Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Physics Department
Physics 8.21 Spring 2019
Physics of Energy February 8, 2019
Assignment 1 Due Friday February 15, 2019

Lectures and Reading Assignments 1

L1 Wednesday, 2/6/19 Introduction J & T §1
L2 Friday, 2/8/19 Mechanical Energy J & T §2, App. B1 (as needed)
L3 Monday, 2/11/19 Electromagnetic Energy J & T §3
L4 Wednesday, 2/13/19 Waves and Light J & T §4, App. B3 (Fourier series)

Problem Set 1 Covering L1–L3

• Be sure to use SI-units throughout
• Physical quantities not specifically provided in problems can be looked up
on the web

1. Based on J & T Problem 1.3

In a typical mid-latitude location, incident solar energy averages around 200 W/m2
over a 24-hour cycle. Compute the land area needed to supply the average person’s
energy use of 200 MJ/day if solar panels convert a net 6% of the energy incident over
a large area of land to useful electrical energy. (Commercial solar cells have reached
efficiencies of roughly 20%, but integrating cells into panels, mounting them securely,
and allowing space for maintenance and cleaning reduces the net efficiency of a solar
photovoltaic installation to approximately 6%.) Multiply by world population to get
an estimate of total land area needed to supply the world energy needs from solar
power under these assumptions. Compare this land area to some relevant reference
areas — the Sahara Desert, your native country, etc.

The total land area needed to supply an average person’s energy use is

200 MJ/day 106 W 1 day

A1 person = = 193 m2 .
(0.06)(200 W/m2 ) MJ/s 86400 s

Earth has a total population of about 7 × 109 , so the total land area needed to supply world energy needs is

Atotal = 1.35 × 1012 m2 = 1.35 × 106 km2 .

1
Physics 8.21, Physics of Energy, Spring 2019 2

This is approximately the size of Peru, twice the size of Texas, or roughly 14% of the area of the Sahara
Desert.

2. J & T Problem 1.7

The energy available from one kilogram of 235 U is 82 TJ. Energy is released when
each uranium nucleus splits, or fissions. (The fission process is described in §16, but
you do not need to know anything about the process for this problem.) 235 grams
of 235 U contain approximately Avagadro’s number (see Problem 1.6) atoms of 235 U.
How many millions of electron volts (MeV) of energy are released, on average, when a
235 U nucleus fissions? How many kilograms of gasoline have the same energy content

as one kilogram of 235 U?

The energy released per nucleus in MeV is

   12   
TJ 10 J 0.235 kg 1 mol
E = 82
kg TJ 1 mol 6.022 × 1023 atoms
1 eV 1 MeV MeV
× = 201 .
1.602 × 10−19 J 106 eV atom

We need the energy content of gasoline, 120 MJ/gallon(US), and the density of gasoline, 0.755 kg/L. One kg
of 235 U is equivalent to
   
1 gallon(US) 3.785 L 0.755 kg
M(gasoline) = 82 × 1012 J
120 × 106 J gallon(US) L
= 1.953 × 106 kg.

3. J & T Problem 2.2

A mass m moves under the influence of a force derived from the potential V (x) =
V0 cosh ax, where the properties of cosh x and other hyperbolic functions are given
in Appendix B.4.2. What is the force on the mass? What is the frequency of small
oscillations about the origin? As the magnitude of the oscillations grows, does their
frequency increase, decrease, or stay the same?

