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8 02ch27we
8 02ch27we
Department of Physics
The first telegraphic messages crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1858, by a cable 3000 km
long laid between Newfoundland and Ireland. The conductor in this cable consisted of
seven copper wires, each of diameter 0.73 mm, bundled together and surrounded by an
insulating sheath.
(a) Calculate the resistance of the conductor. Use 3 × 10−6 Ω ⋅ cm for the resistivity of the
copper.
(b) A return path for the current was provided by the ocean itself. Given that the
resistivity of seawater is about 25 ohm-cm, show that the resistance of the ocean return
would have been much smaller than that of the cable.
Solution:
πd2 π (0.073cm)2
A = Nπ r 2 = N =7 (1.1)
4 4
The resistance then becomes
R=
ρl
=
( 3 ×10 −8
cm )( 3 ×10−6 Ω ⋅ cm )
= 30719 Ω (1.2)
7π ( 0.073cm ) / 4
2
A
(b) Let the current be spread out over an area of A ≈ 103 km × 1km=1013 cm 2 , and the
distance across the Atlantic Ocean be approximately l ≈ 2000 km = 2 × 108 cm . With the
resistivity of seawater being ρ s = 25 Ω ⋅ cm , the resistance of the ocean is
( 25Ω ⋅ cm ) ( 2 ×108 cm )
R' = 13 2
= 5 × 10−4 Ω << R (1.3)
10 cm
Thus, the resistance of the ocean return is much smaller than that of the cable.
1
Example 2: Charge at junction
Show that the total amount of charge at the junction of the two materials in the figure
1 1
below is ε 0 I ( − ) , where I is the current flowing through the junction, and σ 1 and
σ2 σ1
σ 2 are the conductivities for the two materials.
Solution:
G
In a steady state of current flow, the normal component of the current density J must be
the same on both sides of the junction. Since J = σ E , we have
σ 1 E1 = σ 2 E2 (2.1)
or
σ
E2 = 1 E1 (2.2)
σ 2
Let the charge on the interface be Qin, we have, from the Gauss’s law:
G G Qin
v∫ E ⋅ dA = ( E
S
2 − E1 ) A =
ε0
or
Qin
E2 − E1 = (2.3)
Aε 0
σ 1 1
Qin = ε 0 AE1 1 − 1 = ε 0 Aσ 1 E1 − (2.4)
σ2 σ 2 σ1
1 1
Qin = ε 0 I − (2.5)
σ 2 σ1
2
Example 3: Drift velocity
The resistivity of seawater is about 25 ohm-cm. The charge carries are chiefly Na + and
Cl- ions, and of each there are about 3 × 1020 per cm3 . If we fill a plastic tube 2 meters
long with seawater and connect a 12-volt battery to the electrodes at each end, what is the
resulting average drift velocity of the ions, in cm/sec?
Solution:
The current in a conductor of cross sectional area A is related to the drift speed vd of the
charge carriers by
I = enAvd (3.1)
where n is the number of charges per unit volume. We can then rewrite the Ohm’s law as
ρl
V = IR = ( neAvd ) = nevd ρ l (3.2)
A
which yields
V
vd = (3.3)
ne ρ l
12V
vd =
( 6 ×10 cm )(1.6 ×10−19 C ) ( 25Ω ⋅ cm )( 200cm )
20 -3
(3.4)
V ⋅ cm
−5 cm
= 2.5 ×10 = 2.5 × 10−5
C⋅Ω s
V V 1 ampere −1
= = =s
Ω⋅C Ω C C
3
Example 4: Circuit
Consider the circuit shown below, for a given resistance R0 , what must be the value of R1
so that the input resistance between the terminals is equal to R0 ?
Solution:
The equivalent resistance, R’, due to the three resistors on the right is
1 1 1 R0 + 2 R1
= + = (4.1)
R ' R1 R0 + R1 R1 ( R0 + R1 )
or
R1 ( R0 + R1 )
R' = (4.2)
R0 + 2 R
R1 ( R0 + R1 ) 3R12 + 2 R1 R0
Req = R1 + = (4.3)
R0 + 2 R1 R0 + 2 R1
If Req = R0 , then
or
R0
R1 = (4.5)
3
4
Example 5:
Solution:
ε = I ( R + Ri ) (5.1)
which implies
ε
I= (5.2)
R + Ri
ε2
P=I R=
2
R (5.3)
( R + Ri )
2
To find the value of R which gives out the maximum power, we differentiate P with
respect to R and set it to be 0:
dP 1 2R R −R
=ε2 − 2
=ε2 i =0 (5.4)
( R + Ri ) ( R + Ri ) ( R + Ri )
2 3
dR
which implies
R = Ri (5.5)