Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 December 2006
The induced charge of a spherical conducting dust particle on a plasma-facing wall is studied analytically. An external non-uniform electric field is approximated by the polynomial of the axial coordinate and the bipolar coordinate is introduced in order to employ the boundary condition. The result is applied to the dust in the non-uniform electric field in the Debye sheath in front of the conducting wall. The results are useful for analyzing the shielding effects of the plasma surrounding a dust particle.