Electrohydrodynamic Transient Tip Streaming

Tip streaming can be classified into two fundamentally different categories: transient tip streaming and periodic microdripping/steady microjetting. We devote this chapter and Chap.  6 to analyzing the first category. Electrohydrodynamic and hydrodynamic forces can power transient tip streaming. This chapter presents some results for transient tip streaming driven by electrohydrodynamic forces. Special attention will be paid to a low-conductivity droplet subject to a strong electric field. We will consider the mechanism leading to the onset of tip streaming, examining the role of charge relaxation. The scaling laws for the size and charge of the first-emitted droplet are reviewed.