1 x
The force on the mass is F (x) = −dV /dx = −V0 a sinh ax, with sinh x = 2
(e − e−x ). For small x, the
exponential function is approximated using a Taylor expansion by
y2 y3
ey = 1 + y + + + ...,
2 6
so cosh y = 1 + y 2 /2 + . . . and sinh y = y + y 3 /6 + . . .. For small oscillations, i.e. when ax  1, so we only
need keep the first term in the expansion of sinh ax, the force is F (x) = −V0 a2 x. The equation of motion for
small oscillations is
mẍ = −V0 a2 x ,
p
which is the equation for a harmonic oscillator (see eq. (2.10)) with frequency ω = a V0 /m.
This frequency is independent of magnitude of oscillations. If, however, the amplitude of the oscillation
becomes large compared to 1/a, then the non-linear terms in the expansion of sinh x cannot be ignored and
the equation of motion becomes  
1
mẍ = −V0 a ax + a3 x3 + . . . , .
6
All of the terms in the expansion have the same sign, so as the amplitude of oscillations increases, the
magnitude of the force increases compared to just a simple harmonic oscillator and the frequency of the
oscillations increases.
Physics 8.21, Physics of Energy, Spring 2019 3

4. J & T Problem 2.4

Estimate the potential energy of the international space station (mass 370 000 kg)
relative to Earth’s surface when in orbit at a height of 350 km. Compute the velocity
of the space station in a circular orbit and compare the kinetic and potential energy.

From eq. (2.20), the potential energy relative to the surface is

GmM⊕ GmM⊕
V (h) = − +
R⊕ + h R⊕
= (6.67 × 10−11 N m2 /kg2 ) (3.7 × 105 kg) (6 × 1024 kg)×
 
1 1
× 6
− 6 5
= 1.21 TJ.
6.37 × 10 m 6.37 × 10 + 3.5 × 10 m

In a circular orbit, the gravitational force is equal to the mass times the centripetal acceleration,

mv 2 GM⊕ m
= .
r r2

Solving for velocity,

r s
GM⊕ (6.67 × 10−11 )(6 × 1024 )
v= = m/s = 7.7 km/s.
r (6.37 × 106 + 3.5 × 105 )

The kinetic energy is equal to

1 1
Ekinetic = mv 2 = (3.7 × 105 kg) (7.7 × 103 m/s)2 = 11 TJ.
2 2

Thus, the kinetic energy is 9.1 times the potential energy relative to Earth’s surface.

5. J & T Problem 2.13

In the American game of baseball, a pitcher throws a baseball, which is a round sphere
of diameter b = 0.075 m, a distance of 18.4 m (60.5 feet), to a batter, who tries to hit
the ball as far as he can. A baseball has a mass close to 0.15 kg. A radar gun measures
the speed of a baseball at the time it reaches the batter at 44.7 m/sec (100 mph). The
drag coefficient, cd of a baseball is about 0.3. Give a semi-quantitative estimate of the
speed of the ball when it left the pitcher’s hand by (a) assuming that the ball’s speed
is never too different from 100 mph to compute roughly how long it takes to go from
the pitcher to the batter, (b) using (a) to estimate the energy lost to air resistance,
and (c) using (b) to estimate the original kinetic energy and velocity.

The ball has an effective area of A = πR2 = 0.00442 m2 . For air at sea level and 25◦ C, ρair = 1.17 kg/m3 .
The energy loss rate is

dE 1
= − cd Aρair v 3 ∼
= −0.5(0.3)(0.00442 m2 )
dt 2
× (1.17 kg/m3 )(44.7 m/s)3 ∼
= −69 J/s.

If the ball’s speed does not differ significantly from 100 mph, it takes (a) t = (18.4 m)/(44.7 m/s) ∼
= 0.41 sec
for the ball to reach the batter. The total amount of energy lost is (b) ∆E = dE dt
×t∼= −28 J.
Physics 8.21, Physics of Energy, Spring 2019 4

At 100 mph, the ball has a kinetic energy of

1
Tf = mv 2 ∼
= 150 J.
2

(c) The initial kinetic energy of the ball is just the difference of this and the energy loss,

Ti = 150 J + 28 J = 178 J.

