Abstract
The collection efficiency of water droplets under the influence of electric forces was studied in simulation experiments for the case of a charge-induced multipole interaction. With the aid of an elaborate laboratory apparatus, the size increase of a charged droplet failing through a cloud of neutral, almost uniform small particles was determined, and an average collection efficiency deduced. The experimental results indicated efficiencies of one to two orders of magnitude greater than the values for neutral droplets under otherwise similar conditions. Likewise, the efficiencies were found to increase with the ratio of collected to collecting droplet sizes, and wore insensitive to variations of the electric charge of the particles.
