 Debye length

For mobile thermal electrons with a fixed neutralizing background, the Debye length is the characteristic distance over which plasma screening suppresses an electrostatic perturbation. Linearizing the Boltzmann density response and using Poisson's equation gives the displayed scale. Other mobile species contribute additively to ${\lambda }_D^{-2}$ through $n_s{q}_s^2/({ϵ}_0{k}_B{T}_s)$.

Debye length is a measure of a charge carrier's influence in a plasma or an electrolyte, specifically related to how far electric potential from a charged particle can be felt in its surrounding medium. It characterizes the distance over which significant screening of electric fields occurs due to the presence of free charges.