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Stan’s Legacy

Leak resistance across a spherical cell

Through what resistance does the charge on a sphere-in-sphere cell leak away?

The formula
R=12π·σ(1a1b)
R
Leak resistance, Ω
a
Inner diameter, in
b
Outer diameter, in
σ
Conductivity, µS/cm
LaTeX
R = \frac{1}{2\pi \cdot σ} \left( \frac{1}{a} - \frac{1}{b} \right)

Work it out

in

The inner electrode's outside diameter.

in

The outer electrode's inside diameter.

µS/cm

What a conductivity meter reads.

Method

  1. Convert the diameters to metres and the conductivity to siemens per metre.
  2. The resistance between concentric spheres of radii r_a and r_b through a conductor is (1/(4πσ))(1/r_a − 1/r_b). Written in diameters the 4π becomes 2π, which is the form above.

Assumptions

  • Two complete concentric spheres of uniform water; the stem and filler port are ignored.
  • The meter's conductivity, uniform and at DC — see the tubular leak calculation.