How electromagnetically sharp is a needle?

The properties of a length of infinitely thin, perfectly conducting straight wire have been discussed extensively in the literature. But there remains a simple static problem, which is the distribution of a charge, q, along the length of the wire. Far from the ends, one may expect a uniform linear charge density, /spl rho//sub l/, and an electric field perpendicular to the axis. The behavior near the tips however is the real problem.