Configurations of Charges on a Sphere.

Abstract

We studied the configurations of mechanical equilibrium for objects that are confined to the surface of a sphere and interact with one another via a Coulomb force. New configurations are obtained when the number of objects varies between 17 and 36. These configurations and others from the published literature are analyzed and classified according to their symmetry. The degree of symmetry has a semiquantitative relationship with the interaction energy. The relationship of this problem to surface problems of aerosols and the configuration of agglomerates is briefly discussed. Keywords: Spherical, charge distribution, Spherical surface, configurations, Spherical packing, Charged droplet, Coulomb, interaction.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA179930

Entities

People

  • Burt V. Bronk
  • Robert H. Frickel

Organizations

  • Edgewood Chemical Biological Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Agglomerates (Rock)
  • Availability
  • Charged Particles
  • Classification
  • Computer Programs
  • Diameters
  • Energy
  • Engineering
  • Literature
  • Molecular Dynamics
  • Physical Properties
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Security
  • Symmetry
  • Three Dimensional
  • Triangles

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Plasma Physics.