Density and ionization degree

For plasma to exist, ionization is necessary. The term "plasma density" by itself usually refers to the electron density , that is, the number of charge-contributing electrons per unit volume. The degree of ionization is defined as the fraction of neutral particles that are ionized:

where is the ion density and the neutral density (in number of particles per unit volume). In the case of fully ionized matter, . Because of the quasineutrality of plasma, the electron

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