(a) For the configuration in Prob. 4.5, calculate the forceon p2due to p1and the force on p1due to p2. Are the answers consistent with Newton's third law?

(b) Find the total torque on p2 with respect to the center ofp1and compare it with

the torque onp1 about that same point. [Hint:combine your answer to (a) with

the result of Prob. 4.5.]

Short Answer

Expert verified
  1. The forceon p2due to p1is 3p1p24πε0r4z^.

The force on p1due top2 is 3p1p24πε0r4z^.

These are equal and opposite and hence follow Newton's third law of motion.

  1. The total torque on p2with respect to the center ofp1 is 2p1p24πε0r3x^.

This is equal and opposite to the torque on p1about that same point.

Step by step solution

01

Given data

There are two dipoles having moments p1andp2perpendicular to each other.

02

Force on a dipole

The force on a dipole having moment pin the presence of an electric field Eis

F=(p.)E......(1)

The cross product of dipole moment of the second dipole and the electric field due to the first dipole is

P2×E1=-p1p24ττε0r3.....(2)

Here,ε0 is the permittivity of free space.

03

Force on the dipoles

Let the second dipole moment be

p=p2y^

The electric field due to the first dipole at the position of the second dipole is

E=-p14πε0y3z^

Substitute this in equation (1) to get the force on the second dipole due to the first dipole

localid="1657775080935" F=p2y-p14πε0y3z^=3p1p24πε0y4z^=3p1p24πε0r4z^

To find the electric field due to the second dipole, it is kept at the origin and pointed towards z axis. The expression for the electric field due to the first dipole at the position of the second dipole is

E=p24πε3xzx^+3yzy^-x2+y2-2z2z^x2+y2+z25/2

Thus from equation (1), he force on the first dipole due to the second dipole is

F2=-p1E2yx=0,y=0.z=r

Substitute the values in the above equation006E

localid="1657775867177" F2=-p1yp24πε03xzx^+3yzy^-x2+y2-2z2z^x2+y2+z25/2x=0,y=0.z=-r=-p1p24πε0-522y3xzx^+3yzy^-x2+y2-2z2z^x2+y2+z27/2+3yzy^-2yz^x2+y2+z25/2x=0,y=0.z=r=3p1p24πε0r4y^

y^in the turned coordinate is equal to z^in the original coordinate.

Thus, the forces are3p1p24πε0r4z^ and -3p1p24πε0r4z^. They are equal and opposite and hence are consistent with Newton's third law of motion.

04

Torque on the dipoles

The expression for the torque on the second dipole is

τ^=p2×E1+r×F2

Here, r=-ry^

Use equation (2) and substitute values in the above equation

τ=-p1p24πε0r3x^+ry^×3p1p24πε0r4z^=-p1p24πε0r3+3p1p24πε0r3x^=2p1p24πε0r3x^

This is equal and opposite to the torque on the first dipole.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

The space between the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor (Fig. 4.24)

is filled with two slabs of linear dielectric material. Each slab has thickness a, sothe total distance between the plates is 2a. Slab 1 has a dielectric constant of 2, andslab 2 has a dielectric constant of 1.5. The free charge density on the top plate is aand on the bottom plate-σ.

(a) Find the electric displacement Dineach slab.

(b) Find the electric field E in each slab.

(c) Find the polarization P in each slab.

(d) Find the potential difference between the plates.

(e) Find the location and amount of all bound charge.

(f) Now that you know all the charge (free and bound), recalculate the field in eachslab, and confirm your answer to (b).

The Clausius-Mossotti equation (Prob. 4.41) tells you how to calculatethe susceptibility of a nonpolar substance, in terms of the atomic polariz-ability. The Langevin equation tells you how to calculate the susceptibility of apolar substance, in terms of the permanent molecular dipole moment p. Here's howit goes:

(a) The energy of a dipole in an external field E isu=-p·Ecosθ

(Eq. 4.6), whereθ is the usual polar angle, if we orient the z axis along E.

Statistical mechanics says that for a material in equilibrium at absolute temperature

T, the probability of a given molecule having energy u is proportional to

the Boltzmann factor,

exp(-u/kT)

The average energy of the dipoles is therefore

<u>=ue-(u/kt)e-(u/kT)

where =sinθdθdϕ, and the integration is over all orientations θ:0π;ϕ:02πUse this to show that the polarization of a substance

containing N molecules per unit volume is

P=Np[cothpE/kT-kT/pE] (4.73)

That's the Langevin formula. Sketch as a function ofPE/KT .

(b) Notice that for large fields/low temperatures, virtually all the molecules arelined up, and the material is nonlinear. Ordinarily, however, kT is much greaterthan p E. Show that in this regime the material is linear, and calculate its susceptibility,in terms of N, p, T, and k. Compute the susceptibility of water at 20°C,and compare the experimental value in Table 4.2. (The dipole moment of wateris 6.1×10-30C·m) This is rather far off, because we have again neglected thedistinction between E and Eelse· The agreement is better in low-density gases,for which the difference between E and Eelse is negligible. Try it for water vapor

at 100°C and 1 atm.

Check the Clausius-Mossotti relation (Eq. 4.72) for the gases listed in Table 4.1. (Dielectric constants are given in Table 4.2.) (The densities here are so small that Eqs. 4.70 and 4.72 are indistinguishable. For experimental data that confirm the Clausius-Mossotti correction term see, for instance, the first edition of Purcell's Electricity and Magnetism, Problem 9.28.)

A spherical conductor, of radius a,carries a charge Q(Fig. 4.29). It

is surrounded by linear dielectric material of susceptibilityXeout to radius b.Find the energy of this configuration (Eq. 4.58).

A point charge Qis "nailed down" on a table. Around it, at radius R,

is a frictionless circular track on which a dipolep rides, constrained always to point tangent to the circle. Use Eq. 4.5 to show that the electric force on the dipole is

F=Q4ττε0pR3

Notice that this force is always in the "forward" direction (you can easily confirm

this by drawing a diagram showing the forces on the two ends of the dipole). Why

isn't this a perpetual motion machine?

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