Home Read Sign in

Search in book …

UNIVERSITY PHYSICS VOLUME 2

CONTENTS

Gauss’s Law

39 Applying Gauss’s Law

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain what spherical, cylindrical, and planar symmetry are

Recognize whether or not a given system possesses one of these symmetries

Apply Gauss’s law to determine the electric field of a system with one of these symmetries

Gauss’s law is very helpful in determining expressions for the electric field, even though the law
is not directly about the electric field; it is about the electric flux. It turns out that in situations that
have certain symmetries (spherical, cylindrical, or planar) in the charge distribution, we can de-
ducePrevious:
the electric field based on knowledge of the electric flux. In these systems, we can find a
Explaining Gauss’s Law
Gaussian surface S over which the electric field has constant magnitude. Furthermore, if is par-
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
allel to everywhere on the surface, then (If and are antiparallel everywhere on
the surface, then ) Gauss’s law then simplifies to

where A is the area of the surface. Note that these symmetries lead to the transformation of the
flux integral into a product of the magnitude of the electric field and an appropriate area. When
you use this flux in the expression for Gauss’s law, you obtain an algebraic equation that you can
solve for the magnitude of the electric field, which looks like

The direction of the electric field at the field point P is obtained from the symmetry of the charge
distribution and the type of charge in the distribution. Therefore, Gauss’s law can be used to de-
termine Here is a summary of the steps we will follow:
Problem-Solving Strategy: Gauss’s Law

1. Identify the spatial symmetry of the charge distribution. This is an important first step that
allows us to choose the appropriate Gaussian surface. As examples, an isolated point charge
has spherical symmetry, and an infinite line of charge has cylindrical symmetry.
2. Choose a Gaussian surface with the same symmetry as the charge distribution and identify
its consequences. With this choice, is easily determined over the Gaussian surface.

3. Evaluate the integral over the Gaussian surface, that is, calculate the flux
through the surface. The symmetry of the Gaussian surface allows us to factor outside
the integral.

4. Determine the amount of charge enclosed by the Gaussian surface. This is an evaluation of
the right-hand side of the equation representing Gauss’s law. It is often necessary to perform
an integration to obtain the net enclosed charge.

5. Evaluate the electric field of the charge distribution. The field may now be found using the
results of steps 3 and 4.

Basically, there are only three types of symmetry that allow Gauss’s law to be used to deduce the
electric field. They are

A charge
Previous: distribution
Explaining with
Gauss’s Lawspherical symmetry

A charge distribution with cylindrical symmetry Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

 A charge distribution with planar symmetry

To exploit the symmetry, we perform the calculations in appropriate coordinate systems and use
the right kind of Gaussian surface for that symmetry, applying the remaining four steps.

Charge Distribution with Spherical Symmetry

A charge distribution has spherical symmetry if the density of charge depends only on the dis-
tance from a point in space and not on the direction. In other words, if you rotate the system, it
doesn’t look different. For instance, if a sphere of radius R is uniformly charged with charge den-
sity then the distribution has spherical symmetry ((Figure)(a)). On the other hand, if a sphere of
radius R is charged so that the top half of the sphere has uniform charge density and the bottom
half has a uniform charge density then the sphere does not have spherical symmetry be-
cause the charge density depends on the direction ((Figure)(b)). Thus, it is not the shape of the ob-
ject but rather the shape of the charge distribution that determines whether or not a system has
spherical symmetry.

(Figure)(c) shows a sphere with four different shells, each with its own uniform charge density.
Although this is a situation where charge density in the full sphere is not uniform, the charge den-
sity function depends only on the distance from the center and not on the direction. Therefore, this
charge distribution does have spherical symmetry.
Illustrations of spherically symmetrical and nonsymmetrical systems. Different shadings indi-
cate different charge densities. Charges on spherically shaped objects do not necessarily mean
the charges are distributed with spherical symmetry. The spherical symmetry occurs only
when the charge density does not depend on the direction. In (a), charges are distributed uni-
formly in a sphere. In (b), the upper half of the sphere has a different charge density from the
lower half; therefore, (b) does not have spherical symmetry. In (c), the charges are in spherical
shells of different charge densities, which means that charge density is only a function of the
radial distance from the center; therefore, the system has spherical symmetry.

