ELECTROMAGNETISM

Four kinds of fundamental forces or interactions:

-gravitational interaction
-electromagnetic interaction
-strong interaction
-weak interaction
Evolution of knowledge on electromagnetism
Magnetic phenomena, 2000 BC, China.
Electric and magnetic phenomena, 700 BC, Greece.
Electricity and magnetism are related phenomena, early part of 19
th
century: Oersted
experiment (1819) and Faraday experiment (1831); Maxwell's theory of
electromagnetism (1873).
The role of electromagnetism
The laws of electricity and magnetism play a central role in the operation of many
devices we use in our daily life and in technology, such as MP3 players, mobile
phone, televisions, electric motors, electric generators, computers, high-energy
accelerators, and other electronic devices.
More fundamentally, the interatomic and intermolecular forces responsible for the
formation of materials, solids and liquids, are electric in origin.




1
1. Young and Freedman,
Sears and Zemansky's UNIVERSITY PHYSICS
with Modern Physics
12
th
Edition, Pearson-Addison Wesley.

2. Serway and Jewett,
PHYSICS for Scientists and Engineers
with Modern Physics
7
th
Edition, Thomson-Brooks/Cole.

3. Halliday and Resnick,
Fundamentals of PHYSICS
9
th
Edition, Jearl Walker.
2
3
1. Electric charge and electric field
2. Electric potential and electric energy
3. Electric current, DC circuits
4. Magnetism
5. Electromagnetic induction
6. Maxwells equations.
Chapter 1 Electric charge and electric field
1.1 Electric charge

Plastic rod rubbed on fur, glass rod rubbed with silk are charged.
Charged glass rods repel each other. Charged glass rod attracts charged plastic rod.
Charged plastic rod and fur attract each other.
Two types of electric charge: positive and negative.
Two positive charges or two negative charges repel each other. A positive charge
and a negative charge attract each other.
1.1
4
Young p. 710


5
Electric charge
and the structure of matter
What, happens to the rod when you charge
it? To answer this question, we must look
more closely at the structure and electric
properties of atoms, the building blocks of
ordinary matter of all kinds.
The structure of an atom can be described
in terms of electrons, protons, neutrons.
Negatively charged electrons are held
within the atom by attractive electric forces
exerted on them by the positively charged
nucleus. The protons and neutrons are held
within the stable atomic nuclei by an
attractive interaction, called the strong
nuclear force, that overcomes the electric
repulsion of the protons.
The magnitude of the charge is the same in electrons and protons.
A neutral atom has as many electrons as protons. The number of protons is called the
atomic number of the element. An atom which gains or loses electron becomes an ion.
This gaining or losing of electrons is called ionization.
Normally, a macroscopic body is neutral and has net charge equal to zero. In most
cases, in order to give an excess charge to a body, we add or remove negatively
charged and highly mobile electrons.
1.3
6
Electric charge is conserved
The principle of conservation of charge:
The algebraic sum of all the electric charges in any closed system is constant.


7
In any charging process, charge is not created or destroyed; it is merely transferred
from one body to another.
Conservation of charge is thought to be a universal conservation law. No
experimental evidence for any violation of this principle has ever been observed.
The magnitude of charge of the electron or proton is a natural unit of charge
Every observable amount of electric charge is always an integer multiple of this
basic unit. Electric charge is quantized.
The charge of a proton or an electron is called the elementary charge. The charge on
any macroscopic body is always either zero or an integer multiple (negative or
positive) of the elementary charge .
1.2 Conductors, insulators and
induced charges

Materials that permit electric charge to move easily
from one region of the material to another are
conductors.
Materials that do not permit electric charge to move
from one region of the material to another are
insulators.
Most metals are good conductors, while most
nonmetals are insulators.
8
Charging by induction
9
Not all of the free electrons move to the right surface of the ball. As soon as any induced
charge develops, it exerts forces toward the left on the other free electrons. These
electrons are repelled by the negative induced charge on the right and attracted toward the
positive induced charge on the left. The system reaches an equilibrium state in which the
force toward the right on an electron, due to the charged rod, is just balanced by the force
toward the left due to the induced charge. If we remove the charged rod, the free electrons
shift back to the left, and the original neutral condition is restored.
10
What happens if, while the plastic rod is nearby, you touch one end of a conducting
wire to the right surface of the ball and the other end to the earth (Fig. 21.7c)? The
earth is a conductor, and it is so large that it can act as a practically infinite source of
extra electrons or sink of unwanted electrons. Some of the negative charge flows
through the wire to the earth. Now suppose you disconnect the wire (Fig. 21.7d) and
then remove the rod (Fig. 21.7e); a net positive charge is left on the ball. The charge
on the negatively charged rod has not changed during this process. The earth acquires
a negative charge that is equal in magnitude to the induced positive charge remaining
on the ball.
Try to explain the case where a positively charged rod is brought near to the metal
ball.
Electric Forces on Uncharged Objects

