Ph 110a

Assignment 4 Solutions TA: John Joseph M. Carrasco jjmc@physics.ucla.edu

Note: I've started assuming that you guys recognize that a volume integral, with no angular dependence, turns into (4 p)(a radial integral). If any of you have trouble figuring out where that comes from spend a second or two diddling around with f HrL t, where f HrL is a generic function with radial dependence, and express t in spherical coordinates. If that doesn't help please come speak with me, or send me an email.

Problem 2.21, Potential of a Sphere

Problem Find the potential inside and outside a uniformly charged solid sphere whose radius is R and whose total charge is q. Use infinity as our reference point. Compute the gradient of V in each region, and check that it yields the correct field. Sketch V HrL. Solution

So we're looking for V HrL = -0 EHr 'L l '

r

Outside the sphere is easy as Gauss's law tells us that all the charge is acting as though at the center of the sphere. V HrLr>R = - EHr 'L l ' = - Er Hr 'L r ' = - 4 p E
r r r 1 q r2
0

r'

q 1 4 p e0 r q 1 4 p e0 r2

E = - V =

` r, as it should be from Gauss's law.

Inside the sphere is a little more interesting if only that we need to take a second to calculate what the volume charge density is inside the sphere: rinside = find:
q
4 3

pR

3 . 4 p R3

Qencl HrL = Ivolume

4 3

p r3 M

3q 4 p R3

= I R M q, so we
r 3

Vr>R HrL = - EHr 'L l ' = J- 4 p e

r R 1 r 1 + J -R 4 p e 0 q 1 r2 IRM - 8 3 R p e0

q r' 2

JQencl HrL =

r 3 IRM

qN

1 r'2

r 'N
0

r 'N

outside sphere

inside sphere

1 4 p e0

q+

=-

q Ir2 -3 R2 M 8 p R3 e0

1 R2 8 R3 p e0

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rinside =

q
4 3

pR

3 . 4 p R3

Qencl HrL = Ivolume r 'N

4 3

p r3 M

3q 4pR
3

= I R M q, so we
r 3

Assignment4.nb

find:

Vr>R HrL = - EHr 'L l ' = J- 4 p e

r R 1 r 1 + J -R 4 p e 0 q 1 r2 IRM - 8 3 R p e0

q r' 2

JQencl HrL =

r 3 IRM

qN

1 r'2

r 'N
0

outside sphere

inside sphere

1 4 p e0

q+

=-

q Ir2 -3 R2 M 8 p R3 e0

1 R2 8 R3 p e0

E = - V = Plotting V:

1 4 p e0

r R3

` r, as we expect.

VH0L

2R

VH0L

2R

Problem 2.25, Potential Practice

Problem
For each configuration, find the potential at a distance z above the origin. Compute E = - V, and compare the answers with Prob 2.2a, Exercise 2.1, and Prob 2.6 respectively. a) +q @ x=-d/2, +q@ x=d/2 Via superposition we have V HzL = E = - V HzL = =
1 4 p e0 2qz
2

q 4 p e0

I H-d2L2 +z2 M

12

IHd2L2 +z2 M

12

q 4 p e0

IHd2L2 +z2 M

12

-2 q 4 p e0
32

` z

IHd2L +z2 M
2

12

IHd2L +z M
2

` z

which is consistent with Prob 2.2a.

