Physics 4611 Advanced E&M I Solutions to Problem Set 1

1. Jackson 1.3, parts c and d (we did a and b in class). In part d, let the disk sit at z = 0 and rewrite ( z ) in terms of spherical coordinates using the properties of the delta function (Jackson p. 26). In both cases, check that your answer makes sense in terms of units and that it integrates to Q.
Partc)givesusachargeQdistributed(uniformly)overathindiskofradiusR,andwemustuse cylindricalcoordinates.Wellhaveasurfacechargedensityof = Q A = Q R 2 ,butonlyfor

r R .Letschoosethesurfacetobelocatedat z = z0 tokeepthingsgeneral.Inthatcasewe
have

Q ( z z0 ) , s R ( s, , z ) = R 2 0, s > R .
Wecouldalsowrite

( s, , z ) =

Q ( z z0 ) H ( R s ) , R2

whereHistheHeavisidestepfunction,definedtobe1for s < R and0for s > R .Tocheckour answer,wetake

3 (x)d x = 2 R

0 0

Q R ( z z ) s ds d dz
2 0

R R2 Q Q = ( 2 ) s ds = 2 ( 2 ) R2 R 2 0

= Q , as expected.
Partd)isthesameaspartc),onlyinsphericalcoordinates.Itsclearthatthestepfunctioninshas toremainandthatweneedtochangethedeltafunctioninztoadeltafunctionin.Todothis,we recallthatinsphericalcoordinates, z = r cos .Thenwehaveadeltafunction f ( ) = ( r cos ) ,sowecanuseproperty5onp.26ofJackson:

( ) ( f ( ) ) = f
i

( i ) ,wherethe i arethezerosof f ( ) .For 0 < < ,we

1
i

haveonlyonezeroof cos ,at = 2 ,whichiswherewewantthedisktobe(becauseit correspondsto z = 0 ).Sowecanwrite

 ( r cos ) = r sin ( 2 ) = r 1 ( 2 ) .

Q ( 2 ) , r R, r 0 Thisgivesus ( r , , ) = rR 2 0, r > R
Hereisacaseinwhichthechargedensityhasacoordinateinthecoefficient!Notethatretains therightunitsthisway:because isnotalinearcoordinate, ( 2 ) isunitless,sothe coefficientmusthaveunitsofchargepervolume.Ifitbothersyouthatthecoefficientisnot constant,rememberthatrinsphericalcoordinatesisdifferentfromsincylindricalcoordinates:the samechargedistributiongivesyoulesschargepervolumethanchargepersurfacearea,andthe volumeincreasesmorequicklywithrthandoesthearea. Check:

(x)d

x = 2

Q ( 2 ) r 2 sin dr d rR 2 Q R = ( 2 ) r dr ( 2 ) sin d 2 0 0 R
2 Q R = ( 2 ) ( sin ( 2 ) ) 2 R 2 =Q .

Onethingtonoteisthat r = 0 isaprobleminthiscoordinatesystem(butofcoursetheintegrating volumeisundefinedthereanyway).Ijustdealtwiththisbyspecifying r 0 inmyexpressionfor.

2. A conducting sphere has an off-center spherical cavity embedded inside. A positive charge +Q is fixed inside the cavity as shown. Two points P and S are each 1 cm away from the surface of the sphere. A student considering this situation makes the following statement: The electric field at point S will be larger than the electric field at point P, since there will be more charge on the surface near the interior charge than there will be farther away. What, if anything, is wrong with this statement? If something is wrong, explain the error and how to correct it. If the statement is valid, explain why.

WewanttocomparetheelectricfieldsatpointsPandS,whicharethesamedistancefromthe spheressurfacebutdifferentdistancesfromQ. ThepositivechargeQwillinducenegativechargesintheconductortoflowtotheinteriorcavity surface.Sincethefieldinsidetheconductingmaterialmustbezero(seethenextproblem,parta), theremainingexcesspositivechargewillflowtotheoutersurfaceofthesphere.Wecanthenputa Gaussianspherearoundtheconductorwithsomearbitraryradiusr.Thetotalchargeenclosedby thissphereis+Q,sowehave

E n da = 4 r

E = Q 0 E = Q 4 0 r 2 ,

thesameasifallthecharge+Qoriginatedfromacentralpointsource.SincePandShavethesame radiusfromthecenter(callitR), EP = ES . Thestudentsstatementiswrongbecausethechargeontheexteriorsurfacedistributesitself uniformlyaroundthesphere.Thisisbecausethefieldfromtheinducednegativechargescancels thatoftheinterior+Q,sothepositivechargesontheoutsidesimplymoveasfarapartastheycan. (SeeGriffiths,section2.5.2formorediscussion.)

3. Jackson 1.1.
a) Wewanttoshowthatanyexcesschargeplacedonaconductormustlieentirelyonitssurface. Bydefinition,aconductorcontainschargesthatmovefreelywithinthematerialinresponseto electricfields.Anyappliedchargewillcreateanelectricfield,whichwillinducethefreecharges toflowuntiltheinducedfieldtheycreatecancelsoutthefieldoftheappliedcharge.Since chargecanflowonlywithinthematerial,excesschargepilesupatthesurface. WecanshowthisusingGausssLawbyplacingachargewithintheconductingmaterialand constructingaGaussiansurfacearoundit,butstillinsidethematerial.Theenclosedchargewill thenincludeboththeappliedchargeandthefreechargethatflowsinresponse:

E n da =

qenclosed

qapplied + qfree

Theflowoffreechargecauses qapplied + qfree tobecomezeroalmostinstantaneously.With

q = 0, E mustalsobezeroanywhereinsidetheconductor.Thustheonlyplaceexcesscharge
canresideonaconductorisonitssurface.Theeffectisasiftheappliedchargemigratesto thesurface,althoughitismorecorrecttosaythattheflowoffreechargescreatesthesurface charge.

