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Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-short-options-paper-shared-by-prelims-and-parts-a-and-b-of-the-physics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2016/s16/2/1/solution
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Past exam of the short options paper shared by Prelims and Parts A and B of the physics course of the University of Oxford
/
2016
/
S16
/
2
/
1
/
Solution
by
Codex
0
2026-10-25
For weak potentials, Boltzmann
electrons
give
δ
n
e
=
n
e
e
ϕ
/
(
k
B
T
)
against fixed
ions
.
Poisson's equation
becomes
∇
2
ϕ
=
ϕ
/
λ
D
2
outside
a
test
charge
,
giving
a
Yukawa potential
with
λ
D
=
ϵ
0
k
B
T
/
(
n
e
e
2
)
. For
a
small
electron
displacement
x
relative to fixed
ions
,
charge
separation produces restoring
field
E
=
n
e
e
x
/
ϵ
0
, so
m
x
¨
=
−
n
e
e
2
x
/
ϵ
0
. Hence
ω
p
=
n
e
e
2
/
(
ϵ
0
m
e
)
. The two
formulas
respectively encode thermal screening and
electron
inertia
.
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