A. F.

Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Fields & Waves Note #5 Conducting and Dielectric Materials

10/04

Objectives: Discuss the basic methodology by which the electric field interacts with good conductors and dielectric materials. Introduce the relative permittivity and the electric flux density. Electromagnetic fields would be of little interest if they did not interact with materials in the environment. In this Note, the means by which the electric field interacts with two different types of materials is considered. For good conductors, the electric field has a substantial effect on the free electron distribution within the conductor. For dielectric materials, a similar effect leads to the phenomenon of dielectric polarization. For the purpose of discussion, we assume that the material effects are adequately modeled by atoms having a positively-charged nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negative charge (electrons).

Conductors Conductors are materials, such as metals, that contain a large number of free electrons. Free electrons are able to move from one molecule to another within the material. As a consequence, conductors usually provide a good path for both heat and electricity. An applied electric field interacts with such a material primarily through its effect on the free electrons. Consider an insulated conductor in the presence of an applied electric field E applied . This field creates a force on the electrons within the material, according to Coulombs Law: F = QE applied (5.1)

Since the electrons have negative charge, they experience a force directed opposite that of E applied . The applied electric field also creates a force on the positively-charged nuclei in the direction of E applied . Consequently, if the conductor has no net electric charge to start with, there will be no net force on it due to an applied electric field. However, within the material, the nuclei are held in a fixed location, while the electrons are free to move. Therefore, there will tend to be a net movement of negative charge within the conductor in response to an applied field, as depicted in Figure 1. This negative charge will tend to bunch up on the surface of the conductor, since it cannot easily move outside the material, creating a surface charge density rs. As the negative charge moves to one side of the conductor, positive charge is left behind, creating an additional surface charge density on the opposite face of the material (Figure 1). The separation of positive and negative charges of equal value creates a configuration known as an electric dipole. These dipoles in turn excite an electric field of their own.

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

10/04

Example:

Charges of Q and +Q are located at z = d/2 and z = +d/2, respectively, on the z-axis (Figure 2). Find the E -field in the x-y plane due to this arrangement. For an observer in the x-y plane a distance r from the origin, the displacement vectors are R+ = r r + R = r r d z 2 d z 2 (5.2) (5.3)

Solution:

These have the same magnitude d R = R+ = R = r + 2

2 2

(5.4)

so the electric field is obtained as E ( r) = Q 4pe 0 R

2

{R

-R

}
(5.5)
2 3/2

= -z

Qd d 4pe 0 r 2 + 2

The dipole configuration produces a field directed away from the positive point charge and toward the negative point charge.

The strength of the dipole in the preceding example is characterized by a parameter known as the dipole moment p p = Qd

. Note that the where d is the vector from Q to + Q . In the preceding example, d = d z dipole moment has units of C-m. As electrons separate from their nuclei in a conductor under the influence of an applied electric field, building up surface charge, dipoles are formed. The equivalent dipoles

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

10/04

produce secondary fields that are directed opposite the applied electric field inside the conductor. The movement of free electrons due to an applied electric field continues as long as there is a nonzero total electric field within the material. In a very short period of time after the original field is applied, the charge will redistribute within the conductor so that the applied field is cancelled everywhere within the material. (Assuming that the number of free electrons is almost infinite, if the field is not cancelled additional electrons still experience a Coulomb force and move in response, until the field is cancelled.) Thus, when an electric field is applied to an insulated conductor, there will be a rapid redistribution of charge within the conductor, until a steady-state equilibrium is reached where E total = E applied + E secondary = 0 (5.6)

In this steady-state equilibrium, there will be a surface charge density rs along the conductor surface.

Example:

An infinite conducting slab is located parallel to the x-y plane between z = z 1 and z = z2, where z2 > z1, as depicted in Figure 3. The slab is initially uncharged. An electric field 0 E applied = zE (5.7)

is applied to the slab by an external source. Determine the surface charge density on either face of the slab and the total electric field in the three regions z < z1,, z1 < z < z2, and z > z2, .

Solution:

In steady-state equilibrium, there will be a surface charge density r s1 on the face of the slab at z = z1 and a surface charge density r s2 on the face of the slab at z = z2. Since the net charge on the slab is zero, we know that

rs1 + rs2 = 0

(5.8)

We also know that the electric field due to an infinite sheet of surface charge density located at z = z is rs z 2e 0 E ( x, y, z ) = r - z s 2e 0 z > z z < z (5.9)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

10/04

Therefore, the electric field within the slab can be expressed as the sum of three contributions, from (1) the applied field, (2) the sheet of charge at z = z1, and (3) the sheet of charge at z = z2: 0+z E ( z) = zE

rs1 r s2 , -z 2e 0 2e 0

z1 < z < z2

(5.10)

For an assumed positive charge rs2, the sheet of charge at z = z2 contributes a negative field since it is located above the slab (the electric field always points away from positive charge). Since the total electric field in the slab must be zero in steady-state equilibrium, equation (5.10) yields 2e 0 E 0 + rs1 - rs2 = 0 Equations (5.8) and (5.11) can be solved to obtain (5.11)

rs1 = -e 0 E 0 rs2 = e 0 E 0
The electric field above the slab (z > z2) is given by 0+z E ( z) = zE

