Formation of singularities on the surface of a liquid metal in a strong electric field

The nonlinear dynamics of the free surface of an ideal conducting liquid in a strong external electric field is studied. It is established that the equations of motion for such a liquid can be solved in the approximation in which the surface deviates from a plane by small angles. This makes it possible to show that on an initially smooth surface for almost any initial conditions points with an infinite curvature corresponding to branch points of the root type can form in a finite time. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 2043–2054 (December 1998)