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Assignment4.nb

which is consistent with Prob 2.2a. b) l running from x=-L to x=L Our differential charge will be l x', which makes our differential potential V = V HzL = V = =
l 4 p e0 1 4 p e0 1 4 p e0 Ix'2 +z2 M l x'
12

. So we have:

-L
L

Ix'2 +z2 M

l x'

12

l 4 p e0

ln x ' +

z2 + x '2

-L

ln

L+ -L+

z2 +L2 z2 +L2 l

E = - V HzL = - 4 p e

` z

ln

L+ -L+

z2 +L2 z +L
2 2

l 4 p e0

2L z L +z
2 2

` z

Which is the same result as Ex. 2.1 c) Disk of radius R, of uniform surface charge Our differential charge will be s a, a = s s f which makes our differential potential V = have: V HzL = V = =
1 2 e0 1 4 p e0 Is'2 +z2 M s a
12

. So we

1 4 p e0
12

f'=0 s'=0 = ` z
s 2 e0

f'=2 p s'=R

s'=0

Is'2 +z2 M

s a'

12

s'=R s s' s' Is'2 +z2 M

R2 + z2 - z
s 2 e0 z R2 +z2

E = - V HzL = - 2 e

s
0

R2 + z2 - z

1-

` z

Which agrees with problem 2.6. Suppose that we changed the right hand charge in part a) to - q ; what is the potential at 0,0,z now? Compare our answer to Prob 2.2b, and explain any discrepancy So if the charges are of opposite sign the potential at the origin is going to vanish. Note this doesn't hold for even a smudge to the left or the right, but exactly in the middle of these two charges our potential vanishes. If we weren't careful, we ` could make the mistake of assuming that E = - V = 0sol'n 2.2b (which is pointing completely in the x direction along the z axis). The trouble is that we constrained ourself to only know about V on the z-axis, which itself can't give us any information about Ex = - V x or Ey = - V x. The reason we were able to get away with it in the earlier examples above is because we were completely symmetric in our charge distribution with respect to x and y, and so we knew Ex and Ey vanished. In this case all of our field is pointing in the x direction, and so we would need to have solved for a more general potential that at least let's us vary x to figure it out, i.e. (and you didn't need to do this, but it's good to see what you could do in the future): V Hx, 0, zL =
q 4 p e0 1 Jx- N +HzL
d 2 2 2

1 Jx+ N +HzL
d 2 2 2

EHx, 0, zL = - V =
q 4 p e0
d 2

+x
2

J +xN +z2
d 2

32

xd 2 2

d 2 32

Jx- N +z2

` x+q

J +xN +z2
d 2 2

Printed 3 by Mathematica3for Students z 2 2

Jx- N +z2
d 2 2

V Hx, 0, zL =

q 4 p e0

1 Jx- N +HzL2
d 2 2

1 Jx+ N +HzL2
d 2 2

Assignment4.nb

EHx, 0, zL = - V =
q 4 p e0
d 2

+x
2

J +xN +z2
d 2

32

xd 2 2

d 2 32

Jx- N +z2

` x+q

J +xN +z2
d 2 2

32

Jx- N +z2
d 2 2

32

` z

So, now looking for the field at some point z along the z-axis we find: EH0, 0, zL = - V =
q 4 p e0
d

J N +z2
d 2 2

32

d 2 2

d 2 32

J N +z2

` x+q

J N +z2
d 2 2

32

J N +z2
d 2 2

32

` z

1 4 p e0

J N +z
d 2 2

qd

32

` x

which is the answer to 2.2b. Notice that we could still get away with calculating the potential only in the y = 0 plane because of the symmetry of the charge distribution.

Problem 2.26, Cone-headed...

Problem A conical surface (an empty ice-cream cone) carries a uniform surface charge s. The height of the cone is h, as is its radius at the top. Find the potential difference between points a (the vertex H0, 0, 0L) and b the center of the top (i.e. H0, 0, hL ) Solution Recall that, in spherical coordinates, putting a dirac delta function about r hands us the surface of a sphere. If, instead, we put a dirac delta function about q we'd find ourselves with a cone. With that in mind it's easy to see that spherical coordinates are natural for this problem. I use r', q', and f' to talk about points on the surface of the cone. Given that the top of the cone has radius h at height h (at least in my hard-back 3rd edition), we constrain q'=p/4. The differential area on the cone will come from varying r ' and f': a ' = r ' sinHq 'L r ' f ' = 0 to h2 + h2 = 2 h. . This is just from V = r , where in this case q = s a '. As a is located at the
q r' 2

