Numerical Determination of Potential in Inhomogeneous Dielectrics by Earnshaw's Theorem

Earnshaw's theorem, a characterization of potential functions equivalent to Poisson's equation, expresses a relation between the value of the potential at a point and an average of the function over a spherical surface centered at the point. The theorem therefore lends itself to use in numerical computation of the potential. A formulation of the theorem is presented with particular reference to determination of the potential in a region which is inhomogeneously occupied by dielectric media. This provides a rigorous basis for the formulas used to determine the potential at points on a dielectric interface, in that it avoids the ambiguity which arises in the evaluation of the finite-difference approximation to the Laplacian at such points. The use of the formulation is illustrated by examples of computer-generated graphs giving the potential in the presence of irregular dielectric objects.