11

We note that a charged body can exert forces even on objects that are not charged
themselves. After you electrify a comb by running it through your hair, you can pick up
uncharged bits of paper or plastic with the comb (Fig. 21.8a). How is this possible?
12
This interaction is an induced-charge effect. Even in an insulator, electric charges can
shift back and forth a little when there is charge nearby. This is shown in Fig. 21.8b;
the negatively charged plastic comb causes a slight shifting of charge within the
molecules of the neutral insulator, an effect called polarization. The positive and
negative charges in the material are present in equal amounts, but the positive charges
are closer to the plastic comb and so feel an attraction that is stronger than the
repulsion felt by the negative charges, giving a net attractive force. Note that a neutral
insulator is also attracted to a positively charged comb (Fig. 21.8c). Now the charges
in the insulator shift in the opposite direction; the negative charges in the insulator are
closer to the comb and feel an attractive force that is stronger than the repulsion felt by
the positive charges in the insulator. Hence a charged object of either sign exerts an
attractive force on an uncharged insulator.
13
1.7
Applications of the electric force
-Electrostatic painting
-Laser printer

Young p.716
1.3 Coulomb's law
14
Young p. 716
In 1784, Charles Augustin de Coulomb studied the interaction forces between point
charges (charged bodies that are very small in comparison with the distance r between
them) and established the Coulombs law. He used a torsion balance (Fig. 21.l0a).
Coulombs experiment: ;
Coulomb's law:
The magnitude of the electric force between two point charges is directly
proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square
of the distance between them.
15
2
1
F
r

1 2
F q q
1 2
2
q q
F k
r
=
1 2
2
q q
k
r
r

=
r
F
1 2
2
0
1
4
q q
r
r
tc

=
r
F
The directions of the forces the two charges exert on each other are always along the
line joining them. When the charges q
1
and q
2
have the same sign, either both positive
or both negative, the forces are repulsive; when the charges have opposite signs, the
forces are attractive (Fig. 21.10b). The two forces obey Newton's third law; they are
always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. even when the charges are not
equal in magnitude.
16
Fundamental electric constants
k = 8.987551787 10
9
N.m
2
/C
2
~ 8.988 10
9
N.m
2
/C
2
or k = (10
7
N. s
2
/C
2
)c
2
with c = 2.99792458 10
8
m/s.
k=1/4tc
0
where c
0
= 8.854 10
-12
C
2
/Nm
2

9
0
1
8 988 10
4
. k
tc
= = Nm
2
/C
2

e= 1.60217653(14)10
-19
C
17
Example Two equal positive point charges q
1
= q
2
= 2.0 C are located at x = 0,
y = 0.30 m and x = 0, y = - 0.30 m, respectively. What are the magnitude and direction of
the total (net) electric force that these charges exert on a third point charge Q = 4.0 C at
x = 0.40 m, y = 0?
Young p. 721
Principle of superposition of forces
Experiments show that when two charges exert forces simultaneously on a third charge,
the total force acting on that charge is the vector sum of the forces that the two charges
would exert individually.
1.4 Electric field and electric forces
18
Electric field
Young 721
To introduce this concept, let's look at the mutual
repulsion of two positively charged bodies A and
B (Fig. 21.15a). Suppose B has charge q
0
, and let
. be the electric force of A on B. One way to
think about this force is as an "action-at-a-
distance" force--that is, as a force that acts across
empty space without needing any matter to
transmit it through the intervening space.
But a more fruitful way to visualize the repulsion
between A and B is as a two-stage process. We
first envision that body A, as a result of the charge
that it carries, somehow modifies the properties of
the space around it. Then body B, as a result of the
charge that it carries, senses how space has been
modified at its position. The response of body B is
to experience the force .


