Physics 505 Fall 2007

Homework Assignment #4 Solutions

Textbook problems: Ch. 3: 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.7
3.1 Two concentric spheres have radii a, b (b > a) and each is divided into two hemispheres
by the same horizontal plane. The upper hemisphere of the inner sphere and the lower
hemisphere of the outer sphere are maintained at potential V . The other hemispheres
are at zero potential.
Determine the potential in the region a r b as a series in Legendre polynomials.
Include terms at least up to l = 4. Check your solution against known results in the
limiting cases b , and a 0.
The general expansion in Legendre polynomials is of the form
(r, ) =

l
[A
l
r
l
+ B
l
r
l1
]P
l
(cos ) (1)
Since we are working in the region between spheres, neither A
l
nor B
l
can be
assumed to vanish. To solve for both A
l
and B
l
we will need to consider boundary
conditions at r = a and r = b
(a, ) =

l
[A
l
a
l
+ B
l
a
l1
]P
l
(cos ) =
_
V cos 0
0 cos < 0
(b, ) =

l
[A
l
b
l
+ B
l
b
l1
]P
l
(cos ) =
_
0 cos > 0
V cos 0
Using orthogonality of the Legendre polynomials, we may write
A
l
a
l
+ B
l
a
l1
=
2l + 1
2
V
_
1
0
P
l
(x) dx
A
l
b
l
+ B
l
b
l1
=
2l + 1
2
V
_
0
1
P
l
(x) dx =
2l + 1
2
V (1)
l
_
1
0
P
l
(x) dx
where in the last expression we used the fact that P
l
(x) = (1)
l
P
l
(x). Since the
integral is only over half of the standard interval, it does not yield a particularly
simple result. For now, we dene
N
l
=
_
1
0
P
l
(x) dx (2)
As a result, we have the system of equations
_
a
l
a
l1
b
l
b
l1
__
A
l
B
l
_
=
2l + 1
2
V N
l
_
1
(1)
l
_
which may be solved to give
_
A
l
B
l
_
=
2l + 1
2
V N
l
1
b
2l+1
a
2l+1
_
(1)
l
b
l+1
a
l+1
(ab)
l+1
(b
l
+ (1)
l+1
a
l
)
_
Inserting this into (1) gives
(r, ) =
1
2
V

l
(2l + 1)N
l
1
_
a
b
_
2l+1
_
(1)
l
_
1 + (1)
l+1
_
a
b
_
l+1
_
_
r
b
_
l
+
_
1 + (1)
l+1
_
a
b
_
l
_
_
a
r
_
l+1
_
P
l
(cos )
(3)
We now examine the integral (2). First note that for even l we may actually
extend the region of integration
N
2j
=
_
1
0
P
2j
(x) dx =
1
2
_
1
1
P
2j
(x) dx =
1
2
_
1
1
P
0
(x)P
2j
(x) dx =
j,0
This demonstrates that the only contribution from even l is for l = 0, correspond-
ing to the average potential. Using this fact, the potential (3) reduces to
(r, ) =
V
2
+
V
2

j=1
(4j 1)N
2j1
1
_
a
b
_
4j1
_

_
1 +
_
a
b
_
2j
_
_
r
b
_
2j1
+
_
1 +
_
a
b
_
2j1
_
_
a
r
_
2j
_
P
2j1
(cos )
Physically, once the average V/2 is removed, the remaining potential is odd under
the ip z z or cos cos . This is why only odd Legendre polynomials
may contribute.
Note that an alternative method of solution would be to use linear superposition
=
inner
+
outer
where
inner
is the solution where the inner sphere has potential V
a
() and the
outer sphere is grounded, and where
outer
is the solution where the outer sphere
has potential V
b
() and the inner sphere is grounded. To calculate
inner
we note
that the boundary conditions are such that
inner
(r = b) = 0. This motivates an
expansion of the form

