Uniformly Charged Finite Plane


To find E above the midpoint of a plane of length L , width W and
uniform surfact charge density σ (charge per area), slice the plane
into many thin rods.
z
θ θ
dE dE

r
z θ

L x
dq x

W dq = σ dA = σ L dx

The horizontal components of dE from two symmetrically located
thin slices will cancel and the z-components sum, so Enet is along
the z-axis.
 z 
dEz = dEslice cosθ ; Ez = 2 ∫
half plane
r
dEslice

We can find the the electric field due to a thin slice by using our
earlier result for the electric field along the perpendicular bisector of
a uniformely charged thin rod of length L and charge Q .

Here, the thin rod has charge dq = σ L dx and the point on the z-axis
is a perpendicular distance r away from the rod:
 E
 2ke Q  2ke σ L dx
E= dEslice =
h 4 h2 + L2 r 4 r2 + L2
h
L, Q


Substituting for dEslice

W /2 z 2ke σ L dx W /2 dx
Ez = 2 ∫ 0 = 4k σ Lz ∫0 x 2 + z2 4 x 2 + z 2 + L2
( ) ( )
e
r r 4 r 2 + L2

We can evaluate the integral (see “Doing the integral”) to find the
simple expresion:

L /W
Efinite plane = Ez = 4keσ arctan
2 ( z / W ) 4 (z /W ) + ( L /W ) +1
2 2

As z → 0 , arctan ∞ returns a value of π / 2 and Efinite plane → E0 = 2π kσ

This is the same result we had for the infinitely large circular disk.

Dividing both sides by E0

Efinite plane 2 L /W
= arctan
π
2 ( z / W ) 4 (z /W ) + ( L /W ) +1
E0 2 2

For a given plane, L /W is known, so Ez / E0 is simply a function of

z /W , the relative height above the plane.