
It's perfectly possible for plasma to be harnessed by a magnetic field and directed into a path, in theory.
...don't believe anything I just said. It's probably all terribly wrong.
*Goes back to creating lightbulb circuits with crocodile clips*
:'(
Below all available in the Library forum.
Halo 3: Insurrection - The stunning epilogue to Halo 3.
Memoirs of an ODST - Partake upon an epic adventure though the eyes of one who saw it all.
Halo: True Sangheili - Scholar one day, soldier the next.