inner
(r, ) =

l
_
1
r
l+1

r
l
b
2l+1
_
P
l
(cos )
The boundary condition at r = a is then
V
a
() =

l
a
l+1
(1 (a/b)
2l+1
)P
l
(cos )
which, by orthogonality, gives

l
=
2l + 1
2
a
l+1
1
_
a
b
_
2l+1
_
1
1
V
a
(cos )P
l
(cos )d(cos )
Similarly, for
outer
, we may interchange a b and rearrange the expressions to
obtain

outer
(r, ) =

l
_
r
l

a
2l+1
r
l+1
_
P
l
(cos )
where

l
=
2l + 1
2
1/b
l
1
_
a
b
_
2l+1
_
1
1
V
b
(cos )P
l
(cos )d(cos )
Using V
a
= V for cos > 0 and V
b
= V for cos < 0 gives explicitly

inner
=

l
2l + 1
2
V N
l
1
_
a
b
_
2l+1
_
_
a
r
_
l+1

_
a
b
_
l+1
_
r
b
_
l
_
P
l
(cos )

outer
=

l
2l + 1
2
(1)
l
V N
l
1
_
a
b
_
2l+1
_
_
r
b
_
l

_
a
b
_
l
_
a
r
_
l+1
_
P
l
(cos )
When superposed, the solution is identical to (3) which we found above.
At this stage, we may simply perform elementary integrations to obtain the rst
few terms N
1
, N
3
, etc. However, we may derive a fairly simple expression for N
l
by integrating the generating function
(1 2xt + t
2
)
1/2
=

l=0
P
l
(x)t
l
from x = 0 to 1. In other words

l=0
N
l
t
l
=
_
1
0
(1 2xt + t
2
)
1/2
dx = t
1
(1 + t +
_
1 + t
2
)
The square root yields a binomial expansion
(1+t
2
)
1/2
= 1+
1
2
t
2
+
1
2
(
1
2
)
1
2!
t
4
+
1
2
(
1
2
)(
3
2
)
1
3!
t
6
+ = 1+

j=1
()
j
(j
1
2
)
(
1
2
)j!
t
2j
As a result

l=0
N
l
t
l
= 1 +

j=1
()
j+1
(j
1
2
)
2

j!
t
2j1
where we used the fact that (
1
2
) = 2(
1
2
) = 2

. Matching powers of t
demonstrates that all even N
l
terms vanish except N
0
= 1 and that
N
2j1
= (1)
j+1
(j
1
2
)
2

j!
The nal result for the potential is thus
(r, ) =
V
2
+ V

j=1
(1)
j+1
(4j 1)(j
1
2
)
4

j!
_
1
_
a
b
_
4j1
_
_

_
1 +
_
a
b
_
2j
_
_
r
b
_
2j1
+
_
1 +
_
a
b
_
2j1
_
_
a
r
_
2j
_
P
2j1
(cos )
=
V
2
+ V
_
3
4
_
1
_
a
b
_
3
_
1
_

_
1 +
_
a
b
_
2
__
r
b
_
+
_
1 +
_
a
b
___
a
r
_
2
_
P
1
(cos )

7
16
_
1
_
a
b
_
7
_
1
_

_
1 +
_
a
b
_
4
__
r
b
_
3
+
_
1 +
_
a
b
_
3
__
a
r
_
4
_
P
3
(cos )
+
_
Taking a constant slice of the region between the spheres, the potential looks
somewhat like
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
up to P
3
up to P
5
up to P
7
We note that including the higher Legendre modes improves the potential near
the surfaces of the spheres. This is very much like summing the rst few terms of
a Fourier series. On the other hand, the potential midway between the spheres
is well estimated by just the rst term or two in the series. This is because both
r/b and a/r are small in this region, and the series rapidly converges (assuming
a b, that is).
In the limit when b we may remove (a/b) and (r/b) terms. Removing
the latter corresponds to having only inverse powers of r surviving, which is the
expected case for an exterior solution. The result is
(r, )
V
2
+
V
2
_
3
2
_
a
r
_
2
P
1
(cos )
7
8
_
a
r
_
4
P
3
(cos ) +
_
which agrees with the exterior solution for a sphere with oppositely charged hemi-
spheres (except that here we have the average potential V/2 and that the potential
dierence between northern and southern hemispheres is only half as large).
Similarly, when a 0 we remove (a/b). But this time we get rid of the inverse
powers (a/r) instead. The result is the interior solution
(r, )
V
2

