PIC Sale a) A ee aN (@o Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions PROBLEMS anp SOLUTIONS on ELECTROMAGNETISM Compiled by: The Physics Coaching Class University of Science and Technology of China Refereed by: Zhao Shu-ping, You Jun-han, Zhu Jun-jie Edited by Lim Yung-kuoMajor American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions PROBLEMS anp SOLUTIONS on FEI ECTROMA GNETISM Hy LINWIVEAAUIL NEL LUIVE Compiled by: Ak The Physics Coaching Class CEN UY —s . SN ©, University of Science and & 3 Technology of China uw - 30” Refereed by: Zhao Shu-ping, You Jun-han, Zhu Jun-jie Edited by: Lim Yung-kuo V World Scientific New Jersey « London « Singapore « Hong KongPublished by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. § Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: 27 Warren Steet, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H SHE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A caiaivgue record for this buvk is avaiiabie from the First published 1993 Reprinted 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, ‘Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions PRO SAND Si i ELECTR Copyright © 1993 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd Al rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. 12 fee through the Copyright ‘A. In this case permission to For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a cny Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, photocopy is not required from the publisher ISBN 981-02-0625-9 db ISBN 981-02-0626-7 (pbk) Printed in Singapore by World Scientific Printers (S) Pte LtdPART 1 ELECTROSTATICSserMing Q “Gey \ S 9 o}PREFACE ‘This series of physics problems and solutions, which consists of seven volumes — Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Optics, Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics, Quantum Me- chanics, Solid State Physics and Relativity, contains a selection of 2550 probiems from the graduate schooi entrance and qualifying examination papers of seven U.S. universities — California University Berkeley Cam- pus, Columbia University, Chicago University, Massachusetts Institute of ‘Technology, New York State University Buffalo Campus, Princeton Uni- versity, Wisconsin University — as well as the CUSPEA and C. C. Ting’s papers for selection of Chinese students for further studies in U.S.A. and their solutions which represent the effort of more than 70 Chinese physicists plus some 20 more who checked the solutions. ‘The series is remarkable for its comprehensive coverage. In each area the problems span a wide spectrum of topics while many problems overlap several areas. The problems themseives are remarkabie for their versatil- ity in applying the physical laws and principles, their uptodate realistic situations, and their scanty demand on mathematical skills. Many of the problems involve order of magnitude calculations which one often requires in an experimental situation for estimating a quantity from a simple model. Inshort, the exercises blend together the objectives of enhancement of one’s understanding of the physical principles and ability of practical application. ‘The solutions as presented generally just provide a guidance to solving the problems, rather than step by step manipulation, and leave much to the students to work out for themselves, of whom much is demanded of the basic knowledge in physics. Thus the series would provide an invaluable complement to the textbooks. The present volume for Electromagnetism consists of five parts: elec- tostatics, magnetostatic and quasi-stationary eiectromagnetic fields, cir- cuit analysis, electromagnetic waves, relativity and particle-field interac- tions, and contains 440 problems. 34 Chinese physicists were involved in the task of preparing and checking the solutions. In editing, no attempt has been made to unify the physical terms, units and symbols. Rather, they are left to the setters’ and solvers’ own preference so as to reflect the realistic situation of the usage today. Greatvi Preface pains has been taken to trace the logical steps from the first principles to the final solutions, frequently even to the extent of rewriting the entire solution. In addition, a subject index has been included to facilitate the location of topics. These editorial efforts hopefully will euhance the value of the volume to the students and teachers alike. Yung-Kuo Lim EditorINTRODUCTION Solving problems in school work is the exercise of the mind and ex- amination questions are usually picked from the problems in school work. Working out problems is an essential and important aspect of the study of Physics. Major American University Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Soiutions is a series of books which consists of seven volumes. The subjects of each volume and the respective referees (in parentheses) are as follows: 1, Mechanics (Qiang Yan-qi, Gu En-pu, Cheng Jia-fu, Li Ze-hua, Yang De-tian) . Electromagnetism (Zhao Shu-ping, You Jun-han, Zhu Jun-jie) . Optics (Bai Gui-ru, Guo Guang-can) . Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics (Jin Huai-cheng, Yang Bao- zhong, Fan Yang-mei) ‘Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics (Zheng Jiu-ren) Quantum Mechanics (Zhang Yong-de, Zhu Dong-pei, Fan Hong-yi) . Solid State Physics, Relativity and Miscellaneous Topics (Zhang Jia-lu, Zhou You-yuan, Zhang Shi-ling) This series covers almost all aspects of University Physics and contains 2550 problems, most of which are solved in detail. The problems have been carefully chosen from $100 problems, of which some came from the China-U.S. Physics Examination and Application Pro- gram, some were selected from the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination on Ex- perimental High Energy Physics sponsored by Chao Chong Ting. The rest came from the graduate school entrance examination questions of seven world-renowned American universities: Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Princeton University and State Univer- sity of New York, Buifaio. In general, examination problems in physics in American universities do not involve too much mathematics; however, they are to a large ox- tent characterized by the following three aspects: some problems involving various frontier subjects and overlapping domains of science are selected by professors directly from their own research work and show a “modern style”. Some problems involve broad fields and require a quick mind to pew s aeviii Introduet analyse, while the methods needed for solving the other problems are sim- ple and practical but requires a full “touch of physics”. Indeed, we ven- ture to opine that the problems, as » whole, embody to some extent the characteristics of American science and culture, as well as the philosophy underlying American education. ‘Therefore, we considered it worthwhile to collect and solve these prob- lems and introduce them to students and teachers, even though the involved was extremely strenuous. As many as a hundred teachers and graduate students took part in this time-consuming task. A total of 440 problems makes up this volume of five parte: electrostat- ics (108), magneiosiaiic and quasi-siationary eieciromagneiic fi circuit analysis (90), electromagnetic waves (67), and relativity, particle- field interactions (56). In scope and depth, most of the problems conform to the undergrad- uate physics syllabi for electromagnetism, circuit analysis and electrody- namics in most universities. However, many of them are rather profound, versities often fuse fundamental principles with the latest research activities. ‘Thus the problems may help the reader not only to enhance understanding in the basic principles, but also to cultivate the ability of solving practical problems in realistic environment. International units are used whenever possible, but in order to conform to some of the problems, Gaussian units are also used. This in fact would give the student broader training and wider experience. This volume is the result of collective efforts of 34 physicists involved in working out and checking of the solutions, among them Zheng Dao-chen, Hu You-qiu, Ning Bo, Zhu Xue-liang, and Zhao Shu-ping.CONTENTS Preface Introduction Part I Electrostatics 1. Basic Laws of Electrostaties (1001-1023) . Electrostatic Field in a Conductor (1024-1042) . Electrostatic Field in a Dielectric Medium (1043-1061) . Typical Methods for Solution of Electrostatic Problems — Separation of Variables, Methods of Images, Green’s Function and Multipole Expansion (1062-1095) tions (1096-1108) Pen s Miscellaneous App Part II Magnetostatic Field and Quasi-Stationary Electromagnetic Fields 1, Magnetic Field of Currents (2001-2038) 2. Electromagnetic Induction (2039-2063) 3. Action of Electromagnetic Field on Current-Carrying Conductors and Charged Particles (2064-2090) 4 Miscellaneous Applications (2091-2119) Part III Circuit Analysis . Basic Circuit Analysis (3001-3026) . Electric and Magnetic Circuits (3027-3044) Analog Circuits (3045-3057) Digital Circuit Nuclear Electronics (3066-3082) . Miscellaneous Problems (3083-3090) Re re os vii 26 48 72 120 147 193 220 260x Contents Part IV Electromagnetic Waves 1. Plane Electromagnetic Waves (4001-4009) 2. Reflection and Refraction of Electromagnetic Waves on Interface between Two Media (4010-4024) 3. Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in a Medium (4025-4045) 4B (4048-4067) 4. (4046--406' Part V Relativity, Particle-Field Interactions . The Lorentz Transformation (5001-5017) Electromagnetic Field of a Charged Particle (5018-5025) . Motion of a Charged Particle in Electromagnetic Field (5026-5039) Scattering and Dispersion of Electromagnetic Waves (5040-5056) em nn Index to ProblemsProblems and Solutions on ElectromagnetismserMing Q “Gey \ S 9 o}1. BASIC LAWS OF ELECTROSTATICS (1001-1023) 1001 A static charge distribution produces a radial electric field em E=A——e,, (a) What is the charge density? Sketch it. (b) What is the total charge Q? (MIT) Solution: (a) The charge density is given by Maxwell’s equation p=V-D=e0V-E. As V-uv=Vu-v+uV-v, [res : = +e"V. (3) | : Making use of Dirac’s delta function 4(r) with properties V-E 6(r)=0 for r¥#0, =0o for r=0, [av =1 if V encloses r=0, Iv =0 if otherwise, we have Thus prea oA, te er +O + snera0)| —Y + AnegA 6(r). 