r ' f '. We will vary f ' from 0 to 2 p, and r ' from

Hr ', f 'L will be V = origin, Va is So Va = Va =

Considering first the potential at a, the differential contribution to the potential from a differential surface area located at
1 s a' 4 p e0 dist between a & r' s a' simply r' . 1 4 p e0

s r'

a' =

1 4 p e0

f'=0 f ' r'=0

f'=2 p

r'= 2 h s r'

r' 2

r' f' =

sh 2a

Now we look at the potential at b. The differential contribution to the potential from a differential surface area located at r ', f ' will be Vb =
1 s a' 4 p e0 dist between b & r', f'

. What's the distance going to be? Using simple vector arithmetic (vector
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s a'

between a & b, vector between a and r', and vector between r' and b), or the law of cosines (which amounts to the same thing) we find the distance to be: h2 + r '2 2 h r ' , so Vb =
1 4 p e0 h +r'2 - 2 h r'
2

Assignment4.nb

Now we look at the potential at b. The differential contribution to the potential from a differential surface area located at r ', f ' will be Vb =
1 s a' 4 p e0 dist between b & r', f'

. What's the distance going to be? Using simple vector arithmetic (vector
s a' h +r'2 - 2 h r'
2

between a & b, vector between a and r', and vector between r' and b), or the law of cosines (which amounts to the same thing) we find the distance to be: Calculating: Vb = Vb =
1 4 p e0

h2 + r '2 -

2 h r ' , so Vb =

1 4 p e0

f'=0

s a' h2 +r'2 - 2 h r'

= =

1 4 p e0 s 2

f'=2 p

f ' r'=0

r'= 2 h

r' 2

r' f'

2 e0

r'=0

h2 +r'2 - 2 h r' r' r'

r'= 2 h
2

h +r'2 - 2 h r'

When I'm tempted to spend 5 minutes (which could easily run into hours) fiddling with an integral, I check a couple of things. I can already see integration by parts gets me nowhere as a first past, and substitution only gets me to an inverse radical integrand which doesn't really make me any happier, so I shrug my shoulders and just look it up (or use Mathematica). I'll likely offer some reward at discussion for one of our analytically chonto who can show the class a good clean way of solving this. In any case, with only faint blushing I head to my integral tables (Jeffrey's section 4.3.4.1 or Mathematica) and find: Vb = = = = =
s 2 s 2 2 e0 s 2 2 e0 2 e0

h + r' 2 h 2

2 h r' + 2 h-

h 2

ln 2

h + r' 2 h 2

2 h r' + 2 r' 2 hNF

2 hF
0

2 h

Bh +
h 2

BlnI2 h + OF = 2 NF

lnI2 h + 2

2 hN - lnI2 h 2

2 hN - h 2 hNF

lnI2 h -

sh 2+ 2 BlnK 4 e0 2- 2 sh BlnI1 + 2 e0

J2+ 2 N sh B ln 4 e0 2

F=

sh 2+ 2 BlnK 2 e0 2

OF

So we see the difference in potential Va - Vb = Find the electric field

sh 2 e0

J1 - lnI1 +

2 NN.

We're now asked to find the electric field. Presumably we're only interested in finding the electric field at some (semi)convenient spot like x=y=0, z > h. In our last assignment we found that the electric field from a ring of radius R, on a point centered some distance d above it was:
l H2 p RL d 1 4 p e0 Id2 +R2 M32

. In our case with the cone, l = s r ', so we should find a

r' 2

good way of expressing R and d in terms of r '. Well, R = z ' =

s r zr 2 Hr L2 2 r 2

, and d = z - z ' = z -

r' 2

, so we have:

r'
2 32

Ez =
2 2 e0

+ z-

4 e0 Jz2 - 2 r z+r N

s r J 2 z - r N r'

