The transient dynamics of a liquid column in a uniform transverse electric field of small strength

The transient behavior of a leaky dielectric liquid column under a uniform transverse electric field of small strength is investigated analytically. It is shown that for small distortion from a circular shape, the column boundary deforms to an ellipse and the deformation time history, , is , where is the steady state deformation and τ = a(μi + μo)/γ is the characteristic time, a, γ, and being the drop radius, the surface tension, and ratio of the drop viscosity to that of the ambient fluid, respectively.