Spitzer resistivity

Spitzer resistivity is a classical model of electrical resistivity, $\eta$, that is based upon electron-ion collisions. It is given by

$\eta =\dfrac {\pi Ze^{2}m^{1/2}\ln \Lambda } {\left( 4\pi \varepsilon_{0}\right) ^{2}\left( k_{B}T\right)^{3/2}}$

where $Z$ is the ionization of nuclei, $m$ is the electron mass, $\varepsilon_0$ is the electric permittivity of free space, $\ln\Lambda$ is the Coulomb logarithm, $k_B$ is Boltzmann's constant and $T$ is the temperature in kelvin.

This resistivity model was proposed by Lyman Spitzer.

Spitzer resistivity is commonly used in plasma physics.

External links

• http://people.duke.edu/~ad159/files/p142/25.pdf