Equations · equation
Debye Length
Plasma Physics · 1923
- Equation
- λ_D = √(ε₀·k_B·T / (n·e²))
- Field
- Plasma Physics
- Named After
- Peter Debye · Erich Hückel
- Symbols
- λ_D the screening distance · ε₀ permittivity of free space · k_B Boltzmann constant · T temperature · n electron density · e electron charge
- Year
- 1923
Significance
In a soup of free charges, any stray electric field is smothered within this distance — beyond it the plasma looks neutral. It's the definition of the state of matter itself: a gas counts as plasma only when it's much bigger than its own Debye length. Born, oddly, in the chemistry of salt solutions.
Referenced by
constant
element
equation
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