A method for determining the electric field of multibody configurations

A method for obtaining the electric field in a multibody system is discussed. The method is applicable to any system consisting of up to about five spherical or cylindrical objects including multiple ground planes. The number and size of spheres, their mutual separations, and their distances from the grounding plane depend on the complexity of the system of interest and the accuracy required. The proposed method of the general multibody problem solution is iterative, being based on the method of images. The potential of the spheres is determined relative to the ground plane, given the charge on the spheres. The solution is obtained as a geometrically convergent infinite series that cannot be summed in closed form. The rate of convergence depends on the separation of the spheres; longer computation time is required for small separations.<>