Charged drop levitators and their applications

An account is given of the charged drop levitation characteristics of two different devices: (1) a feedback-controlled electrostatic levitator able to lift a several mm-diameter drop in 1g conditions, which is applicable to drop dynamics, crystal growth, and supercooling/solidification experiments; and (2) a linear quadrupole levitator, whose advantages are demonstrated in light of the results obtained for the charged drop instability experiment. The cause of the premature drop burstings observed is suggested to be an electron avalanche in the surrounding gaseous medium rather than the Rayleigh limit.