2 32

The electric field will be: Ez HzL = Ez = 0

2 h

r'

4 e0 Jz2 - 2 r z+r N

s r J 2 z - r N

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2 32

Assignment4.nb

The electric field will be: Ez HzL = Ez = 0

2 h

r'

4 e0 Jz2 - 2 r z+r N

s r J 2 z - r N

2 32

Which does have a closed form solution for generic z but it isn't necessarily instructive, and it certainly isn't concise. Given that I didn't find a nice solution, I'd give full credit at this stage. It can be cleaned up a bit if you express z as a factor of h: I used Mathematica, setting a=z/h, with the assumption a > 1, to get: Ez H0, 0, a hL =
1 4 e0

2 J Ha-2L a+2 +2-aN Ha-2L a+2

+ sinh-1 I

a-2 1+ 2 M + lnK a 3+2 2

Plotting Ez vs a: s4e0 s4e0

Ez

3 azh

To see if this behaves well as z, I expand around 1 a 0, getting:

sJaN 2

1 2

2 e0

2 sJaN 3 e0

1 3

3 sJaN 8

1 4

2 e0

+ OJI a M N
1 5

which to lowest order in (1/a) follows the expected r-2 drop off. With that we at least know our solution isn't completely busted.

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Assignment4.nb

Problem 2.32, Energy Spheres!

Find the energy stored in a uniformly charged solid sphere of radius R and charge q in 3 "different" ways:
Using Eq. 2.43, and the potential found in Prob 2.21. Eqn 2.43 is W = Well, rHrL = :
4 3

1 2 q

r V t, which represents the amount of energy required to assemble a given charge distribution. if r < R, 0 otherwise>, so we really only need to worry about the potential inside the sphere. Natural

p R3

to do this calculation in spherical coordinates, and consider a point along the z axis as our reference (to establish the coordinate system): V H0, 0, zL = V = = = = = = = =
1 4 p e0

H2 pL r r'=R r ' r '2 4 p e0 r'=0 r 2 e0 r 2 e0 r 2 e0 r 2 e0

Hz-r' cosHq'LL2 +r'2 sinHq'L2

r r'2 sinHq'L f' q' r'

1 4 p e0

r dist between H0,0,zL and Hr' cosHf'L sinHq'L, r' sinHf'L sinHq'L,r' cosHq'LL

1 4 p e0 sinHq'L

r r'2 sinHq'L f' q' r' z2 +r'2 -2 r' z cosHq'L

t'

r'=R 1 Jr'=0 r ' r '2 I r' r'=z r'=z 1

0 q '
p

Jr'=0 r ' r '2 I r' +

2

1 z' 1 z

I 3 z z3 + IR2 - z2 MM =
2

Jr'=0 r ' r '2 I z M + r'=z r ' r '2 I r' MN

r'=R 2

r'=R r'-z 1 M + r'=z r ' r '2 I r' r' z

r'-z MN rz

z +r' -2 r' z cosHq'L

2 2

1 z

r'-z MN r' z z2 N 3

q 8 p e0 R

J3 -

z N. R2
2

r 2 e0

JR2 -

z2 N 3

q
4 3

p R 2 e0
3

JR2 -

Note that our choice of being on the z-axis was arbitrary---used to establish the coordinate system. This solution works for being z far away radially in any direction, at which point we might as well call it being r far away, i.e.: V HrL =
q 8 p e0 R

J3 -

r2 N R2

Ok. Now we get to answer our original question regarding the energy: W= =
1 2

r V t =

q 1 2 8 p e0 R

H2 pL H2L J r

q 1 2 8 p e0 R

4 R3 N 5

J0 fN I0 sinHqL qM 0 rJ3 2p p R

r2 N r2 R2

3 q2 1 4 p e0 5 R

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Assignment4.nb

Using Eq. 2.45, don't forget to integrate over all space Eq. 2.45 is W =
e0 2

Well, we get EHrL from Gauss's law: Outside the sphere: EHrL = These integrals are all both reasonable: W= =
e0 2 e0

all space E2 dt.

