Definition
Plain language
When surrounding charges cancel out an electric field so it can't reach where you wanted it.
As stated in the literature
Electrostatic gate screening: mobile charge and dielectric response attenuate the applied field, limiting channel modulation in molecular-scale devices.
Also called: electrostatic gate screening
Why it matters: It is a basic physical obstacle that makes some claimed molecular devices implausible, and a useful reality check on reported results.
For example, an electric field meant to switch a molecular device on can be cancelled out by stray charges before it ever reaches the molecules.
Heard on the show
“They ran a cheap pre-screening pass to find cells where the baseline wasn't already pinned at 0 or 1, because steering a pinned cell is unmeasurable.”Episode 243 — How a Hundred Meaningless Word Choices Add Up to Flip a Model's Answer