Physics 106b: Electrodynamics

Problem Set I
Due: 4pm, February 19, 2010
deposit in TA mailboxes, Bridge

Remember: Late homework will be granted 50% credit up to one week late, unless you
have a note from the Dean or a health official.

Reading: Griffiths Chapter 2

Problems:

1. Prove ( A • B)  A  (  B)  B  (  A)  ( A  )B  (B  ) A using  ijk . It may

help to first prove  ijk  klm   il jm   im jl , recalling that repeated indices are summed
over.

2. Evaluate, in closed form, the delta-function integral:




 (sin( x))
dx
( x  1) 2
1/ 2

No Mathematica, or similar software allowed!

3. Calculate the force per unit length between two identical thin parallel charged strips,
each of width W and separated by a distance d. The surface charge density  on the two
strips is the same and is completely uniform. Assume the length of the strips is much
longer than both W and d. (In other words, you may assume the lengths are infinite. The
total force would then also be infinite, but I am only asking for the force per unit length.)
W

d

Show that in the limit d >> W you get the same result as for two line charges.

4. Consider two infinitely long parallel wires, separated by a distance d. One wire carries
a uniform charge per unit length of , while the other carries -. Show that the
equipotentials for this system are circular cylinders. Sketch them.

5. Using the results of problem 4, determine the capacitance per unit length between two
infinitely long parallel conducting cylinders, each of radius R, with a center-to-center
separation d = 4R.