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

One good way to determine whether or not your problem has spherical symmetry is to look at the
charge density function in spherical coordinates, . If the charge density is only a func-
tion of r, that is , then you have spherical symmetry. If the density depends on or ,
you could change it by rotation; hence, you would not have spherical symmetry.

Consequences of symmetry

In all spherically symmetrical cases, the electric field at any point must be radially directed, be-
cause the charge and, hence, the field must be invariant under rotation. Therefore, using spherical
coordinates with their origins at the center of the spherical charge distribution, we can write down
the expected form of the electric field at a point P located at a distance r from the center:

where is the unit vector pointed in the direction from the origin to the field point P. The radial
component of the electric field can be positive or negative. When the electric field at
P points away from the origin, and when the electric field at P points toward the origin.

Gaussian surface and flux calculations

We can now use this form of the electric field to obtain the flux of the electric field through the
Gaussian surface. For spherical symmetry, the Gaussian surface is a closed spherical surface that
has the same center as the center of the charge distribution. Thus, the direction of the area vector
of an area element on the Gaussian surface at any point is parallel to the direction of the electric
field at that point, since they are both radially directed outward ((Figure)).
The electric field at any point of the spherical Gaussian surface for a spherically symmetrical
Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law
charge distribution is parallel to the area element vector at that point, giving flux as the prod-
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
uct of the magnitude of electric field and the value of the area. Note that the radius R of the
charge distribution and the radius r of the Gaussian surface are different quantities.

The magnitude of the electric field must be the same everywhere on a spherical Gaussian sur-
face concentric with the distribution. For a spherical surface of radius r,

Using Gauss’s law

According to Gauss’s law, the flux through a closed surface is equal to the total charge enclosed
within the closed surface divided by the permittivity of vacuum . Let be the total charge en-
closed inside the distance r from the origin, which is the space inside the Gaussian spherical sur-
face of radius r. This gives the following relation for Gauss’s law:

Hence, the electric field at point P that is a distance r from the center of a spherically symmetrical
charge distribution has the following magnitude and direction:
Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

Direction: radial from O to P or from P to O.

The direction of the field at point P depends on whether the charge in the sphere is positive or
negative. For a net positive charge enclosed within the Gaussian surface, the direction is from O
to P, and for a net negative charge, the direction is from P to O. This is all we need for a point
charge, and you will notice that the result above is identical to that for a point charge. However,
Gauss’s law becomes truly useful in cases where the charge occupies a finite volume.

Computing enclosed charge

The more interesting case is when a spherical charge distribution occupies a volume, and asking
what the electric field inside the charge distribution is thus becomes relevant. In this case, the
charge enclosed depends on the distance r of the field point relative to the radius of the charge
distribution R, such as that shown in (Figure).
A spherically symmetrical charge distribution and the Gaussian surface used for finding the
field (a) inside and (b) outside the distribution.

If point P is located outside the charge distribution—that is, if —then the Gaussian surface
containing P encloses all charges in the sphere. In this case, equals the total charge in the
sphere. On the other hand, if point P is within the spherical charge distribution, that is, if
then the Gaussian surface encloses a smaller sphere than the sphere of charge distribution. In this
case, isExplaining
Previous: less than Gauss’s
the totalLaw
charge present in the sphere. Referring to (Figure), we can write
as
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
The field at a point outside the charge distribution is also called , and the field at a point in-
side the charge distribution is called Focusing on the two types of field points, either inside
or outside the charge distribution, we can now write the magnitude of the electric field as

Note that the electric field outside a spherically symmetrical charge distribution is identical to that
of a point charge at the center that has a charge equal to the total charge of the spherical charge
distribution. This is remarkable since the charges are not located at the center only. We now work
out specific examples of spherical charge distributions, starting with the case of a uniformly
charged sphere.

