Abstract
THE potential distribution in a parallelepiped arising from a point source and sink is of practical importance in the measurement of the thickness of plates and tubes1,2, and the electrical conductivity of semiconductors3. A common practical arrangement employs four collinear equi-spaced contacts: current I is passed between the outer pair, and the potential difference V between the inner pair is measured. If the contacts are aligned centrally parallel to the longest side 2α of a rectangular block of material, its width being 2β and its thickness γ in units of the electrode spacing, the conductivity is given by the triple series: 
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References
Thornton, B. M., and Thornton, W. M., Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., 140, 349 (1938).
Warren, A. G., J. Inst. Elect. Eng., 84, 91 (1939).
Valdes, L. B., Proc. Inst. Rad. Eng., 42, 420 (1954).
Van der Hoff, B. M. E., and Benson, G. C., Can. J. Phys., 31, 1087 (1953).
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SIM, A., LEWIN, L. Point Source and Sink in a Parallelepiped. Nature 174, 1155 (1954). https://doi.org/10.1038/1741155a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1741155a0