This corresponds to a velocity of

r s
2Ti ∼ 2(178 J)
v= = m/s ∼
= 49 m/s ∼
= 110 mph.
m (0.15 kg)

6. J & T Problem 2.17

One way to estimate the effective area (see eq. (2.31)) of an object is to measure its
limiting velocity v∞ falling in air. Explain how this works and find the expression for
Aeff as a function of m (the mass of the object), v∞ , g, and the density of air. The
drag coefficient of a soccer ball (radius 11 cm, mass 0.43 kg) is cd ≈ 0.25. What is its
limiting velocity?

Because the force due to air resistance increases with velocity, if an object is allowed to fall in air, there is some
velocity at which the upward force due to air resistance is equal in magnitude to the downward gravitational
force. When this happens, there is no net force on the object, so the object continues falling at this velocity,
which is v∞ . Thus,
1 2
mg = ρair Aeff v∞ .
2
Solving for Aeff ,
2mg
Aeff = 2
.
ρair v∞

The effective area of the soccer ball is Aeff = cd A = cd πr2 = 0.0095 m2 . The limiting velocity is
s s
2mg ∼ 2(0.43 kg)(9.8 m/s2 ) ∼
v∞ = = = 27 m/s .
ρair Aeff (1.2 kg/m3 )(0.0095 m2 )

7. Energy density limit for a flywheel

A rigid body rotating about a fixed axis stores kinetic energy of rotation. This is
the physical basis of the flywheel, an energy storage device that we will study later
in 8.21. Define ε ≡ Erotation /M , to be the energy density of a mass rotating about a
fixed axis. For a given material, shape, and choice of axis of rotation, the maximum
possible value of ε is a function of the density of the material, ρ, and the material’s
tensile strength, σ. σ is the maximum stress (force per unit area) that an object can
withstand without permanent deformation.

(a) Use dimensional analysis to show

εmax = kσ/ρ

where k is a dimensionless “shape parameter”.

Physics 8.21, Physics of Energy, Spring 2019 5

(b) Estimate εmax for a cylindrical shell (k = 0.5) made of high tensile strength steel
(σ ≈ 1500 MPa).
(c) Compute E/M for a “flywheel” consisting of a cylindrical shell of radius 1 m
and thickness 1 cm rotating about its symmetry axis. What is its maximum
possible rate of rotation (revolutions per minute)? What is the speed of a point
on the shell? Assuming the flywheel’s height to be 1 m; how much energy can
this flywheel store?

(a) Dimensionally, we have

[E] kg-m2 /s2 m2

[εmax ] = = = 2
[m] kg s
[F ] kg-m/s2 kg
[σ] = = =
[A] m2 m-s2
[m] kg
[ρ] = = 3.
[V ] m

The only dimensionally consistent combination is

[σ] kg/m-s2 m2
= 3
= 2 = [εmax ] ,
[ρ] kg/m s

and so σ
εmax ∝ .
ρ
Taking k to be the dimensionless constant of proportionality,

kσ
εmax = .
ρ

(b) Wikipedia quotes the density of steel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel) as 7750-8050 kg/m3 , de-
pending on the exact composition. At the precision required for this problem, it suffices to take ρ = 8000
kg/m3 as a reasonable estimate. Then

(0.5)(1.5 × 109 kg/m-s2 )

εmax =
8000 kg/m3
= 9.4 × 104 m2 /s2
= 94 kJ/kg.

(c) For an object executing rotational motion, E = 21 Iω 2 , and for a cylindrical shell whose thickness is
much smaller than the radius, I = mr2 . Then E = 21 mr2 ω 2 and

E 1
= r2 ω2 .
m 2

Taking ω = 2πf , we have

E
= 2π 2 r2 f 2 ,
m
E
and since m
≤ εmax = 9.4 × 104 m2 /s2 and r = 1 m,

εmax 9.4 × 104 m2 /s2

f2 ≤ = = 4.7 × 103 s−2
2π 2 r2 2π 2 (1m)2
f ≤ 69 s−1 = 4100 min−1 = 4100 rpm.
Physics 8.21, Physics of Energy, Spring 2019 6

At this rate, a point on the wheel has speed

v = rω = 2πrfmax = 2π(1m)(69 s−1 ) = 430 m/s.

