A simple theoretical approach to calculate the electrical conductivity of nonideal copper plasma

A simple theoretical approach to calculate the electrical conductivity of partially ionized nonideal copper plasma is introduced. The densities of plasma species are calculated, to machine accuracy, including electronic excitation and allowing for high ionization states up to the atomic number of the element. Depression of ionization energies is taken into account using an interpolation formula that is valid over a wide range of densities. The formula yields the results of the Debye-Huckel and the ion-sphere models at the limiting boundaries of low and high densities, respectively. The nonideal Coulomb logarithm is represented by an analytic wide-range formula supplemented by a specially tailored cutoff parameter. Effects of excluding excited and high ionization states on the calculation of ionization equilibrium and electrical conductivity of copper are investigated and assessed. Computational results of the electrical conductivity are compared with results from other theoretical models and available experimental measurements and showed reasonable agreement. A discussion about the choice of the ion-sphere radius is included and concerns about thermodynamic inconsistency when using the modified nonideal Saha equations are discussed and cleared. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.