Electrostatic Field and Force on a Dielectric Sphere near a Conducting Plane—A Note on the Application of Electrostatic Theory to Water Droplets

Abstract

Because of the short charge relaxation time for water, an electrostatic solution for conductors usually applies. But to extend the analysis to very short interaction times, a solution is derived for the electrostatic field strength and force acting on a nonconducting dielectric sphere near a grounded conducting plane. This solution has more general interest, since it is one of the relatively few that are exact and apply to a physically realizable geometry.