The maximum energy of the flywheel is

kσ kσ
Emax = m= (ρV ) = kσV ,
ρ ρ

and the volume of a thin shell is the thickness t = 1 cm times the outer surface area

V = 2πrht = 2π(1 m)(1 m)(10−2 m) = 6.3 × 10−2 m3 .

This gives us
Emax = (0.5)(1.5 × 109 kg/m-s2 )(6.3 × 10−2 m3 ) = 47 MJ.

8. J & T Problem 3.3

How much energy can you store on a parallel plate capacitor with d = 1 µm, A =
10 cm2 , and  = 1000 , assuming that the breakdown field of the dielectric is the same
as for air?

The energy stored in the capacitor is EEM = CV 2 /2. The capacitance is C = A/d and the maximum voltage
is Vmax = |E|max d, so
 
1 A 1
EEM = (|E|max d)2 = Ad|E|2max
2 d 2
∼
= (0.5)(8.85 × 10−10
F/m)(10 cm2 )
× (10−2 m/cm)2 (10−6 m)(3.3 × 106 V/m)2
∼ 4.8 µJ .
=

9. Based on J & T Problems 3.5 and 3.6

Suppose that a capacitor with capacitance C is charged to some voltage V and then
allowed to discharge through a resistance R.
(a) Write an equation governing the rate at which energy in the capacitor decreases
with time due to resistive heating. Show that the solution of this equation is
EEM (t) = EEM (0)e−2t/RC . [Note: you can derive this equation by writing an
equation for an “RC-circuit” as you learned in 8.02, but you can also approach
the problem by equating dE/dt to the rate of energy loss in the resistor.] In this
part of the problem, you can ignore the internal resistance of the capacitor.
(b) Show that the thermal energy produced in the resistor equals the energy origi-
nally stored in the capacitor.
In fact, the dielectrics in capacitors allow some leakage current to pass from one
plate to the other. The leakage can be parameterized in terms of a leakage resistance
RL . This limits the amount of time a capacitor can be used to store electromagnetic
energy. The circuit diagram describing an isolated capacitor, slowly leaking charge,
is therefore similar to the one analyzed in parts (a) and (b) of this problem. The
Maxwell BCAP0310 ultracapacitor (see § 37.4.2) is listed as having a capacitance of
310 F with a voltage up to 2.85 V, and a maximum leakage current of 0.45 mA when
fully charged. Take this to be the current at t = 0.
Physics 8.21, Physics of Energy, Spring 2019 7

(c) What is the leakage resistance of the BCAP0310?

(d) Estimate the time scale over which the charge on the capacitor falls to 1/e of its
initial value.

(a) Energy conservation requires that the rate of change of the energy in the capacitor −d(Q2 /2C)/dt must
equal the power dissipated in the resistor, I 2 R. Since I = Q̇,

QQ̇
= −RQ̇2 or Q̇ = −Q/RC ,
C

since Q̇ 6= 0. This differential equation is Q(t) = Q0 e−t/RC , so the energy stored in the capacitor is

Q20 −2t/RC
EEM = e
2C

(b) The power dissipated in the resistor is

Q20 −2t/RC
P (t) = Q̇2 R = e ,
RC 2

and the total power dissipated in the resistor is

∞
∞
Q20 Q2
Z  
RC
e−2t/RC  = 0 ,

dt P (t) = −
0 RC 2 2 0 2C

which is the energy originally stored in the capacitor.

(c) From part (a), the current as a function of time is

Q(0) −t/RC V (0) −t/RC

I(t) = e = e ,
RC R

so the initial current is I(0) = V (0)/R. Solving for resistance,

V (0) 2.85 V
R= = = 6.33 kΩ.
I(0) 0.45 × 10−3 A

(d) The time scale over which the charge falls to 1/e of its initial value is

τ = RC = (6.33 kΩ)(310 F) = 1.96 × 106 s = 22.7 days.