Saha Hydrogen Ionization Balance

Balance ionization against recombination and expose the role of total particle density in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE).

Interactive Experiment

Explore the temperature and density dependence of the ionization fraction in the interactive module.

1. Set Temperature to 10000 K and Density to 1e+22. Note the partial ionization.
2. Increase Density to 1e+24. The ionization fraction drops significantly as recombination is favored.
3. Increase Temperature to 20000 K. The gas becomes highly ionized despite the high density.