The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
From long thin charged object, the electric potential falls as 1/r with increasing distance r from the axis. From a charged point, the potential falls as 1/r^2. The end of a long thin charged object approximates a point when seen from the direction opposite to the rest of the object.
Since the electric field is proportional to the gradient of the potential, the field is stronger near the sharp point where the potential falls quicker with increasing distance from the object.
Since the electric field is proportional to the gradient of the potential, the field is stronger near the sharp point where the potential falls quicker with increasing distance from the object.