Electrically charged droplet: Influence of the generator configuration and the nature of the liquid

TL;DR

This study investigates how the configuration of an induction-based generator and the liquid's properties affect droplet charging, introducing an innovative device to optimize charge transfer across various liquids.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel planar capacitor-like device that effectively charges different liquids and analyzes the influence of liquid properties on induced charge.

Findings

Existence of a conductivity threshold for effective charging

Liquid properties significantly influence induced charge

Device avoids non-linear effects for accurate measurements

Abstract

We studied how to charge droplets by induction and how to maximize this charge. In order to aim this objective, we developed an innovative device that avoids non-linear effects and that is able to charge liquids of different nature. The device developed resembles a planar capacitor. The influence of the nature of the liquid (i.e. presence of ions in solution, polarity, surface tension and conductivity) on the charge induced was measured. We deduced that there exists a threshold of electrical conductivity for the fluid below which it does not charge according to the "perfect conductor" model.