0
F
0
F
19
E
0 0
q = F E Young 721
To elaborate how this two-stage process occurs, we first consider body A by itself: We
remove body B and label its former position as point P (Fig. 21.15b). We say that the
charged body A produces or causes an electric field at point P (and at all other points in the
neighborhood). This electric field is present at P even if there is no charge at P; it is a
consequence of the charge on body A only. If a point charge q
0
is then placed at point P, it
experiences the force . We take the point of view that this force is exerted on q
0
by the
field at P (Fig. 21.15c). Thus the electric field is the intermediary through which A
communicates its presence to q
0
. Because the point charge q
0
would experience a force at
any point in the neighborhood of A, the electric field that A produces exists at all points in
the region around A.
We can likewise say that the point charge q
0
produces an electric field in the space around
it and that this electric field exerts the force on body A. For each force (the force of A
on q
0
and the force of q
0
on A), one charge sets up an electric field that exerts a force on
the second charge. We emphasize that this is an interaction between two charged bodies. A
single charge produces an electric field in the surrounding space, but this electric field
cannot exert a net force on the charge that created it.
The electric force on a charged body is exerted by the electric field created by other
charged bodies.
0
F
0
F
20
We define the electric field at a point as the electric force experienced by a test
charge q
0
at the point, divided by the charge q
0
. That is, the electric field at a certain point
is equal to the electric force per unit charge experienced by a charge at that point:

E
0
F
0
0
q
=
F
E
If the field at a certain point is known, then the force experienced by a point charge
q
0
placed at that point is
E
0
F
0 0
q = F E
Young 721
To find out experimentally whether there is an electric field at a particular point, we place
a small charged body, which we call a test charge q
0
, at the point (Fig. 21.15c). If the test
charge experiences an electric force, then there is an electric field at that point. This field
is produced by charges other than q
0
.

21
The charge q
0
can be either positive or negative. If q
0
is positive, the force expe-
rienced by the charge is the same direction as ; if q
0
is negative, and are in
opposite directions (Fig. 21.16).
0
F
E
0
F E
Electric field of a point charge
22
0
0
2
0
1
4
qq
r
r
tc
=
r
F
0
2
0 0
1
4
q
q r
r
tc
= =
F r
E
If the source distribution is a point charge q, it
is easy to find the electric field that it
produces. We call the location of the charge
the source point, and we call the point P
where we are determining the field the field
point. If we place a small test charge qo at the
field point P, is given by Coulomb's law,



The electric field is
0
F
23
In many cases, especially when studying the electric field in dielectrics, we use the
electric displacement vector or the electric induction vector .
In vacuum,
D
0
c = D E
1.5 Electric field calculations
The superposition of electric fields
24
0 1 2 3 0 1 0 2 0 3
... ... q q q = + + + = + + F F F F E E E
0
1 2 3
0
...
q
= = + +
F
E E E E
The principle of superposition of electric fields.
The total electric field at P is the vector sum of
the fields at P due to each point charge in the
charge distribution.
Different charge distributions:
linear charge density (C/m)
surface charge density o (C/m
2
)
volume charge density (C/m
3
)
Young p.727
To find the field caused by a charge distribution, we imagine the distribution to be made up
of many point charges q
1
, q
2
, q
3
,.. . At any given point P, each point charge produces its
own electric field , so a test chargre q
0
placed at P experiences a force which
is the vector sum of the individual forces
The combined effect of all the charges in the distribution is described by the total electric
field at point P
1 2 3
, , E E E
E
Example 1 Point charges q
1
and q
2
of +12
nC and -12 nC, respectively, are placed 0.10
m apart. This combination of two charges with
equal magnitude and opposite sign is called
an electric dipole.
Compute the electric field caused by q
1
, the
field caused by q
2
, and the total field (a) at
point a; (b) at point b; and (c) at point c.
Young 728
25
26
27
Example 2 A ring-shaped conductor with
radius a carries a total charge Q uniformly
distributed around it. Find the electric field
at a point P that lies on the axis of the ring at
a distance x from its center.
Linear charge density =Q/2ta
Young 230
28
Example 3 Find the electric field caused
by a disk of radius R with a uniform positive
surface charge density o, at a point along the
axis of the disk a distance x from its center.
Assume that x is positive.
In the limit that R>>x, . This is the case of an infinite plane sheet of charge.
29
( )
2 2
0
1
1
2
1 /
x
E
R x
o
c
(
(
=
(
+
(

