Find the potential on the axis of a uniformly charged solid cylinder,

a distance zfrom the center. The length of the cylinder is L, its radius is R, and

the charge density is p. Use your result to calculate the electric field at this point.

(Assume that z>L/2.)

Short Answer

Expert verified

The electric field isp2ε0L-R2+z+L22+R2+z-L22z^

Step by step solution

01

Define the uniformly charged solid cylinder and the potential at the equatorial position.

Consider the below figure, the electric filed and electric potential on the axis of solid cylinder.

Here, the figure shows the uniformly charged solid cylinder and its axis is the along the axis at the center of the origin.

Here, Lis the Length of the cylinder, R is the radius of the cylinder and surface charge density.

Write the potential at the equatorial position due to uniform surface charge of disc is given as,

dV=σ20(R2+Z2-Z)

Here, zdistance from the center of a disc at the point P.

02

Determine electric field.

Consider the thickness of each disc is dz.

Consider distance of the slice from the point Pwith respect to left end is .

Consider the distance of the slice from the point Pwith respect to right end isz-L2.Write the formula for the potential at point due to the whole cylinder isz-L2obtained by integrating the equation with limits toz-L2toz+L2.

V=p2ε0z-L2z+L2R2+z2-dz=p2ε012zR2+z2+R2Inz+R2+z2-z2z-L2z+L2=p4ε0z+L2R2+z+L22-z-L2R2+z-L22+RInz+L2+R2+z+L22z-L2+R2+z-L22-2zLNowfindingtheelectricfieldduetothecylinderatthepointp,E=-VTheelectricfieldalongthezaxisis,E=-Vzz^

Substitutep4ε0z+L2R2+z+L22-z-L2R2+z-L22+RInz+L2+R2+z+L22z-L2+R2+z-L22-2zLforVinaboveequation.E=-z^p4ε0zz+L2R2+z+L22-z-L2R2+z-L22+RInz+L2+R2+z+L22z-L2+R2+z-L22-2zLNowpartiallydifferentiatingtheaboveequationwithrespecttoz.

E=-z^p4ε0R2+z+L22+z+L22R2+z+L22-R2+z-L22-z-L22R2+z-L22+R21+z+L2R2+z+L22z+L2+R2+z+L22-1+z-L2R2+z-L22z-L2+R2+z-L22-2L

Simplify the above equation,

E=-z^p4ε02R2+z+L22-2R2+z-L22-2L=p2ε0L-R2+z+L22+R2+z-L22z^Therefore,theelectricfieldisp2ε0L-R2+z+L22+R2+z-L22z^

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Find the capacitance per unit length of two coaxial metal cylindrical tubes, of radiaandb.

The electric potential of some configuration is given by the expression

V(r)=Ae-λrr

Where Aand λare constants. Find the electric fieldE(r), the charge densityρ(r),and the total charge(Q).

A charge q sits at the back comer of a cube, as shown in Fig. 2.17.What is the flux of E through the shaded side?

We know that the charge on a conductor goes to the surface, but just

how it distributes itself there is not easy to determine. One famous example in which the surface charge density can be calculated explicitly is the ellipsoid:

x2a2+y2b2+z2c2=1

In this case15

σ=Q4πabc(x2a4+y2b4+z2c4)-1/2

(2.57) where Q is the total charge. By choosing appropriate values for a , b and c. obtain (from Eq. 2.57):

(a) the net (both sides) surface charge density a(r) on a circular disk of radius R; (b) the net surface charge density a(x) on an infinite conducting "ribbon" in the xy plane, which straddles they axis from x = - a to x = a (let A be the total charge per unit length of ribbon);

(c) the net charge per unit length λ(x)on a conducting "needle," running from x = - a to x = a. In each case, sketch the graph of your result.

Two infinitely long wires running parallel to the x axis carry uniform

charge densities +λand -λ.

(a) Find the potential at any point (x,y,z)using the origin as your reference.

(b) Show that the equipotential surfaces are circular cylinders, and locate the axis

and radius of the cylinder corresponding to a given potential V0.

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free