Is the electrostatic force between a point charge and a neutral metallic object always attractive?
Classical Physics
2011-08-26 v1
Abstract
We give an example of a geometry in which the electrostatic force between a point charge and a neutral metallic object is repulsive. The example consists of a point charge centered above a thin metallic hemisphere, positioned concave up. We show that this geometry has a repulsive regime using both a simple analytical argument and an exact calculation for an analogous two-dimensional geometry. Analogues of this geometry-induced repulsion can appear in many other contexts, including Casimir systems.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1007.2175,
title = {Is the electrostatic force between a point charge and a neutral metallic object always attractive?},
author = {Michael Levin and Steven G. Johnson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1007.2175},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
7 pages, 7 figures