Semester II, 2015-16

Department of Physics, IIT Kanpur

PHY103A: Lecture # 8
(Text Book: Intro to Electrodynamics by Griffiths, 3rd Ed.)

Anand Kumar Jha

Notes
Homework # 3 is uploaded on the course
webpage
No Regular Office Hours:
Problem Solving Session:
Mondays 5-6 pm: TB-205, TB-206, TB-207
(TAs and Instructors would be around to help)

Summary of Lecture # 7:
Electrostatic Boundary Conditions
Electric Field:

Electric Potential:

above

below

=
0

E above E below = 0

above below =
0

Vabove Vbelow = 0

Basic Properties of Conductors

(1) The electric field = 0 inside a conductor, always.

(2) The charge density = 0 inside a conductor. This is because = 0 = 0.

(3) Any net charge resides on the surface. Why? To minimize the energy.
(4) A conductor is an equipotential.
(5) is perpendicular to the surface, just outside the conductor.

Summary of Lecture # 7:
Prob. 2.36 (Griffiths, 3rd Ed. ):

- Surface charge ? =
42

- Surface charge ? =
4 2
+
- Surface charge ? =
42
1

=
- ( ) ? out 4 2
0
1

=
- ( ) ? out 4 2
0
- out () ? out

1 +
=

40 2

- Force on ?

- Force on ?

Summary of Lecture # 7:
Prob. 2.36 (Griffiths, 3rd Ed. ):

- Surface charge ? =
42

- Surface charge ? =
4 2
+
- Surface charge ? =
42
1

=
- ( ) ? out 4 2
0
1

=
- ( ) ? out 4 2
0
- out () ? out

- Force on ?

- Force on ?

Same
Same
Changes
Same
Same

1 + Changes
=

40 2
0

Same

Same

Bring in a third
charge

Surface Charge and the Force on a Conductor:

What is the electrostatic force on the patch?
Force per unit area on the patch is:
= (? ) = other

above = other +patch, above

= other +

20

below = other +patch, below

= other

20

But, inside a metal, = ,

other =

20

1
other =

+ below
2 above

so below = 0

above = other +

20
0

Surface Charge and the Force on a Conductor:

What is the electrostatic force on the patch?
Force per unit area on the patch is:
= (? ) = other

other =

20

above =

Force per unit area on the patch is:

= other

20

Force per unit area is pressure.

So, the electrostatic pressure is:
0 2
2
=
=
2
20

Capacitor:
Two conductors with charge and .

What is the potential difference between them?

(+)

= + = .
()

Capacitance is the ability of a system to store electric charge.

It is purely a geometric quantity.
C is measured in farads (F), Coulomb/Volt.
Practical units are microfarad (106 ) or picofarad (1012 ).

Capacitance is defined as:

Work needed to charge a Capacitor:

Two conductors with charge and .

How much work needs to be done to increase the charge by d

Recall

The work required to create a system of a point charge :

= =

= QV

The work necessary to go from = 0 to = is

=

1 2
=
2

1 2

2
9

Capacitor:
Ex. 2.10 (Griffiths, 3rd Ed. ): Find the capacitance of a
parallel plate capacitor. Area = A, Separation =
The electric field between the plates

E=
+
=
=
20 20
0
0

The potential difference is therefore,

= . = =
Capacitance is:

=
=

10

Capacitor:
Ex. 2.11 (Griffiths, 3rd Ed. ): Find the capacitance of two
concentric spherical metal shells, with radii and .
Suppose there is charge on the inner shell and
on the outer shell.
The electric field between the two shells is

2
40
The potential difference is therefore,

= = . =

2
40

1
=
2
40

1 1
=

40

Capacitance is: =
= 40
( )

11

Superposition principle for electrostatic energy:

We have seen several electrostatic systems, including conductors.
We know how to calculate electrostatic energy for different system.
We know that electric field () and electric potential () follow the principle of
superposition.
= + +

= V1 + V2 +

Does electrostatic energy also follow the principle of superposition?

No

Because is quadratic in ?

Why?

0
0
0
2
2
2
2
= = ( + ) = 2 (1 + 2 + 2 )
2
2
0
0
2
= 1 + 22 + 0
2
2

+2

+0

12

Electric Field: Can We See It?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vnmL853784

13

Special Techniques (Electrostatics):

How to find ?

= V

V =

14

Special Techniques (Electrostatics):

Laplaces Equation

The Method of Images

Multipole Expansion

15

Laplaces Equation
Q: How to find electric field ?
1

2 r
Ans: () =
40 r

(Coulombs Law)

Very difficult to calculate the integral except for very simple situation

Alternative: First calculate the electric potential

1

V() =

40 r

This integral is relatively easier but in general still difficult to handle

Alternative: Express the above equation in the different form.

2
V =
(Poissons Equation)
0

When = 0

2 V = 0

(Laplaces Equation)

If = 0 everywhere, = 0 everywhere

If is localized, what is away from the charge distribution?

16

Laplaces Equation in One Dimension

2 V = 0

(Laplaces Equation)

In Cartesian coordinates,
2
2
2
+ 2 + 2 = 0
2

If V(, , ) depends on only one variable, , We have

2
= 0
2

(One-dimensional Laplaces Equation,

ordinary differential equation)

General Solution: = +

How to calculate the constants and ?

Using boundary conditions

What decides the boundary condition?

The charge distribution
17