Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Equipotential Surfaces and Conductors

Equipotential Surfaces and Conductors

For a conductor in which all charges are at rest, the conductor's surface is equipotential. The electric field is always perpendicular to equipotential surfaces. Therefore, in a conductor with static charges, the electric field just outside the conductor is always perpendicular to the conductor's surface. Any tangential component of the electric field will cause charges to move inside the conductor, which will violate the electrostatic nature of the system. In an electrostatic situation, if a...

Electric Field at the Surface of a Conductor

Electric Field at the Surface of a Conductor

Consider a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium. The net electric field inside a conductor vanishes, and extra charges on the conductor reside on its outer surface, regardless of where they originate.
In the 19th century, Michael Faraday conducted the famous ice pail experiment to prove that the charges always reside on the surface of a conductor. The experimental set-up consists of a conducting uncharged container mounted on an insulating stand. The outer surface of the container is...

Metal-Semiconductor Junctions

Metal-Semiconductor Junctions

The contact of metal and semiconductor can lead to the formation of a junction with either Schottky or Ohmic behavior.
Schottky Barriers
Schottky barriers arise when a metal with a work function (Φm) contacts a semiconductor with a different work function (Φs). Initially, electrons transfer until the Fermi levels of the metal and semiconductor align at equilibrium. For instance, if Φm > Φs, the semiconductor Fermi level is higher than the metal's before contact. The semiconductor's...

The Electrical Double Layer

The Electrical Double Layer

In the region where two bulk phases meet, an intricate electric charge distribution arises due to charge transfer, ion adsorption, molecular orientation, and charge distortion. This complex distribution is commonly referred to as the electrical double layer.When a solid electrode interfaces with ions in an electrolyte solution, the speed of electron transfer dictates the rates of oxidation and reduction. The electrode acquires a charge through the escape of atoms into the solution as cations or...

Processes at Electrodes

Processes at Electrodes

The electrode interacts with ions in the electrolyte solution at its interface. The rate of oxidation and reduction depends on the speed at which electrons can transfer through this interface. As ions attach to or leave the electrode surface, the electrode acquires a charge, and an electrical potential forms across the interface, making the process more difficult to reach equilibrium. The charge on the electrode affects the local ion concentrations in the solution, though thermal motion...

Electrochemical Systems

Electrochemical Systems

Electrochemical systems provide a fascinating insight into the dynamic interplay of charged species within various phases. One notable example is the interaction between a membrane permeable to K⁺ ions but not to Cl⁻ ions, separating an aqueous KCl solution from pure water. As K⁺ ions diffuse through the membrane, they generate net charges on each phase, leading to a potential difference between them.Similarly, when a piece of Zn is immersed in an aqueous ZnSO₄ solution, the Zn metal, composed...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Ultralow Loss Torsion Micropendula for Chipscale Gravimetry.

Physical review letters·2025

Same author

Protocol change improves live birth and recurrent cycle cancellation rates after a previous IVF cycle cancellation: an analysis of 13 000 autologous cycles reported to SART CORS.

Human reproduction (Oxford, England)·2024

Same author

A cryogenic torsion balance using a liquid-cryogen free, ultra-low vibration cryostat.

The Review of scientific instruments·2022

Same author

A low-frequency torsion pendulum with interferometric readout.

The Review of scientific instruments·2021

Same author

Foreword Realization, Maintenance and Dissemination of the Kilogram in the Revised SI.

Metrologia·2020

Same author

Bridging classical and quantum mechanics.

Metrologia·2020

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 2, 2026

A Method to Manipulate Surface Tension of a Liquid Metal via Surface Oxidation and Reduction

A Method to Manipulate Surface Tension of a Liquid Metal via Surface Oxidation and Reduction

Published on: January 26, 2016

Temporal extent of surface potentials between closely spaced metals.

S E Pollack¹, S Schlamminger, J H Gundlach

¹Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-4290, USA. skotep@skotep.com

Physical Review Letters

|September 4, 2008

Summary

Electrostatic potential variations create noise in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. Torsion balances help study these effects, with measurements showing noise levels of 30 microV/sqrt Hz above 0.1 mHz.

More Related Videos

Co-localizing Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy with Other Microscopies and Spectroscopies: Selected Applications in Corrosion Characterization of Alloys

Co-localizing Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy with Other Microscopies and Spectroscopies: Selected Applications in Corrosion Characterization of Alloys

Published on: June 27, 2022

Quantifying the Relative Thickness of Conductive Ferromagnetic Materials Using Detector Coil-Based Pulsed Eddy Current Sensors

Quantifying the Relative Thickness of Conductive Ferromagnetic Materials Using Detector Coil-Based Pulsed Eddy Current Sensors

Published on: January 16, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 2, 2026

A Method to Manipulate Surface Tension of a Liquid Metal via Surface Oxidation and Reduction

A Method to Manipulate Surface Tension of a Liquid Metal via Surface Oxidation and Reduction

Published on: January 26, 2016

Co-localizing Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy with Other Microscopies and Spectroscopies: Selected Applications in Corrosion Characterization of Alloys

Co-localizing Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy with Other Microscopies and Spectroscopies: Selected Applications in Corrosion Characterization of Alloys

Published on: June 27, 2022

Quantifying the Relative Thickness of Conductive Ferromagnetic Materials Using Detector Coil-Based Pulsed Eddy Current Sensors

Quantifying the Relative Thickness of Conductive Ferromagnetic Materials Using Detector Coil-Based Pulsed Eddy Current Sensors

Published on: January 16, 2020

Area of Science:

Astrophysics
Gravitational Wave Detection
Experimental Physics

Background:

Noise from electrostatic potential variations is a major challenge for space-based gravitational wave missions like LISA.
Understanding and mitigating these noise sources is crucial for mission success.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate electrostatic surface potential variations using a torsion balance.
To emulate LISA's operating conditions for relevant noise studies.

Main Methods:

Utilized a torsion balance apparatus with gold-coated copper and silicon plates.
Suspended a gold-coated silicon plate pendulum from a tungsten wire.
Measured electrostatic potential variations between closely spaced metal surfaces.

Main Results:

Measured a white noise level of 30 microV/sqrt Hz for surface potential variations.
Observed noise increasing at frequencies below 0.1 mHz.

Conclusions:

Torsion balances are effective test beds for studying LISA noise sources.
Electrostatic potential variations between metals contribute significantly to low-frequency noise.