Hotter Plasma Lengthens Shielding Length - Plasma Physics: Debye Shielding, Gyromotion, and Collective Oscillations Step by Step

At fixed density, a larger scale gives a longer shielding square. Exact arithmetic here means exact results for the stated model inputs; measured inputs still carry uncertainty and significant-figure limits.

highlighted = computed this step

The cooler reference has a shorter square length

Scale squared 12 over density ratio 3 gives 4 square meters.

\lambda_{\text{cool}}^{2}=4\ \text{m}^{2}

A hotter scale lengthens shielding

At the same density ratio 3, scale squared 18 gives length squared 6 square meters.

\lambda_{\text{hot}}^{2}=\frac{18}{3}=6\ \text{m}^{2}