Use Gauss's law to find the electric field inside and outside a spherical shell of radius Rthat carries a uniform surface charge densityσCompare your answer to Prob. 2.7.

Short Answer

Expert verified

The electric field inside the spherical shell is 0 The electric field outside the spherical shell isE=4πR2σr^r2ε0.The result is same as the result of problem 2.7.

Step by step solution

01

Describe the given information

It is given that a spherical shell of radiusRcarries a uniform surface charge densitya.The electric field inside and outside a spherical shell has to be evaluated.

02

Define the Gauss law

If there is a surface area enclosing a volume, possessing a chargeqinside the volume then the electric field due to the surface or volume charge is given as

Here qis the elemental surface area,localid="1654335054198" ε0is the permittivity of free surface.

03

Obtain the electric field inside the spherical shell

Consider a Gaussian surface of radiusrsuch thatr<Rinside the spherical shell as shown below:

It is known that the spherical shell consist the surface charge only. So, the charge enclosed by the shell is 0, that is,qenclosed=o


Apply Gauss law, on the Gaussian surface, as,

Thus the above equation states that for, the electric field is 0. In other words, the electric field inside the spherical shell is 0

04

Obtain the electric field outside the spherical shell

Consider a Gaussian surface of radius rsuch that localid="1654335162136" r>R, outside the spherical shell as shown below:

It is known that the spherical shell consist the surface charge of density σFor a Gaussian surface of radius rthus the surface area is localid="1654334729577" 4πR2Thus, the total charge inside the Gaussian surface is localid="1654334774208" 4πR2σ

Apply Gauss law, on the Gaussian surface, as,

E.da=qenclosedε0=2πR2σε0=4πR2σr2ε0r^

Thus, the electric field outside the spherical shell isE=4πR2σr2ε0r^ The result is same as the result of problem 2.7.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Find the electric field a distance zabove the center of a flat circular disk of radius R(Fig. 2.1 0) that carries a uniform surface charge a.What does your formula give in the limit R? Also check the case localid="1654687175238" zR.

Using Eqs. 2.27 and 2.30, find the potential at a distance zabove the

center of the charge distributions in Fig. 2.34. In each case, compute E=-V,and compare your answers with Ex. 2.1, Ex. 2.2, and Prob. 2.6, respectively. Suppose that we changed the right-hand charge in Fig. 2.34a to -q;what then is the potential at P?What field does that suggest? Compare your answer to Pro b. 2.2, and explain carefully any discrepancy.

In a vacuum diode, electrons are "boiled" off a hot cathode, at potential zero, and accelerated across a gap to the anode, which is held at positive potential V0. The cloud of moving electrons within the gap (called space charge) quickly builds up to the point where it reduces the field at the surface of the cathode to zero. From then on, a steady current I flows between the plates.

Suppose the plates are large relative to the separation (A>>d2in Fig. 2.55), so

that edge effects can be neglected. Then V,ρand v (the speed of the electrons) are all functions of x alone.

  1. Write Poisson's equation for the region between the plates.

  1. Assuming the electrons start from rest at the cathode, what is their speed at point x , where the potential is V(x)?

  1. In the steady state, I is independent of x. What, then, is the relation between p and v?

  1. Use these three results to obtain a differential equation for V, by eliminating ρand v.

  1. Solve this equation for Vas a function of x, V0and d. Plot V(x), and compare it to the potential without space-charge. Also, find ρand v as functions of x.

  1. Show that
    I=kV03/2

and find the constant K. (Equation 2.56 is called the Child-Langmuir law. It holds for other geometries as well, whenever space-charge limits the current. Notice that the space-charge limited diode is nonlinear-it does not obey Ohm's law.)

Prove or disprove (with a counterexample) the following

Theorem:Suppose a conductor carrying a net charge Q,when placed in an

external electric field Ee ,experiences a force F; if the external field is now

reversed ( localid="1657519836206" Ee-Ee), the force also reverses ( localid="1657519875486" F-F).

What if we stipulate that the external field isuniform?

Find the interaction energy (0E1.E2dτ0E1-E2dτinEq.2.47)

for two point

charges q1and q2a distance aapart.

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