8.

311 Spring 2013: Recitation Problems 1

E.I. Sfakianakis
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
(Dated: February 16, 2013)

1. A conductor is charged by repeated contacts with a metal plate which,

after each contact, is recharged to Q. If q is the charge on the conductor
after the first charge, what is the ultimate charge on the conductor?
The charge on the two conductors when they are in contact (when they have the same
voltage V ) are qc = C1 V and qp = C2 V . Dividing the two
C1
qc
=
= constant
qp
C2
After the first contact the charges are qc = q and qp = Q q. After infinitely many
contacts qp = Q.
q
qQ
C1
=
q =
C2
Qq
Qq
2. A capacitor is immersed in a medium having conductivity g. A resistance
R is measured. Show that RC = /g, regardless of the geometry of the
capacitor.
V
=I=
R

~=g
J~ dA

~ dA
~=g
E


Z
dA =

gQ
g

= CV RC =


g

where Gauss law was used in the last integral manipulation

3. The space between two conscentric metal spheres of radius R1 and R2 > R1
is filled with a dielectric material with space-varying permeability of the
form  = 0 + 1 cos2 ()
Both D and E are radial vector fields. Of the two, only E is independent of the angular
variables.

Electronic address: http://web.mit.edu/esfaki/www/8.311.html

~ A
~ = 4Q = 2R2 E
Dd

(0 +1 cos2 ())d(cos) =

R2

V =
R1

4.

4R2
3Q
E(30 +1 ) E =
3
(30 + 1 )R2

~ R
~ = 3Q(R2 R1 ) = Q C = R1 R2 (30 + 1
Ed
(30 + 1 )R2 R1
C
(R2 R1 )
3

A thin metal disk of mass m is on a conducting surface.

We start

charging the disk. What charge is required to lift the disk?

Well use the change in energy.
dU =

dU
AE 2
A(4)2
E 2
Adx F =
=
=
= 2 2 A
8
dx
8
8

mgA
F = mg 2 2 A = mg A =
Q=
2

mgA
2

5. A stream of particles approaches a small slit of width y0 and depth d. If

the beam is focused at distances x1 and x2 from the slit, as shown in Fig.
1, show that

1
x1

We approximate

1
x2

+
Ex
x

E2 E1
2V0

E2 E1
.
d

Furthermore we assume that the vertical field in the

slit is varying linearly as Ey = ay.

E = 0 a =

E2 E1
d

F = e(E2 E1 )

y
d

p = Dt = e(E2 E1 )

yd
dv

p
p

From the geometry of the problem x2 = y/2 , 2 = 1 and 1 = y/x1

Altogether
1
1
E2 E1
1
1
E2 E1
+
=e

+
=
x1 x2
pv
x1 x2
2V0

FIG. 1: