Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

The Preparation of Electrohydrodynamic Bridges from Polar Dielectric Liquids
Published on: September 30, 2014
Energy landscapes for water clusters in a uniform electric field
Tim James1, David J Wales, Javier Hernández Rojas
1University Chemical Laboratories, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
The behavior of small water clusters, (H2O)n, n=2-5 and n=8, in a uniform electric field is investigated for three related rigid-body models. Changes in the properties of the low-lying potential energy minima and the rearrangement pathways between them are examined. Results for certain structural transitions are compared with recent ab initio calculations. The models are found to give qualitatively similar trends, and there is some evidence that as the applied field strength is increased the quantitative differences between the models are also reduced.
Related Concept Videos
Electric Field of a Non Uniformly Charged Sphere
Consider a non-uniformly charged sphere, for which the density of charge depends only on the distance from a point in space and not on the direction. Such a sphere has a spherically symmetrical charge distribution. Here, the electric...
Induced Electric Dipoles
Since the absolute value of potential energy holds no physical meaning, its zero value can be chosen as per...
Electric Field of Two Equal and Opposite Charges
A separation of the positive and negative charges can lead to a weak, remnant effect of the positive and negative charges. The expectation is that the more the distance between the positive and...
Calculations of Electric Potential II
Consider a...
Electric Field Lines
The solution to this problem is to use electric field lines, which are not vectors but...
Energy Associated With a Charge Distribution