Uniformly Charged Sphere A sphere of radius R, such as that shown in (Figure), has a uniform
volume charge density . Find the electric field at a point outside the sphere and at a point inside
the sphere.

Strategy Apply the Gauss’s law problem-solving strategy, where we have already worked out the
flux calculation.

Solution The charge enclosed by the Gaussian surface is given by

The answer for electric field amplitude can then be written down immediately for a point outside
the sphere, labeled and a point inside the sphere, labeled

It is interesting to note that the magnitude of the electric field increases inside the material as you
go out, since the amount of charge enclosed by the Gaussian surface increases with the volume.
Specifically, the charge enclosed grows , whereas the field from each infinitesimal element
of charge drops off with the net result that the electric field within the distribution in-
creases in strength linearly with the radius. The magnitude of the electric field outside the sphere
decreases as you go away from the charges, because the included charge remains the same but the
distance increases. (Figure) displays the variation of the magnitude of the electric field with dis-
Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law
tance from the center of a uniformly charged sphere.
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
Electric field of a uniformly charged, non-conducting sphere increases inside the sphere to a maximum
at the surface and then decreases as . Here, . The electric field is due to a spherical
charge distribution of uniform charge density and total charge Q as a function of distance from the center
of the distribution.

The direction of the electric field at any point P is radially outward from the origin if is posi-
tive, and inward (i.e., toward the center) if is negative. The electric field at some representative
space points are displayed in (Figure) whose radial coordinates r are , , and
.
Electric field vectors inside and outside a uniformly charged sphere.

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

Significance Notice that has the same form as the equation of the electric field of an isolated
point charge. In determining the electric field of a uniform spherical charge distribution, we can
therefore assume that all of the charge inside the appropriate spherical Gaussian surface is located
at the center of the distribution.

Non-Uniformly Charged Sphere A non-conducting sphere of radius R has a non-uniform charge

density that varies with the distance from its center as given by

where a is a constant. We require so that the charge density is not undefined at . Find
the electric field at a point outside the sphere and at a point inside the sphere.

Strategy Apply
Previous: the Gauss’s
Explaining Gauss’slaw
Lawstrategy given above, where we work out the enclosed charge in-
tegrals separately for cases inside and outside the sphere.
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
Solution Since the given charge density function has only a radial dependence and no dependence
on direction, we have a spherically symmetrical situation. Therefore, the magnitude of the electric
field at any point is given above and the direction is radial. We just need to find the enclosed
charge which depends on the location of the field point.

A note about symbols: We use for locating charges in the charge distribution and r for locating
the field point(s) at the Gaussian surface(s). The letter R is used for the radius of the charge
distribution.

As charge density is not constant here, we need to integrate the charge density function over the
volume enclosed by the Gaussian surface. Therefore, we set up the problem for charges in one
spherical shell, say between and as shown in (Figure). The volume of charges in the
shell of infinitesimal width is equal to the product of the area of surface and the thickness
. Multiplying the volume with the density at this location, which is , gives the charge in
the shell:

Spherical symmetry with non-uniform charge distribution. In this type of problem, we need four radii: R
is the radius of the charge distribution, r is the radius of the Gaussian surface, is the inner radius of the
spherical shell, and is the outer radius of the spherical shell. The spherical shell is used to calcu-
late the charge enclosed within the Gaussian surface. The range for is from 0 to r for the field at a
point inside the charge distribution and from 0 to R for the field at a point outside the charge distribution.
If , then the Gaussian surface encloses more volume than the charge distribution, but the addi-
tional volume does not contribute to .

