= Screened Coulomb pair potential
{title2=$U(R)\propto e^{-\kappa R}/R$}
A <screened Coulomb pair potential> models the effective electrostatic interaction of particles in an electrolyte. For identical weakly charged spheres of radius $a$, charge $Q$, and <Debye–Hückel screening length> $\kappa^{-1}$, a common pairwise approximation is $U(R)=Q^2e^{-\kappa(R-2a)}/[4\pi\varepsilon(1+\kappa a)^2R]$ for $R\geq2a$. The near-contact interaction can require more detailed boundary conditions or nonlinear screening. Charge, screening length and <temperature> all matter to a resulting <phase diagram>.
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