Supplementary Notes

1
Example 3 on Coulomb’s Law
 To solve this, divide the line up into 2 symmetrical lengths on
either side of the point P.

 dx
dE  2 cos  a z
4 o r 2

a
cos   and r  a 2  x 2
r
1 L 2 a 2 a  x  L
E  3 dx a z =
4 0 0  a 2  x 2  2 4 o
 2 2
a a  x 
2

0
az

1 2 L
 az
4 o a a 2  L2
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Example 4 (details)
1  dl
Ez 
4 o l r  2
cos  a z
a
where r  a  b and cos 
2 2 2

r
1 a
Ez  
4 o (a 2  b 2 ) a 2  b 2 l
dl a z

1 a
= 2 b a z
4 o (a 2  b 2 ) a 2  b 2
1  2 ab 1  ab
 az  az
4 o (a  b )
2 2 32
2 o (a  b )
2 2 32

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Example 5 (details)
and for the whole disc:
1 b r
Ez  2 a  dr a z
4 o a 
3
0 2
r 2 2

1 1 1 
 2 a    az
4 o  a a 2
 b 2


2 
 Note that for b >> a: lim E z  az  az
b  4 o 2 o

which is the equation for the electric field from a charged plane.

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 Example 5 (details)
 What happens to Ez for a >> b:
The disc should start to look like a point charge at a distance.

 12
1 1 1 1  b2  1 1  1 b2  b2
   1  2    1  2 
 3
a a b
2 2 a a a  a a  2 a  2a

1b 1 2 b  2
Q 2
 Ez  2 a 3 a z  az  az
4 o 2a 4 o 2a 2
4 o a 2

i.e. it looks like the field at distance a from a point charge.

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 Electrostatic Induction
 When a conducting body is placed in an electric field, charges
are redistributed inside the conducting body to make the net
internal field zero, a phenomenon known as electrostatic
induction. Consequently the original field is affected or
distorted. In particular, the external field would be normal to
the conductor surface.

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 Faraday’s Cage
 Consider an inner area being enclosed by a conducting body.
Because the field inside the conducting body is zero, the
inner area and outer area are cut off. Hence external field
would not affect the inner area and vice versa.

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 Equivalent Sources
 For the region of interest, there are many different possible
charge sources that would produce the same field. For example,
for r > a, the field produced by a spherical uniform volume charge
of radius a and total charge Q, a hollow sphere of radius a and
total charge Q, or a point charge Q, would all be indistinguishable.
Hence one technique in solving a given field problem is to replace
a given system of charges by a simpler equivalent source that
would produce the same ‘external ’ field.

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 Gauss’s Law

The electric flux passing through any closed surface is equal

to the total charge enclosed by that surface

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 Development of Gauss’s Law

We define the differential

surface area (a vector) as

where n is the unit outward

normal vector to the surface,
and where dS is the area of the
differential spot on the surface

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Mathematical Statement of Gauss’s Law

in which the charge can exist in the form of point charges:

or a continuous charge distribution:

Line charge:

Surface charge:

Volume charge:

For a volume charge, we would have:

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Example 2 (Electric Scalar Potential)
 Find the potential on the axis of a charged ring.
Take point at infinity as zero potential.
For the charge element dL, V   dL
4 0 r
Hence for the whole ring,
 dL   2 a
V   ring dL  4 0 R
ring
4 0 R 4 0 R
Q

4 0 z 2  a 2
since Q = 2a

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Example 3
 Find the potential difference between the points A(A, A, zA)
and B(B, B, zB) due to an infinite line charge with density .
In cylindrical coordinates, 
E  a
2 0 

dL = d a + d a + dz az
A A 
VAB    E.dL    d B A
B B 2 0 
 B
 ln
2 0  A
Note that in this case it is not possible to set a point at infinity
to zero potential since as B  , ln B  .
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Boundary condition between two surfaces

 Consider the line integral of E over the closed path shown.

for h  0
1
Hence Et1 = Et2 and Dt1  Dt 2
2
Next consider a Gaussian surface in the form of a cylindrical
pillbox of area s and height h  0. Applying Gauss’s Law,

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Boundary condition between two surfaces
 Dn1  Dn 2  
 Notice that  here refers to the surface free charge density
since the bounded surface charge is taken care of by the
relative permittivity. Since normally there will not be any free
charge if it is a surface between two dielectrics,
Hence Dn1 – Dn2 = 0
and 1En1 = 2En2
There is a change in the direction of D.
1
with tan 1  tan  2
2

Notice that if 1 > 2, then, D1  D 2 , E1  E 2

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