V
2
_
3
2
_
r
b
_
P
1
(cos )
7
8
_
r
b
_
3
P
3
(cos ) +
_
which is again a reasonable result (this time with the hemispheres oppositely
charged from the previous case).
3.2 A spherical surface of radius R has charge uniformly distributed over its surface with
a density Q/4R
2
, except for a spherical cap at the north pole, dened by the cone
= .
a) Show that the potential inside the spherical surface can be expressed as
=
Q
8
0

l=0
1
2l + 1
[P
l+1
(cos ) P
l1
(cos )]
r
l
R
l+1
P
l
(cos )
where, for l = 0, P
l1
(cos ) = 1. What is the potential outside?
Note that this problem species a spherical surface of charge, not a spherical
conductor

R
Q
2
R 4
=
=0
We are thus interested in obtaining the potential (r, ) given a charge distri-
bution. This may be done using Coulombs law (or, equivalently, integrating
the Greens function with the charge density). Alternatively, in this problem,
the surface charge density species an appropriate jump condition on the normal
component of the electric eld
E
r out

r=R
= E
r in

r=R
+
1

0
(4)
This condition allows us to solve for the electrostatic potential (r, ).
In particular, because of the azimuthal symmetry of this problem, we may perform
an expansion in Legendre polynomials

in
=

l=0

l
_
r
R
_
l
P
l
(cos )

out
=

l=0

l
_
R
r
_
l+1
P
l
(cos )
(5)
Note that the expansion coecients
l
are identical for the inside and outside
expansion. This holds because we demand that is continuous at r = R. In this
case, the radial components of the interior and exterior electric elds are given
by
E
r
=

r

_

_
E
r in
=

l=1
l
l
R
_
r
R
_
l1
P
l
(cos )
E
r out
=

l=0
(l + 1)
l
R
_
R
r
_
l+2
P
l
(cos )
(6)
Substituting this into (4) gives
(cos ) =
0
_
E
r out
E
r in

r=R
=

l=0
(2l + 1)
0

l
R
P
l
(cos )
Since this is a Legendre polynomial expansion, the coecients of the expansion
are given by the relation
(2l + 1)
0

l
R
=
2l + 1
2
_
1
1
(cos )P
l
(cos )d(cos )
or

l
=
R
2
0
_
1
1
(cos )P
l
(cos )d(cos )
Using
(cos ) =
Q
4R
2

_
0 cos > cos
1 cos < cos
gives

l
=
Q
8
0
R
_
cos
1
P
l
(cos )d(cos )
This may be integrated by using the Legendre polynomial relation
P
l
(x) =
1
2l + 1
(P

l+1
(x) P

l1
(x)) (7)
where P
1
(x) is formally dened to be a constant, so that P

1
(x) = 0. In this
case, we obtain

l
=
Q
8
0
R
1
2l + 1
_
P
l+1
(cos ) P
l1
(cos )

cos
1
Noting that P
l
(1) = (1)
l
then yields

l
=
Q
8
0
R
1
2l + 1
[P
l+1
(cos ) P
l1
(cos )]
so long as we dene P
1
(x) = 1 (so that P
1
(1) = P
1
(1) is true). Substi-
tuting this into (5) then gives the desired potential (both inside and outside the
spherical shell).
Note that, by dening
r
<
= min(r, R), r
>
= max(r, R)
the inside and outside expressions (5) may be combined into a compact form
=

l=0

l
R
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos )
=
Q
8
0

l=0
1
2l + 1
[P
l+1
(cos ) P
l1
(cos )]
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos )
(8)
valid both inside and outside the shell.
b) Find the magnitude and the direction of the electric eld at the origin.
By symmetry, the electric eld at the origin must point along the z axis (either
= 0 or = ). As a result, the radial component E
r
given by (6) completely
species the electric eld at the origin. Noting that E
r in
r
l1
, we see that only
the l = 1 component survives at the origin. As a result
E
r
(r = 0, = 0) =