0
2
E
o
c
=
Young p. 732
30
31
Example 4 Two infinite plane sheets are
placed parallel to each other, separated by a
distance d. The lower sheet has a uniform
positive surface charge density o, and the
upper sheet has a uniform negative surface
charge density -o with the same magnitude.
Find the electric field between the two
sheets, above the upper sheet, and below the
lower sheet.
The electric field between the sheets is a uniform field.
1.6 Electric field lines
Electric field lines can be a big help for visualizing
electric fields and making them seem more real. An
electric field line is an imaginary line or curve drawn
through a region of space so that its tangent at any
point is in the direction of the electric-field vector at
that point.
32
The rules for drawing electric field lines:
-The lines must begin on a positive charge and termi-
nate on a negative charge. Some lines may begin or end
infinitely far away.
-No two field lines can cross.
-The number of lines per unit area through a surface
perpendicular to the lines is proportional to the magni-
tude of the electric field in that region. Therefore, the
field lines are close together where the electric field is
strong and far apart where the field is weak.
33
Young p. 734
34
1.7 Gauss's law

The total number of electric field lines
penetrating a surface is called the electric
flux. For a surface that is perpendicular to
the field lines of a uniform field, the electric
flux is .
35
1.20
E
EA u =
1.21
In the case where the normal to the surface of
area A is at an angle u to the uniform electric
field, .
Depending on u , the flux may be positive or
negative.
cos
E
EA EA u

u = =
Serway 673
Electric flux
In more general situations, the electric field may
vary over a large surface. We divide the surface
into a large number of small elements, each of
area AA
i
and define a vector . Then
Summing the contributions of all elements gives an
approximation to the total flux through the surface:

36
1.22
i i
A A = A A n
cos
E i i i i i i i
E A A u Au = A = A = A E n E A
E i i
i
u = A

E A
If the area of each element approaches zero, the
number of elements approaches infinity and the
sum is replaced by an integral
surface
E
d u =
}
E A
For a closed surface, the normal to the surface, by convention, always point outward.
The net flux through the surface is proportional to the net number of lines leaving the
surface, where the net number means the number of lines leaving the surface minus
the number of lines entering the surface. We can write

37

A closed surface in
an electric field.
The area vectors are,
by convention,
normal to the surface
and point outward.
The flux through an
area element can be
positive (element 1),
zero (element 2), or
negative (element 3).

E n
d E dA u = =
} }
E A
Gauss's law
The gaussian surface in the shape of a sphere
with a charge q at its center:
38
E
d EdA E dA u = = =
} } }
E A
2
2
0 0
1
4
4
E
q q
r
r
t
tc c
u = =
1.25

The gaussian surfaces with different shape but
surrounding the charge, also:
0
E
q
c
u =
Therefore, the net flux through any closed
surface surrounding a point charge q is
given by q/c
0
and is independent of the
shape of that surface.
For a point charge located outside the closed surface,
the net flux through the surface is zero.
Therefore, the net electric flux through a closed
surface that surrounds no charge is zero.

In the general cases, where there are many point
charges or there is a continuous distribution of
charge, we use the superposition principle.
39
1.26
Gauss's law The net flux through a closed surface
equals the algebraic sum of the charges inside the
surface divided by c
0

in
0
E
q
d
c
u = =
}
E A
Gausss law is an alternative to Coulombs law. It provides a different way to express
the relationship between electric charge and electric field.
Applications of Gauss's law
40
Gausss law is useful for determining electric fields when the charge distribution is highly
symmetric. In choosing the gaussian surface, always take advantage of the symmetry of the
charge distribution so that E can be removed from the integral.
1. The value of the electric field can be argued by symmetry to be constant over the portion
of the surface.
2. The dot product can be expressed as a simple algebraic product E dA because and
are parallel.
3. The dot product is zero because and are perpendicular.
4. The electric field is zero over the portion of the surface.
E dA
Example 1 An insulating solid sphere of radius a
has a uniform volume charge density and carries
a total positive charge Q
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the electric field at a
point outside the sphere.
(b) Find the magnitude of the electric field at a
point inside the sphere.
E dA
2
0
4
Q
E
r tc
=
for r>a
0
3
E r

c
= for r<a
41
(a) To reflect the spherical symmetry, lets choose a spherical gaussian surface of radius
r, concentric with the sphere, as shown in Figure 24.10a. For this choice, condition (2) is
satisfied everywhere on the surface and . The Gausss law can be
rewritten as
d E dA = E A
0
E
Q
d EdA
c
u = = =
} }
E A
By symmetry, E is constant everywhere on the surface, which satisfies condition (1), so
we can remove E from the integral . Solving for E, we obtain

for .

