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The stability of a charged raindrop has been discussed mathematically by Lord Rayleigh. The case of an uncharged drop in a uniform electric field is perhaps of more meteorological importance but a mathematical discussion of the conditions for stability turns out to be very much more difficult in this case, owing to the fact that the drop ceases to be spherical before it bursts. Moreover it does not seem possible to express its geometrical shape by means of any simple mathematical expressions. On the other hand, by using a soap bubble instead of a water drop it was found possible to carry out experiments under well-defined conditions in this case, whereas experiments with Rayleigh's charged drop would be difficult.
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Wilson et al. (1925) studied this question.
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