Stability of liquid metal in alternating electric field

Stability of liquid metal layer in electric field is considered, when the field has a temporal periodic component. This case is extension of the known Tonks-Frenkel theory of conductive liquid instability in de electric field. Periodic field of moderate intensity makes initiation of instability of surface perturbations easier than application of de field only. A linear theory of surface perturbation growth in periodic electric field is developed and applied for analysis of situations, typical for droplet formation in high voltage devices. Two examples of the instability are assessed: behavior of a liquid metal ion source in oscillating electric field and motion of electrode melt in vacuum are under fluctuating are voltage.