( )
2
0
4
Q
EdA E r t
c
= =
}
2 2
0
4
Q Q
E k
r r tc
= =
r a >
This field is identical to that for a point charge. Therefore, the electric field due to a
uniformly charged sphere in the region external to the sphere is equivalent to that of a
point charge located at the center of the sphere.
(b) Lets choose a spherical gaussian surface having radius , concentric with the
insulating sphere (Fig. 24.10b). Let V be the volume of this smaller sphere. To apply
Gausss law in this situation, recognize that the charge q
m
within the gaussian surface of
volume V is less than Q and
r a <
Applying the Gausss law in the region , we obtain
r a <
( )
3
2
3
0 0
4
m
q Q r
EdA E dA E r
a
t
c c
= = = =
} }
Solving for E, we obtain for .
3 3
0
4
Q Q
E r k r
a a tc
= =
3 3
/
m
q Qr a =
r a <
Example 2 Find the electric field a distance r
from a line of positive charge of infinite length
and constant charge per unit length .
42
0
2
E
r

tc
=
Solution
The line of charge is infinitely long. Therefore, the
field is the same at all points equidistant from the
line, regardless of the vertical position of the point
in Figure 24.12a.
Because the charge is distributed uniformly along
the line, the charge distribution has cylindrical
symmetry and we can apply Gausss law to find the
electric field.
The symmetry of the charge distribution requires that be perpendicular to the line charge
and directed outward as shown in Figures 24.12a and b. Lets choose a cylindrical gaussian
surface of radius r and length l that is coaxial with the line charge. For the curved part of
this surface, is constant in magnitude and perpendicular to the surface at each point,
satisfying conditions (1) and (2). Furthermore, the flux through the ends of the gaussian
cylinder is zero because is parallel to these surfaces. That is the first application we have
seen of condition (3). The surface integral over the entire gaussian surface is
E
E
E
0
2
E
l
d E dA EA E rl
c

t u = = = = =
} }
E A
Solving for E, we obtain
43
Example 3 Find the electric field due to an infinite plane of positive charge with uniform
surface charge density o.
Young p. 764
Example 4 Two large plane parallel conducting plates are given charges of
equal magnitude and opposite sign; the charge per unit area is +o for one and -o for the
other. Find the electric field in the region between the plates.
Young p. 765, 768
44
45
46
Example 5 Field of a uniformly charged sphere
Positive electric charge Q is distributed uniformIy throughout the volume of an insulating
sphere with radius R. Find the magnitude of the electric field at a point P a distance r from
the center of the sphere.

47
1.8 Charges on conductors
Young p.761, 767
48
If there is an electric field within a conductor,
the field exerts a force on every charge in the
conductor, giving the free charges a net motion.
By definition, an electrostatic situation is one in
which the charges have no net motion. We
conclude that in electrostatics the electric field
at every point within the material of a
conductor must be zero; the electric field at the
surface of the conductor is perpendicular to
the surface; any excess charge on a solid
conductor is located entirely on its surface.
49
But what if there is a cavity inside the conductor (Fig. 22.23b)? If there is no charge within
the cavity, we can use a Gaussian surface such as A (which lies completely within the
material of the conductor) to show that the net charge on the surface of the cavity must be
zero, because everywhere on the Gaussian surface. In fact, we can prove in this
situation that there can't be any charge anywhere on the cavity surface.
Suppose we place a small body with a charge q inside a cavity within a conductor (Fig.
22.23c). The conductor is uncharged and is insulated from the charge q. Again .
everywhere on surface A, so according to Gauss's law the total charge inside this surface
must be zero. Therefore there must be a charge -q distributed on the surface of the cavity,
drawn there by the charge q inside the cavity. The total charge on the conductor must
remain zero, so a charge +q must appear either on its outer surface or inside the material.
But we showed that in an electrostatic situation there can't be any excess charge within the
material of a conductor. So we conclude that the charge +q must appear on the outer
surface. By the same reasoning, if the conductor originally had a charge q
c
, then the total
charge on the outer surface must be q
c
+q after the charge q is inserted into the cavity.

