Electrostatic discharges from charged spheres approaching a grounded surface

A program based on the boundary element method enabled an accurate computat ion of the electric field in the gap between a conductive sphere of given c harge and a grounded plate. The information on field distribution represent ed the input data of another program which estimated the dielectric strengt h of that gap in air at atmospheric pressure. In this way, it was possible to determine the critical conditions (charge, gap length) in which a discha rge occurs between spherical objects of various sizes and a grounded surfac e. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.