b) Consideraclosed,hollowconductorwithachargeinsideit.Weknowfromparta)that E = 0 insidetheconductingmaterial,soifweputaGaussiansurfacearoundthecavitybutinsidethe conductor,weknow

E n da = qenclosed 0 = 0 .Thistellsusthattheinteriorchargeinduces

thefreechargesintheconductortoflowtothecavitysurfaceinsuchawayastocancelthe fieldoftheinteriorcharge: qenclosed = qcharge + qinduced = 0 .Thisleavesanetchargeinthe conductorofthesamesignandmagnitudeastheinteriorcharge.Byparta),thisexcesscharge willflowtotheoutersurfaceoftheconductor.Becausetheinteriorfieldscancel,pointsoutside theconductorwillseeonlythefieldduetothesurfacecharge.Hencethesurfaceofthe conductorcommunicatesthepresenceofachargeinsideit(butnotthelocationofthat charge,aswewillseeinproblem#4). Nowsupposeaclosed,hollowconductorwithnointeriorchargeis placedinanexternalelectricfield.Ifwedrawaclosedloopinside theconductorthatpassesthroughthecavity(seediagramatright), wecansaythataroundthisloop, 1.21).Therefore,wemusthave
conductor path

E dl

= 0 (Jacksonequation

E dl +

cavity path

E dl = 0 .

Byparta), E = 0 overthepartofthepathinsidetheconductor.Inordertomakethetotal integralzero,then,

cavity path

E dl mustbezeroaswell.Becausethisistrueforanypath,wemust

have E = 0 everywhereinthecavity,regardlessoftheexternalelectricfield. Thereareotherwaystoshowthispropertyofconductors.However,itisnotsufficienttoputa GaussiansurfaceinsidetheemptycavityandarguebyGausssLawthatthefieldmustbezero insidethecavitybecausethereisnoenclosedcharge.Itistruethat

E n da = 0 ifthereis

nochargeinsideaGaussiansurface,butthisdoesntguaranteethereisnofieldwithinthe volume,onlythatthereisnonetelectricfluxcrossingtheboundary.Remember,charges outsidetheGaussiansurfacedontcontributetothesurfaceintegralbecausethenetfluxacross thesurfacefromthesechargesiszerobuttheystillcreateafield!Forexample,onecould drawaGaussiansphereinthevolumebetweentheplatesofacapacitorandhave qenclosed = 0 but Einside 0 .

c) WewanttoinvestigatetheEfieldatthesurfaceofa conductor.Ifwelookcloselyenough,anysurfaceappears locallyflat,sowecanrepresentthesurfacewithaplane anduseaGaussianpillboxtofindtheelectricfield.Bypart a),anychargeontheconductorisspreaduniformlyover thesurface(uniformlybecausethereisnoreasonfor chargetoconcentrateinagivenregionofthesurface,and becauselikechargeswillmoveasfarawayfromeachotheraspossible),sowecansaythe conductorhasasurfacechargedensity.Insidetheconductor,thefieldiszero,aswealso knowfromparta).Sotheonlycontributiontothefluxcomesfromthesurfacechargedensity. Theelectricfieldofauniformlychargedplanemustbedirectedperpendiculartotheplane becausethereisnoreasonforittohaveapreferreddirectionin x or y .Also,iftherewerean initialcomponentto E paralleltothesurface,thefreechargesontheconductorssurface wouldexperienceaforceinthatdirectionandmoveuntiltheycancelledoutthisparallelfield. ThustheonlyEfieldatthesurfaceofaconductoristhatgivenbyGausssLaw:

E n da = E A =

qenclosed

A E = n , 0 0

where n pointsperpendicularlyawayfromthesurface.

4. Jackson 1.4. Instead of sketching the results, use a computer program to plot E as a function of radius, choosing representative values for a and Q.
Wehavespheresofradiusa,totalchargeQ,andvaryingvolumechargedistributions(all functionsofronly).Plotsareattachedattheendofthesolutionset. Firstnotethatsincethetotalchargeisthesameinallcases,thebehavioroutsider=awill bethesameforallcases(andthesameforapointchargeQatr=0.Thatis,forr>a, Q E= r , 4 0 r 2 regardlessofhowQisdistributedinsidea(aslongasitssphericallysymmetric).Soweonly needtoworryaboutr<a. a) Conductingsphere: E = 0 inside,asweshowedinthepreviousproblem.
b) Uniformchargedensity:thismeansthat = Q V = 3Q 4 a 3 throughout.Soataradius
3 3Q 4 r r r<a,wehave q ( r ) = V ( r ) = = Q . 3 4 a 3 a 3

NowbyGausssLaw,sincethefieldisradial,

4 r E ( r ) =
2

q (r )

Qr = 0 a

r E (r ) = r . 2 4 0 r a Q

c) Chargedensity r n ,wheren>3.Notethatpartb)wasaspecialcaseofthisscenario.

r Weneed = 0 whenr=a,sochoose ( r ) = 0 . a n +3 40 r 2+ n 40 r Then q ( r ) = ( r ) dV = n r dr = n . 0 a a n + 3

Since q ( a ) = Q ,wecansolvefor 0 : So q ( r ) =

( n + 3) Q . 40 a n +3 = Q 0 = n a n+3 4 a 3
n +3

4 n a

n+3 r ( n + 3) Q r = Q 3 n + 3 4 a a

q (r) Q r r= Asbefore, E ( r ) = 2 4 0 r 4 0 r 2 a

n +3

r .
Qr 3 r . 4 0 a 5

Forn=+2wehave,insidethesphere, E ( r ) =

Forn=2,wehave E ( r ) =

Qr 3 r. 4 0 ra