Surface Electrons: Theory and EHD Application

Abstract—This paper presents the theory of surface electronic states induced by a high-voltage field and considers applications of the theory of surface electrons (SEs) to electrohydrodynamic flows. Theoretical considerations are carried out within the framework of a one-electron quantum mechanical model. It is shown that SEs initiate the injection of negative charges from the cathode into a liquid dielectric containing an electron-acceptor impurity, for example, molecular iodine. The comparison of the theoretic and experimental data is satisfactory.