0 = E
0 = E
Young p. 765, 768
50
Example 1 A solid conductor with a cavity carries a total charge of +7 n. Within the
cavity, insulated from the conductor, is a point charge of -5 nC. How much charge is on
each surface (inner and outer) of the conductor?
51
Testing Gauss's law experimentally
We can now consider a historic experiment, shown in Fig. 22.25. We mount a conducting
container, such as a metal pail with a lid, on an insulating stand. The container is initially
uncharged. Then we hang a charged metal ball from an insulating thread (Fig. 22.25a),
lower it into the pail, and put the lid on (Fig. 22.25b). Charges are induced on the walls of
the container, as shown. But now we let the ball touch the inner wall (Fig. 22.25c). The
surface of the ball becomes, in effect, part of the cavity surface. The situation is now the
same as Fig. 22.23b; if Gauss's law is correct, the net charge on the cavity surface must be
zero. Thus the ball must lose all its charge. Finally, we pull the ball out; we find that it has
indeed lost all its charge.
This experiment was performed in the 19th century by the English scientist Michael
Faraday, using a metal icepail with a lid, and it is called Faraday's ice-pail experiment.
(Similar experiments were carried out in the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin in
America and Joseph Priestley in England. although with much less precision.) The result
confirms the validity of Gauss's law and therefore of Coulomb's law. Faraday's result was
significant because Coulomb's experimental method, using a torsion balance and dividing
of charges, was not very precise; it is very difficult to confirm the 1/r
2
dependence of the
electrostatic force with great precision by direct force measurements. By contrast,
experiments like Faraday's test the validity of Gauss's law, and therefore of Coulomb's
law, with much greater precision.
Faraday's ice-pail experiment.
52
Young p.768
53
The same principle behind Faraday's icepail
experiment is used in a Van de Graaff
electrostatic generator (Fig. 22.27). The charged
conducting sphere of Fig. 22.26 is replaced by a
charged belt that continuously carries charge to
the inside of a conducting shell, only to have it
carried away to the outside surface of the shell.
As a result, the charge on the shell and the
electric field around it can become very large
very rapidly. The Van de Graaff generator is used
as an accelerator of charged particles and for
physics demonstrations.
Electric shielding
54
This principle also forms the basis for electrostatic shielding. Suppose we have a very
sensitive electronic instrument that we want to protect from stray electric fields that might
cause erroneous measurements. We surround the instrument with a conducting box, or we
line the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room with a conducting material such as sheet copper.
The external electric field
redistributes the free
electrons in the conductor,
leaving a net positive
charge on the outer surface
in some regions and a net
negative charge in others
(Fig. 22.28). This charge
distribution causes an
additional electric field
such that the total field at
every point inside the box is
zero. Such a setup is often
called a Faraday cage.

55
Field at the surface of a conductor
Finally, we note that there is a direct relationship between the E field at a point just outside
any conductor and the surface charge density u at that point. In general, u varies from point
to point on the surface. We will show in Chapter 23 that at any such point, the direction of
E is always perpendicular to the surface (see Fig. 22.28a).
To find a relationship between u at any point on the surface and the perpendicular
component of the electric field at that point, we construct a Gaussian surface in the form of
a small cylinder (Fig. 22.29). One end face, with area A, lies within the conductor and the
other lies just outside. The electric field is zero at all points within the conductor. Outside
the conductor the component of perpendicular to the side walls of the cylinder is zero,
and over the end face the perpendicular component is equal to E

. (If o is positive, the

electric field points out of the conductor and E

is positive; if o is negative, the field points

inward and E

is negative.) Hence the total fiux through the surface is E

A. The charge
enclosed within the Gaussian surface is o A, so from Gauss's law,
and (field at the surface of a conductor)

E
0
A
E A
o
c

=
0
E
o
c

=
56
Example The earth (a conductor) has a net electric charge. The resulting electric field near
the surface can be measured with sensitive electronic instruments; its average value is
about 150 V/m directed toward the center of the earth. (a) What is the corresponding
surface charge density? (b) What is the total surface charge of the earth?
Given the radius of the earth: R = 6.3810
6
m.
57
Problems
Young p. 742 Electric charge and electric field
21.2; 21.17*; 21.28; 21.30; 21.33*; 21.42; 21.53*; 21.55; 21.61; 21.66; 21.67; 21.69;
21.73*; 21.74; 21.88; 21.90; 21.93; 21.104;
58
Young p. 773 Gauss's law
22.4; 22.9; 22.11; 22.12; 22.14; 22.17; 22.21; 22.23*; 22.25; 22.30*; 22.37; 22.38;
22.42; 22.45; 22.52; 22.56; 22.57*; 22.58; 22.61; 22.63; 22.66;
59