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

(a) Field at a point outside the charge distribution. In this case, the Gaussian surface, which
contains the field point P, has a radius r that is greater than the radius R of the charge distribution,
. Therefore, all charges of the charge distribution are enclosed within the Gaussian surface.
Note that the space between and is empty of charges and therefore does not con-
tribute to the integral over the volume enclosed by the Gaussian surface:

This is used in the general result for above to obtain the electric field at a point outside the
charge distribution as

where is a unit vector in the direction from the origin to the field point at the Gaussian surface.

(b) Field at a point inside the charge distribution. The Gaussian surface is now buried inside
the charge distribution, with . Therefore, only those charges in the distribution that are
within a distance r of the center of the spherical charge distribution count in :

Previous:
Now, using Explaining Gauss’s
the general resultLaw
above for we find the electric field at a point that is a distance r
from the center and lies within the charge distribution asNext: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
where the direction information is included by using the unit radial vector.

Check Your Understanding Check that the electric fields for the sphere reduce to the correct
values for a point charge.
In this case, there is only

Charge Distribution with Cylindrical Symmetry

A charge distribution has cylindrical symmetry if the charge density depends only upon the dis-
tance r from the axis of a cylinder and must not vary along the axis or with direction about the
axis. In other words, if your system varies if you rotate it around the axis, or shift it along the axis,
you do not have cylindrical symmetry.

(Figure) shows four situations in which charges are distributed in a cylinder. A uniform charge
density in an infinite straight wire has a cylindrical symmetry, and so does an infinitely long
cylinder with constant charge density An infinitely long cylinder that has different charge den-
sities along its length, such as a charge density for and for , does not have
a usable cylindrical symmetry for this course. Neither does a cylinder in which charge density
varies with the direction, such as a charge density for and for .
A system with concentric cylindrical shells, each with uniform charge densities, albeit different in
different shells, as in (Figure)(d), does have cylindrical symmetry if they are infinitely long. The
infinite length requirement is due to the charge density changing along the axis of a finite cylin-
der. In real systems, we don’t have infinite cylinders; however, if the cylindrical object is consid-
erably longer than the radius from it that we are interested in, then the approximation of an infi-
nite cylinder becomes useful.
To determine whether a given charge distribution has cylindrical symmetry, look at the cross-
section of an “infinitely long” cylinder. If the charge density does not depend on the polar an-
gle of the cross-section or along the axis, then you have cylindrical symmetry. (a) Charge den-
sity is constant in the cylinder; (b) upper half of the cylinder has a different charge density
from the lower half; (c) left half of the cylinder has a different charge density from the right
half; (d) charges are constant in different cylindrical rings, but the density does not depend on
the polar angle. Cases (a) and (d) have cylindrical symmetry, whereas (b) and (c) do not.
Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

 Consequences of symmetry

In all cylindrically symmetrical cases, the electric field at any point P must also display cylin-
drical symmetry.

Cylindrical symmetry: ,

where r is the distance from the axis and is a unit vector directed perpendicularly away from the
axis ((Figure)).
The electric field in a cylindrically symmetrical situation depends only on the distance from
the axis. The direction of the electric field is pointed away from the axis for positive charges
and toward the axis for negative charges.

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

 Gaussian surface and flux calculation

To make use of the direction and functional dependence of the electric field, we choose a closed
Gaussian surface in the shape of a cylinder with the same axis as the axis of the charge distribu-
tion. The flux through this surface of radius s and height L is easy to compute if we divide our
task into two parts: (a) a flux through the flat ends and (b) a flux through the curved surface
((Figure)).
The Gaussian surface in the case of cylindrical symmetry. The electric field at a patch is either
parallel or perpendicular to the normal to the patch of the Gaussian surface.

