Abstract
The electrostatic force between conductive spheres is always attractive at small separations, irrespective of their mean charge, when the charge on the spheres is constant. In many situations, the charge may not be fixed, such as for water drops in the natural atmosphere which vary in size and charge. We show that the attractive force between charged conductive spheres increases with increasing charge variance. The importance of this unrecognized electrostatic effect between water drops is evaluated for its potential to enhance rain formation.
Highlights
Air has long been recognized to contain aerosol particles and droplets which can become electrically charged, such as in fogs [1] or dusts [2]
For point charges the mean force between the drops will vanish but for finite size drops we find an attractive force approximately equal to where, for simplicity, we approximated equation (2.4) for r a1, a2
It is more natural to consider the charge on a drop to be a stochastic variable, with fluctuations which follow from the diffusive transport of environmental ions towards the drops
Summary
Air has long been recognized to contain aerosol particles and droplets which can become electrically charged, such as in fogs [1] or dusts [2]. This infinite series has been shown to be expressible in a closed form [10], which in practice will involve a series expansion requiring numerical evaluation These force calculations all rely on the charge on the drop being a fixed quantity. When an electric field is present, leading to ordered motion of the ions, the charging time can be more rapid [12] This shows that drops interacting in a natural environment will exhibit a varying charge, which is more closely modelled as a stochastic variable rather than a fixed quantity.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
