Electrospinning traces its roots to electrostatic spraying, which was first described more than 100 years ago.  In electrostatic spraying, charge is injection into a liquid, typically 5-30 kV, from an electrode.  The charged liquid is separated some distance from a second electrode (target) of opposite polarity to establish a static electric field.  A so-called <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST2 /><?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />TaylorConeforms due to the competing forces of the static electric field and the liquid