Capillary instabilities of charged drops and electrical dispersion of liquids

Abstract

The phenomenology of the instability of charged and uncharged drops and liquid menisci at the end of a capillary through which liquid is fed in constant and variable external electric fields, both uniform and nonuniform, is considered. Methods of investigating such instability are described. The steady-state deformation of drops in electric fields, the critical conditions under which their charged surface loses stability, and the laws of electrical dispersion of liquids in the final stage of instability are discussed.