An analysis of the electrical capacitance between two conducting spheres

Abstract Many modern composites consist of dielectric polymer matrices containing embedded spherical particles. These particles can be electrically conducting and often have magnetic properties. In order to accurately model and simulate such materials, precise calculation of the electrical capacitance between identically sized spheres is required. This is of particular relevance at microscopic dimensions where many smart material-based micro devices are concerned. This may appear trivial for a small number of particles. However, many methods or their analysis appear to be questionable or not applicable at reduced dimensions. In this work, the various methods of analysis are scrutinized before being compared with both simulation and direct measurements. It is surprising to note that of the many works investigated only 3 are in close agreement with both simulation and measurement.