q 1 4 p e0 r2

` r, inside the sphere EHrL =

q 1 4 p e0 R3

` rr

:J 4 p e N J0 0
q 2 q2

16 p2 e0 2

O 4 pJ

R 1 R6

r2 I4 p r2 M r + R + RN =
1

1 r4

I4 p r2 M rN>

1 R5 R6 5

3 q2 1 4 p e0 5 R

Using Eq. 2.44, take a spherical volume of radius a , notice what happens as a . Eq. 2.44 gives us: W=
e0 2

IV E2 t + S V E aM
q . 4 p e0 r

We choose a > R, and with r > R, V = r=a: =K = IV E2 tM = J 4 p e N J0 0

q 2 q2 16 p e0
2 2

Well, the E2 volume integral is the same as above except we integrate to I4 p r2 M rN

q2 4 p e0 2

I5R - aM
6 1

O 4 pJ

R 1 R6 1 R

1 R5 R6 5

- aN
1

r2 I4 p r2 M r + R

a 1 r4

S V E a = r=a J 4 p e0 r N K 4 p e
q

q
0

q2 4 p e0 2 e0 2

I 4 p M I a 4 pM =
1 1

q2 4 p e0 2

IaM
1

r2

O r2 sinHqL q f

so W =

IV E2 t + S V E aM =

q2 4 p e0

I5R 3

1 2a

1 M 2a

3 q2 1 4 p e0 5 R

As a , the surface term contributes less and less, while the E2 volume term contributes more and more, until we've got the (b) situation again.

Electron radius
Assume that an electron is a sphere of radius: re =
1 e2 4 p e0 me c2

What's the electrostatic energy of the sphere? Well, W =

3 q2 1 4 p e0 5 re

3 5

me c2 . Hmm. 3/5, eh?

Why was rc chosen this way?

Well, except for the factor of 3 5, we're choosing the radius such that the electrostatic energy is equal to the rest-energy of an election me c2 .
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Assignment4.nb

Well, except for the factor of 3 5, we're choosing the radius such that the electrostatic energy is equal to the rest-energy of an election me c2 .

Problem 2.34, Shell games.

Problem
Consider two concentric spherical shells of radii a and b. Suppose the inner one carries a charge q, and the outer one carries a charge - q (both of them uniformly distributed over the surface). Calculate the energy of this configuration in two ways: Using Eq 2.45 Eq 2.45 again is: W = via. Gauss's law: E = W= = =
e0 2 e0 2 q 2 b e0 2

all space E2 dt. if a < r < b, 0 everywhere else.

J 4 p e N H4 pL I a - b M
1 2 1 1

J 4 p e N a H4 pL r2 0 Ia - bM
0

q 1 4 p e0 r2 1 r4

q2 8 p e0

Using Eq. 2.47 and the results of Ex. 2.8

Eqn. 2.47 is the superposition principle carried over to energy: Wtot = W1 + W2 + e0 E1 E2 t. Example 2.8, gave us the energy of a uniformly charged spherical shell of total charge q, and radius R: Wshell = So we have W1 =
q2 1 , 8 p e0 a q2 1 8 p e0 R

W2 =

q2 1 . 8 p e0 b q 1 4 p e0 r2

E1 and E2 only both exist in the region r > b, in which case: E1 = Calculating e0 E1 E2 t = =
-q2 4 p e0 H4 p L2 e0 -q2

, and E2 =

IbM =
1

b r H4 pL

-q 1 , 4 p e0 r2

so E1 E2 = J 4 p e N J
1 2
0

-q2 r4

r2 r4

So we see: Wtot = W1 + W2 + e0 E1 E2 t =

-2 q2 8 p e0 b

q2 8 p e0

I a - b M as above.
1 1

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