Calculation of the electric field in arrangements of intersecting spheres

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inMethod to calculate electric fields at very small tip-sample distances in atomic force microscopy Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 033115 (2010); Theoretical calculation and experimental observation of stark profiles of Argon spectral lines for the measurements of electric fields in a discharge plasma AIP Conf.The application of the method of images to the calculation of electric field in arrangements of intersecting conducting spheres is presented. The multipole re-expansions are utilized to determine the multipole images and the potential coefficients. The method is applicable for cases of electrically floating, grounded, or energized conducting spheres that intersect each other. Examples are given for two grounded intersecting spheres of equal radii and those of different radii, respectively, under an external uniform field. The results for the spheres of equal radii agree well with the analytical solutions for the case of completely overlapped spheres and touching spheres, respectively. For the spheres of different radii, the numerical results show that the method may also be used when the degree of intersection is not too high.