ABSTRACT
The term electrostatics brings visions of Benjamin Franklin, the ‘‘kite and key’’ experiment, Leyden jars, cat fur, and glass rods. These and similar experiments heralded the discovery of electromagnetism and were among some of the first recorded in the industrial age. The forces attributable to electrostatic charge have been known since the time of the ancient Greeks, yet the discipline continues to be the focus of much research and development. Most electrostatic processes fall into one of two categories. Sometimes, electrostatic charge produces a desired outcome, such as motion, adhesion, or energy dissipation. Electrostatic forces enable such diverse processes as laser printing, electrophotography, electrostatic paint spraying, powder coating, environmentally friendly pesticide application, drug delivery, food production, and electrostatic precipitation. Electrostatics is critical to the operation of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), including numerous microsensors, transducers, accelerometers, and the
and have changed the way electronic circuits interface with the mechanical world. Electrostatic forces on a molecular scale lie at the core of nanodevices, and the inner workings of a cell’s nucleus are also governed by electrostatics. A myriad of selfassembling nanodevices involving coulombic attraction and repulsion comprise yet another technology in which electrostatics plays an important role.
