Distance of closest approach

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The distance of closest approach is how close two charged particles can get to each other in a collision. This distance is generally given as:

b_0=\frac{e^2}{kT}

although for any two particles with charge numbers Zi and Zj the distance is

b_0=\frac{e^2 Z_i Z_j}{kT}

It is easy to see that for like-charge collisions the potential energy (e2ZiZj) cannot exceed the kinetic energy (kT). For particles with opposite charge a full derivation may be found in Goldstone & Rutherford.

This page was recovered in October 2009 from the Plasmagicians page on Distance_of_closest_approach dated 01:24, 19 October 2006.

Retrieved from "https://qed.princeton.edu/main/PlasmaWiki/Distance_of_closest_approach"
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