1
R
P
1
(1)
=
Q
8
0
R
2
1
3
[P
2
(cos ) P
0
(cos )]
=
Q
16
0
R
2
(cos
2
1) =
Qsin
2

16
0
R
2
In rectangular coordinates, this is equivalent to

E =
Qsin
2

16
0
R
2
z (9)
Note that, had we chosen to look along the z axis ( = ), we would have
gotten an identical result since P
1
(cos ) = 1 would give an extra minus sign to
compensate for the z direction.
c) Discuss the limiting forms of the potential (part a) and electric eld (part b) as
the spherical cap becomes (1) very small, and (2) so large that the area with
charge on it becomes a very small cap at the south pole.
We rst consider the case 0, when the spherical cap becomes very small.
For small , we use cos 1
1
2

2
as well as the Taylor expansion
P
l
(cos ) P
l
(1
1
2

2
) P
l
(1)
1
2

2
P

l
(1) = 1 2
l,1

1
2

2
P

l
(1)
to write
P
l+1
(cos ) P
l1
(cos ) 2
l,0

1
2

2
[P

l+1
(1) P

l1
(1)]
Note that the delta functions take care of the special case concerning P
1
(1) = 1
instead of the usual +1. Using (7) now gives
P
l+1
(cos ) P
l1
(cos ) 2
l,0

2l + 1
2

2
P
l
(1) = 2
l,0

2l + 1
2

2
Substituting this into (8) yields

Q
4
0
1
r
>

Q
2
16
0

l=0
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos )
Recalling the Greens function expansion
1
|r r

|
=

l=0
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos )
where cos = r r

nally gives

Q
4
0
1
r
>

Q
2
/4
4
0
1
|r R z|
Physically, this expression corresponds to the limit where the spherical shell is
almost complete ( = Q/4
0
r
>
for a shell centered at the origin). By linear
superposition, the very small cap can be thought of eectively as an oppositely
charged particle located at R z with charge given by
q = dA =
Q
4R
2
(R
2
d) =
Q
4
(
2
) =
Q
2
4
The electric eld at the origin is given by expanding (9) for 0

E(0)
Q
2
/4
4
0
z
R
2
Again, this makes sense for the electric eld of a particle of charge Q
2
/4
located at R z. Note that the full spherical shell does not contribute any electric
eld, since we are inside the shell.
Finally, we consider the case , when the spherical cap becomes very large.
In this case, let = where is the angle of the south polar cap. The
Legendre polynomial expansion is now
P
l
(cos ) = P
l
(cos( )) = P
l
(cos ) P
l
(1 +
1
2

2
) (1)
l
+
1
2

2
P

l
(1)
Note that the l = 1 special case is covered without any additions to this expres-
sion. This gives us
P
l+1
(cos ) P
l1
(cos )
1
2

2
[P

l+1
(1) P

l1
(1)]
=
2l + 1
2

2
P
l
(1) =
2l + 1
2

2
(1)
l
Substituting this into (8) gives

Q
2
16
0

l=0
(1)
l
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos ) =
Q
2
16
0

l=0
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos )
=
Q
2
/4
4
0
1
|r + R z|
This is clearly the potential due to a point charge of strength Q
2
/4 at the south
pole (R z) of the spherical surface. For the electric eld, we substitute =
into (9) to obtain

E(0)
Q
2
/4
4
0
zR
2
This is the electric eld of a particle of charge +Q
2
/4 located at R z.
3.4 The surface of a hollow conducting sphere of inner radius a is divided into an even
number of equal segments by a set of planes; their common line of intersection is the
z axis and they are distributed uniformly in the angle . (The segments are like the
skin on wedges of an apple, or the earths surface between successive meridians of
longitude.) The segments are kept at xed potentials V , alternately.
a) Set up a series representation for the potential inside the sphere for the general
case of 2n segments, and carry the calculation of the coecients in the series far
enough to determine exactly which coecients are dierent from zero. For the
nonvanishing terms, exhibit the coecients as an integral over cos .
The general spherical harmonic expansion for the potential inside a sphere of
radius a is
(r, , ) =

