An accurate quantitative picture of electric field distribution is essential in many electrical and electronic applications. In composite dielectric configurations composed of multiple dielectrics, anomalous or unexpected behavior of electric fields may appear when a solid dielectric is in contact with a conductor or another solid dielectric. The electric field near the contact point may become higher than the original field not only in the surrounding medium but also in the solid dielectric. Theoretically it may become infinitely high, depending on the contact angle. Although these characteristics are very important in a variety of applications, they have been clarified only recently using analytical and numerical calculation methods, and this is the first book to cover these new findings.

Electric Fields in Composite Dielectrics and Their Applications describes the fundamental characteristics and practical applications of electric fields in composite dielectrics. The focus is on the field distribution (and the resultant force when appropriate) near points of contact. Applications include insulation design of high-voltage equipment with solid insulating supports, utilization of electrostatic force on dielectric particles in electrophotography and electrorheological fluids, and others. Electric Fields in Composite Dielectrics and Their Applications also explains the calculation methods used to analyze electric fields in composite dielectrics.

This book aims at making readers develop a better understanding of electrostatic fields using the form of problems and puzzles (summarized as "questions" hereafter) and answers, instead of tedious explanations in ordinary textbooks. The book is filled with the questions with unexpected answers and questions often misunderstood or rarely completely understood, most of which are original. The questions in the book look simple and very easy to answer at a glance; nevertheless, once students try to solve them, they will find that the questions are really tough nuts to crack. Teachers can also use the questions in the book in their classes. Not only from an academic or an educational point of view, the book is useful also to engineers working in such fields as electrical discharges and their applications, high voltage equipment in DC and AC circuits as well as electrostatic devices. This is because the book introduces various practical applications related to electrostatic fields. The original ideas of the book are based on the following Japanese book written by one of author; T. Takuma: Panorama of Electric Fields (in Japanese) IEE, Japan, 2003. This English version of the book has been thoroughly revised and improved with several new questions added.