CAMPU

S
Arranged by:
THE METHOD OF IMAGES GROUP 4
GRACE D M NAIBAHO (4183121055)
JESSICA K HARTONO (4183121036)
PATRICIA R SINABUTAR (4182121014)
CONTENTS
01 The Classic Image Problem

02 Induced Surface Charge

03 Force and Energy

04 Other Image Problems

 The Classic Image
01 Problem
Suppose a point charge q is held at d above an infinite grounded conducting
plane.
Question: What is the potential in the region above the plane?
 q will induce a certain amount of negative charge on the nearby surface of
the conductor.
 how can we possibly calculate the potential?
 we don't know how much charge is induced,
 or how it is distributed.
 
This problem is to solve Poisson's equation in the
region z > 0, with a single
point charge q at (0, 0, d), subject to the boundary
conditions:
1. V = 0 when z = 0 (since the conducting plane is grounded),
2. V -+ 0 far from the charge.
 Trick: Forget about the actual problem.
CAMPUS
Consider two point charges, +q at (0, 0, d) and -q at (0,0, -d),
and no conducting plane.

It produces exactly the same potential as the original

configuration, in the "upper“ region z > 0.
 Induced charge (-q)

 
1  q q 
V ( x, y , z )  
4 0  2 2
 x  y   z  d  x 2  y 2   z  d  
2 2

This solution also follows that

V = 0 when z = 0 (since the conducting plane is grounded),
V -+ 0 far from the charge.
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 Induced Surface
02 Charge
  
1   q q 
   
4 z  x2  y2  z d 2 x2  y2  z d 2 
    z0
d


Induced charge (-q)
Boundary condition requires that

(in this case)

CAMPUS

The total induced charge is:

 
→ a little easier to use polar coordinates:(r.ϕ),
 
 Force and Energy
03
The charge q is attracted toward the plane, because of the induced
charge –q .

Energy, however, is not the same in the two cases.

1) With the two point charges and no conductor:

2) For a single charge and conducting plane the energy is half of this:
 (Why?) Think of the energy stored in the fields:
CAMPUS

In the first case à both the regions

(z > 0 and z < 0) contribute equally. But in the
second case à only the upper region contains
a nonzero field

(Why?) By calculating the work required to bring

q in from infinity:

Induced charge (-q)

 Other Image Problems
04
Example 3.2 Find the potential outside the sphere.
 
The image charge is

placed a distance

The potential of this configuration is

 YO U
ANK
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