Chapter 2: Q37P (page 97)
Find the interaction energy
for two point
charges and a distance aapart.
Short Answer
The interaction energy is
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Chapter 2: Q37P (page 97)
Find the interaction energy
for two point
charges and a distance aapart.
The interaction energy is
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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:
In this case15
(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 on a conducting "needle," running from x = - a to x = a. In each case, sketch the graph of your result.
(a) A point chargeis inside a cavity in an uncharged conductor (Fig. 2.45). Is the force on necessarily zero?
(b) Is the force between a point charge and a nearby uncharged conductor always
attractive?
An inverted hemispherical bowl of radius Rcarries a uniform surface charge density .Find the potential difference between the "north pole" and the center.
A conical surface (an empty ice-cream cone) carries a uniform surface charge .The height of the cone is as is the radius of the top. Find the potential difference between points (the vertex) and (the center of the top).
An infinite plane slab, of thickness 2d,carries a uniform volumecharge density p (Fig. 2.27). Find the electric field, as a function of y,where y = 0 at the center. Plot Eversus y,calling Epositive when it points in the +ydirection and negative when it points in the -y direction.

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