Wigner_Seitz_radius

plasmapy.formulary.quantum.Wigner_Seitz_radius( n: Quantity, ) → Quantity[source]

Calculate the Wigner-Seitz radius, which approximates the inter-particle spacing.

This function returns the radius of a sphere whose volume is equal to the mean volume per atom in a solid. This parameter is often used to calculate the coupling parameter. When ion density is used, this is the ion sphere radius, i.e., the space occupied by a single ion with no other ions in that space. Higher density means less space for each ion, so the radius is smaller.

Parameters:

n (Quantity) – Particle number density.

Returns:

radius – The Wigner-Seitz radius in meters.

Return type:

Quantity

Raises:

TypeError – If argument is not a Quantity.
UnitConversionError – If argument is in incorrect units.
ValueError – If argument contains invalid values.

Warns:

UnitsWarning – If units are not provided, SI units are assumed.

Notes

The Wigner-Seitz radius approximates the interparticle spacing. It is the radius of a sphere whose volume is equal to the mean volume per atom in a solid:

\[r = \left(\frac{3}{4 π n}\right)^{1/3}\]