(5.12) (5.13)

rs1 r s2 , +z 2e 0 2e 0 0 - zE 0 + zE 0 = zE 0 = zE

z > z2 (5.13)

while that below the slab is 0-z E ( z) = zE

rs1 r s2 , -z 2e 0 2e 0 0 + zE 0 - zE 0 = zE 0 = zE

z < z1 (5.14)

In this situation, the total field outside the slab is just the applied field. The surface charges cancel the field inside the slab but have no effect external to the slab. (For non-planar conductors, there would generally be an effect outside the conductor as well.)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves Dielectric Materials

10/04

Common dielectric materials include plastics, ceramics, and liquids such as water and alcohols. Most dielectric materials are good insulators, or equivalently poor conductors of electricity. The electrons within dielectric materials are tightly bound to the atoms, and are not able to freely move about the material. When an external electric field is applied to a dielectric material, the electrons associated with the molecules experience the Coulomb force described by Equation (5.1). These electrons are not free to migrate, but they do tend to shift their location, on average, in response to the Coulomb force. This slight shifting of location causes some separation between positive and negative charge, which creates a secondary field. Unlike the case of conductors, however, the secondary field is not able to completely cancel the applied field. It does reduce that field. To characterize this effect quantitatively, define the Polarization P as the dipole moment per unit volume within the dielectric. Since the dipole moments are produced by the Coulomb force associated with the E -field, P will be proportional to E : P = kE (5.15)

where k is a constant of proportionality. Observe that E has units of V/m, or N/C, and P has units of C/m2 (recall that the dipole moment p has units of C-m). Therefore k has units of C2/(N-m2), the same as e0. Therefore, it is convenient to re-write (5.15) as P = e0 ce E (5.16)

where we introduce a unitless constant of proportionality ce. This parameter, known as the electric susceptibility, will generally be different for each dielectric material. Consider a region of empty space between two sheets of surface charge density, as illustrated in Figure 4. The fields of the sheet of negative charge density (rs0) and positive charge density (+rs0) combine to produce an electric field in the region between the sheets E ( z) = z

rs0 e0

(5.17)

Now, suppose that a slab of dielectric material, of thickness d, is inserted between the two charged sheets, so that the electric field of (5.17) acts as an applied field on that material. Figure 5 depicts the situation. The applied electric field causes the bound charges to shift their locations in response to the Coulomb force. The impact of this shift is to create a slight excess of positive charge on the upper surface of the dielectric slab and a slight excess of negative charge on the lower

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

10/04

surface. Inside the slab, the effect of the charge displacement averages out. Consequently, we can model this situation by sheets of charge (+ r sd and rsd) at the location of the faces of the dielectric slab (Figure 6). The sheets of charge representing the dielectric slab produce a secondary E-field E ( z) = - z

rsd e0

(5.18)

throughout the location of the dielectric slab. If we consider a cylindrical piece of the dielectric slab, with the cylinder having radius a, the total charge on the top surface of the cylinder is +pa2 rsd, while that on the bottom is +pa2 rsd. This cylinder is equivalent to a dipole with dipole moment p = pa 2 rsd d z The Polarization is the dipole moment per unit volume, or P= pa 2 rsd d z = rsd z 2 pa d (5.20) (5.19)

Therefore, from (5.16) we obtain = e 0 c e E total P = rsd z or, equivalently, rs0 r = e 0 c e z sd -z rsd z e0 e0 Solving (5.22) for rsd yields (5.22) (5.21)

rsd =

rs0 c e (1 + c e )

(5.23)

It follows that the total electric field in the dielectric slab can be written as E ( z) = z

rs0 r sd -z e0 e0 r rs0 c e s0 - z =z e0 e 0 (1 + c e ) rs0 =z e 0 (1 + c e )

(5.24)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

10/04

By comparison with (5.17), we observe that the effect of the dielectric material is to reduce the electric field by a factor of (1 + c e ) , or equivalently to scale the effective permittivity from e0 to e 0 (1 + c e ) . It is convenient to define the relative permittivity er as

e r = (1 + c e )

(5.25)

The relative permittivity is also a unitless scale factor. In problems involving dielectric materials, the free-space permittivity is replaced with the effective permittivity

e = e 0e r

(5.26)

in order to model the presence of the dielectric. Table 1 gives values of er for a number of common materials.

Table 1. Relative permittivities of common dielectric materials air 1.0006 styrofoam 1.03 dry wood 2-4 polystyrene 2.7 rubber 3 paper 3 dry sandy soil 3.4 silica 3.8 quartz 5 mica 6 silicon 12 ethyl alcohol 25 distilled water 81 barium strontium 10,000 titanate

The electric flux density It is convenient at this point to introduce yet another vector quantity, the electric flux density. This quantity is defined as D = e0 E + P = e0 E + e0 ce E = e 0e r E (5.27)

A. F. Peterson: Notes on Electromagnetic Fields & Waves

10/04

For the time being, we can think of D as an alternative way to normalize the force field associated with a distribution of charge. Observe that the units of D are C/m2 (the same as surface charge density). As will become apparent in Note #6, the D -field is sometimes viewed as being more closely coupled to the charge density than the E -field.