l,m

lm
_
r
a
_
l
Y
lm
(, )
where

lm
=
_
V (, )Y

lm
(, )d
In this problem, V (, ) = V is independent of , but depends on the azimuthal
angle . It can in fact be thought of as a square wave in
2
V
V

n =4
This has a familiar Fourier expansion
V () =
4V

k=0
1
2k + 1
sin[(2k + 1)n]
This is already enough to demonstrate that the m values in the spherical harmonic
expansion can only take on the values (2k+1)n. In terms of associated Legendre
polynomials, the expansion coecients are

lm
=

2l + 1
4
(l m)!
(l + m)!
_
2
0
V ()e
im
d
_
1
1
P
m
l
(x) dx
=
4V

2l + 1
4
(l m)!
(l + m)!

k=0
1
2k + 1
_
2
0
sin[(2k + 1)n]e
im
d

_
1
1
P
m
l
(x) dx
= 4iV

2l + 1
4
(l m)!
(l + m)!

k=0

m,(2k+1)n

m,(2k+1)n
2k + 1
_
1
1
P
m
l
(x) dx
Using P
m
l
(x) = ()
m
[(l m)!/(l +m)!]P
m
l
(x), we may write the non-vanishing
coecients as

l,(2k+1)n
= ()
n+1

l,(2k+1)n
=
4iV
2k + 1

2l + 1
4
(l (2k + 1)n)!
(l + (2k + 1)n)!
_
1
1
P
(2k+1)n
l
(x) dx
(10)
for k = 0, 1, 2, . . .. Since l (2k + 1)n, we see that the rst non-vanishing
term enters at order l = n. Making note of the parity of associated Legendre
polynomials, P
m
l
(x) = ()
l+m
P
m
l
(x), we see that the non-vanishing coecients
are given by the sequence

n,n
,
n+2,n
,
n+4,n
,
n+6,n
, . . .

3n,3n
,
3n+2,3n
,
3n+4,3n
,
3n+6,3n
, . . .

5n,5n
,
5n+2,5n
,
5n+4,5n
,
5n+6,5n
, . . .
.
.
.
b) For the special case of n = 1 (two hemispheres) determine explicitly the potential
up to and including all terms with l = 3. By a coordinate transformation verify
that this reduces to result (3.36) of Section 3.3.
For n = 1, explicit computation shows that
_
1
1
P
1
1
(x) dx =

2
,
_
1
1
P
1
3
(x) dx =
3
16
,
_
1
1
P
3
3
(x) dx =
45
8
Inserting this into (10) yields

1,1
=
1,1
= iV
_
3
2

3,1
=
3,1
= iV
_
21
256
,
3,3
=
3,3
= iV
_
35
256
Hence
= iV
_
_
r
a
_
_
3
2
(Y
1,1
+ Y
1,1
)
+
_
r
a
_
3
_
_
21
256
(Y
3,1
+ Y
3,1
) +
_
35
256
(Y
3,3
+ Y
3,3
)
_
+
_
= 2V
_
_
r
a
_
_
3
2
Y
1,1
+
_
r
a
_
3
_
_
21
256
Y
3,1
+
_
35
256
Y
3,3
_
+
_
= 2V
_
_
r
a
_
3
4
sin e
i
+
_
r
a
_
3
_
21
128
sin(5 cos
2
1)e
i
+
35
128
sin
3
e
3i
_
+
_
= V
_
_
r
a
_
3
2
sin sin
_
r
a
_
3
7
64
_
3 sin(5 cos
2
1) sin + 5 sin
3
sin3
_
+
_
(11)
To relate this to the previous result, we note that the way we have set up the
wedges corresponds to taking the top of the +V hemisphere to point along the
y axis. This may be rotated to the z

axis by a 90

rotation along the x axis.

