  The electrostatic model proposed by Poulos [Phys. Plasmas (2019),
$\mathbf{26}$, 022104] to describe the electric potential distribution across
and along a magnetized plasma column is used to shed light onto the ability to
control perpendicular electric fields. The effective electrical connection
between facing end-electrodes is shown to be conditioned upon the smallness of
a dimensionless parameter $\tau$ function of the plasma column aspect ratio and
the square root of the conductivity ratio $\sigma_\perp/\sigma_{\parallel}$.
The analysis of a selected set of past end-electrodes biasing experiments
confirms that this parameter is small in experiments that have successfully
demonstrated perpendicular electric field tailoring. On the other hand, this
parameter is $\mathcal{O}(1)$ in experiments that failed to demonstrate
control, pointing to an excessively large ion-neutral collision frequency. A
better understanding of the various contributions to $\sigma_\perp$ is needed
to gain further insights into end-biasing experimental results.

Plasma Physics