For an isolated smooth conducting sphere of radius , Gauss's law gives surface electric field . Combining its capacitance with capacitor energy gives the displayed bound when the surrounding medium has dielectric strength and approximately vacuum permittivity. Nearby conductors, surface roughness and discharge geometry can lower the practical limit.
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2015 Paper 1 Section A A1 Solution 2026-10-20
For a smooth isolated conducting sphere, Gauss's law gives the surface electric field and electric potential . At the specified dielectric strength, . The capacitance of an isolated conducting sphere is , so its capacitor energy isThis is the ideal breakdown-limited energy of a conducting sphere, taking air's permittivity approximately equal to vacuum permittivity and neglecting nearby objects and surface irregularities. The vacuum permittivity used numerically is .[ref]
Fundamental Physical Constants — Complete Listing by National Institute of Standards and Technology and others. 2022 CODATA adjustment, vacuum electric permittivity entry