34 Problems & Solutions on Electromagnetism Hence the charge distribution consists of a positive charge 4%€0A at the origin and a spherically symmetric negative charge distribution in the sur- rounding space, as shown in Fig. 1.1. Pir) br egAB(r) ° = foAb br Py Fig. 1.1 (b) The total charge is a= | ow all space =e = -f[ soAbe aarPdr + 4neA6(r)dV ls all space = Anco Alem] + 4xcoA = —4nepA + 4nepA = 0. It can also be obtained from Gauss’ flux theorem: Q lim $ eoB- dS re Js or lim 4negAe’ rav00 in agreement with the above.1002 Suppose that, instead of the Coulomb force law, one found experimen- tally that the force between any two charges q; and gz was Fy = 22. Ua vari), 2 ‘4meo rey 7 where a is a constant. (a) Write down the appropriate electric field E surrounding a point charge g. (b) Choose a path around this point charge and calculate the line integral § E- dl. Compare with the Coulomb result. () Find § E - dS over a spherical surface of radius r; with the point charge at this center. Compare with the Coulomb result. (4) Repeat (c) at radius r, +A and find V-E at a distance r; from the point charge. Compare with the Coulomb result. Note that A is a small quantity. (Wisconsin) Solution: (a) The electric field surrounding the point charge q is Br) = RU - var ler, where r is the distance between a space point and the point charge q, and e, is a unit vector directed from q to the space point. as} of SY Fig. 1.2 (b) As in Fig. 1.2, for the closed path I, we find dl-e, = dlcos@ = dr6 Problems & Solutions on Electromagnetism and fran fScho-vem = weal fel) +78 fF] =0- From Coulomb’s law Fiz = z%s-e,,,, we can obtain the electric field of the point charge Clearly, one has So the Coulomb result is the same as that of this problem. (c) Let $ be a spherical surface of radius r; with the charge q at its center. Defining the surface element dS = dSe,, we have = p Eds = fav = £0-ven). From Coulomb’s law and Gauss’ law, we get fe-as=t. A eo The two results differ by £/ari. (d) Using the result of (c), the surface integral at ri + A is fea Ea- vai¥a)). Consider a volume V! bounded by two epherical shells S, and S with radii =r; and r=r1 +A respectively. Gauss’ divergence theorem gives f f Faas Sh. EM:Blectrostat As the directions of dS on S, and S2 are outwards from V’, we have for small A £ [Var Fa) + vari] = Flin +.0)° - FAB) As 4 € 1, we can approximately set (1+2) witnd, nh n vaq V-E(r=n)= Frees? 5° 1 Thus one gets On the other hand, Coulomb’s law would give the divergence of the electric field produced by a point charge q as V-E(r) = Zan). 1003 Static charges are distributed along the z-axis (one-dimensional) in the interval —a < 2! a. (a) Write down an expression for the electrostatic potential &(z)at a point z on the axis in terms of p(z’). (b) Derive a multipole expansion for the potential valid for z > a. (c) For each charge configuration given in Fig. 1.3, find (i) the total charge Q = f pdz’, (ii) the dipole moment P = f 2'pde’, (iii) the quadrupole moment Qee = 2 f2pdz’, (iv) the leading term (in powers of 1/2) in the potential ® at a (Wisconsin)8 Problems & Solw m Electromagnetiom @ (a) (a) Solution: (a) The electrostatic potential at a point on z-axis is 1 f* of) a %@)= Fe Jie 21” (b) For z > a,a > 2’ > —a, we have Hence the multipole expansion of (2) is wie) = | f Mdae sf" aes [a s, ane (c) The charge configuration (1) can be represented by o(2') = 96(2"), for which @) Q=a; (i) P=0; (ii) Qee 0; (iv) &(2)= Te ‘The charge configuration (II) can be represented by 1) =—-¢5(2'4 2 ya Az’) = a6(e + $) +08(e ‘), for which (i) Q=0; (ii) P=qa; (iii) Q.2=0; (iv) 4(z)Blectrostati 9 ‘The charge configuration (III) can be represented by a oe") = 45(2"+ $) +46(«" = 5) — 296(2"), for which @ Q@=0; (i) P=0; (ill) Qee=a0s iv) Me) = FE 1004 Two uniform infinite sheets of electric charge densities +o and —o intersect at right angles. Find the magnitude and direction of the electric field everywhere and sketch the lines of E. Solution: First let us consider the infinite sheet of charge density +0. The mag- nitude of the electric field cansed by it at any nace point is o E= 20" The direction of the electric field is perpendicular to the surface of the sheet. For the two orthogonal sheets of charge densities :to, superposition of their electric fields yields The direction of E is as shown in Fig. 1.4. oo Fig. 1.410 ns on Electromagnetiom 1005 Gauss’ law would be invalid if (a) there were magnetic monopoles, (b) the inverse-square law were not exactly true, (c) the velocity of light were not a universal constant. (cer) Solution: The answer is (b). 1006 ‘An electric charge can be held in a position of stable equilibrium: (a) hy a purely electrostatic field, (b) by a mechanical force, (c) neither of the above. (ccr) Solution: The answer is (c). 1007 If P is the polarization vector and E is the clectrie field, then in the equation P = aE, a in general is: (a) scalar, (b) vector, (c) tensor. (ccr) Solution: The answer is (c). g of it. Calculate the electric field and potential & center of the ring.Electrostatics n (b) Consider a charge —Q constrained to slide along the axis of the ring. Show that the charge will execute simple harmonic motion for small displacements perpendicular to the plane of the ring. (Wisconsin) Solution: Ag in Fig. 1.5, take the z-axis along the axis of the ring. The electric field and the potential at the center of the ring are given by —ez Fig. 1.5 The electric field at a point P on the z-axis is given by Qz Be) = Fees peer Thus a negative charge —@ at point p is acted upon by a force Fs __ Gneg(R? + Pe” F(z) = As z € R,F(z) x z and —Q will execute simple harmonic motion. 1009 An amount of charge q is uniformly spread out in a layer on the surface of a disc of radius a. (a) Use elementary methods based on the azimuthal symmetry of the charge metry.