Explicitly, we take
y = z

, z = y

, x = x

or
sin sin = cos

, cos = sin

sin

, sin cos = sin

cos

Noting that sin3 = sin

3
+3 sincos
2
, the last line of (11) transforms into
= V
_
_
r
a
_
3
2
cos

+
_
r
a
_
3
7
64
_
3 cos

(5 sin
2

sin
2

1)
+ 5(cos
3

+ 3 cos

sin
2

cos
2

)
_
+
_
= V
_
3
2
_
r
a
_
cos

7
8
_
r
a
_
3
1
2
(5 cos
3

3 cos

) +
_
= V
_
3
2
_
r
a
_
P
1
(cos

)
7
8
_
r
a
_
3
P
3
(cos

) +
_
which reproduces the result (3.36).
3.7 Three point charges (q, 2q, q) are located in a straight line with separation a and
with the middle charge (2q) at the origin of a grounded conducting spherical shell
of radius b, as indicated in the sketch.

x
y
z
b
a
a
q
q
2q
=0
a) Write down the potential of the three charges in the absence of the grounded
sphere. Find the limiting form of the potential as a 0, but the product qa
2
= Q
remains nite. Write this latter answer in spherical coordinates.
The potential for the above three point charges is given simply by
=
q
4
0
_

2
r
+
1
|r a z|
+
1
|r + a z|
_
(12)
This may be expanded in Legendre polynomials using
1
|r r

|
=

l=0
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos )
where cos = r r

and where r
<
(r
>
) is the smaller (greater) of r and r

to
obtain
=
q
4
0
_

2
r
+

l=0
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
[P
l
(cos ) + P
l
(cos )]
_
=
q
4
0
_

2
r
+

l=0
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
[1 + (1)
l
]P
l
(cos )
_
=
q
2
0
_

1
r
+

l even
r
l
<
r
l+1
>
P
l
(cos )
_
Here r
<
r and r
>
are given by
r
<
= min(r, a), r
>
= max(r, a)
In order to take the limit a 0, we rst set r
<
= a and r
>
= r. This gives
(r > a) =
q
2
0
_

1
r
+

l even
a
l
r
l+1
P
l
(cos )
_
=
q
2
0

l=2,4,...
a
l
r
l+1
P
l
(cos )
As a 0, the l = 2 term in the sum dominates over the others. Dening qa
2
= Q,
we see that

Q
2
0
r
3
P
2
(cos ) =
Q
4
0
r
3
(3 cos
2
1)
This is an electrostatic quadrupole.
b) The presence of the grounded sphere of radius b alters the potential for r <
b. The added potential can be viewed as caused by the surface-charge density
induced on the inner surface at r = b or by image charges located at r > b. Use
linear superposition to satisfy the boundary conditions and nd the potential
everywhere inside the sphere for r < a and r > a. Show that in the limit a 0,
(r, , )
Q
2
0
r
3
_
1
r
5
b
5
_
P
2
(cos )
The problem with a grounded sphere of radius b can be solved by the method of
images. In particular, the image charge solution modies (12) to
=
q
4
0
_

2
r
+
1
|r a z|
+
1
|r + a z|
+
2
b

b/a
|r (b
2
/a) z|

b/a
|r + (b
2
/a) z|
_
The Legendre polynomial expansion gives
=
q
4
0
_
2
b

2
r
+

l=0
_
r
l
<
r
l+1
>

b
a
r
l
(b
2
/a)
l+1
_
[P
l
(cos ) + P
l
(cos )]
_
=
q
2
0
_
1
b

1
r
+

l even
_
r
l
<
r
l+1
>

1
b
_
ar
b
2
_
l
_
P
l
(cos )
_
For r > a, this reads
(r > a) =
q
2
0

l=2,4,...
_
a
l
r
l+1

1
b
_
ar
b
2
_
l
_
P
l
(cos )
=
q
2
0

l=2,4,...
a
l
r
l+1
_
1
_
r
b
_
2l+1
_
P
l
(cos )
As above, only the l = 2 term survives when we take the limit a 0

Q
2
0
r
3
_
1
_
r
b
_
5
_
P
2
(cos ) =
Q
4
0
r
3
_
1
_
r
b
_
5
_
(3 cos
2
1)