The electric field is perpendicular to the cylindrical side and parallel to the planar end caps of the
surface. The flux through the cylindrical part is

whereas the flux through the end caps is zero because there. Thus, the flux is

Using Gauss’s law

According to Gauss’s law, the flux must equal the amount of charge within the volume enclosed
by this surface,
Previous: divided
Explaining by the
Gauss’s permittivity of free space. When you do the calculation for a cylin-
Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

der of length L, you find that of Gauss’s law is directly proportional to L. Let us write it as
charge per unit length times length L:

Hence, Gauss’s law for any cylindrically symmetrical charge distribution yields the following
magnitude of the electric field a distance s away from the axis:

The charge per unit length depends on whether the field point is inside or outside the cylinder
of charge distribution, just as we have seen for the spherical distribution.

Computing enclosed charge

Let R be the radius of the cylinder within which charges are distributed in a cylindrically symmet-
rical way. Let the field point P be at a distance s from the axis. (The side of the Gaussian surface
includes the field point P.) When (that is, when P is outside the charge distribution), the
Gaussian surface includes all the charge in the cylinder of radius R and length L. When (P
is located inside the charge distribution), then only the charge within a cylinder of radius s and
length L is enclosed by the Gaussian surface:

Uniformly Charged Cylindrical Shell A very long non-conducting cylindrical shell of radius R
has a uniform surface charge density Find the electric field (a) at a point outside the shell and
(b) at a point inside the shell.

Strategy Apply the Gauss’s law strategy given earlier, where we treat the cases inside and outside
the shell separately.

Solution

a. Electric field at a point outside the shell. For a point outside the cylindrical shell, the
Gaussian surface is the surface of a cylinder of radius and length L, as shown in
(Figure). The charge enclosed by the Gaussian cylinder is equal to the charge on the cylin-
drical shell of length L. Therefore, is given by

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

 A Gaussian surface surrounding a cylindrical shell.

Hence, the electric field at a point P outside the shell at a distance r away from the axis is

where is a unit vector, perpendicular to the axis and pointing away from it, as shown in
the figure. The electric field at P points in the direction of given in (Figure) if and
in the opposite direction to if .

b. Electric field at a point inside the shell. For a point inside the cylindrical shell, the
Gaussian surface is a cylinder whose radius r is less than R ((Figure)). This means no
charges are included inside the Gaussian surface:

A Gaussian surface within a cylindrical shell.

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium



This gives the following equation for the magnitude of the electric field at a point
whose r is less than R of the shell of charges.

This gives us

Significance Notice that the result inside the shell is exactly what we should expect: No enclosed
charge means zero electric field. Outside the shell, the result becomes identical to a wire with uni-
form charge

Check Your Understanding A thin straight wire has a uniform linear charge density Find the
electric field at a distance d from the wire, where d is much less than the length of the wire.
; This agrees with the calculation of (Figure) where we found the electric field by in-
tegrating over the charged wire. Notice how much simpler the calculation of this electric field is
with Gauss’s law.

Charge Distribution with Planar Symmetry

A planar symmetry of charge density is obtained when charges are uniformly spread over a large
Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law
flat surface. In planar symmetry, all points in a plane parallel to the plane of charge are identical
with respect to the charges. Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
 Consequences of symmetry

We take the plane of the charge distribution to be the xy-plane and we find the electric field at a
space point P with coordinates (x, y, z). Since the charge density is the same at all (x, y)-coordi-
nates in the plane, by symmetry, the electric field at P cannot depend on the x– or y-coordi-
nates of point P, as shown in (Figure). Therefore, the electric field at P can only depend on the
distance from the plane and has a direction either toward the plane or away from the plane. That
is, the electric field at P has only a nonzero z-component.

Uniform charges in xy plane:

where z is the distance from the plane and is the unit vector normal to the plane. Note that in this
system, although of course they point in opposite directions.
The components of the electric field parallel to a plane of charges cancel out the two charges
located symmetrically from the field point P. Therefore, the field at any point is pointed verti-
cally from the plane of charges. For any point P and charge we can always find a with
this effect.

Gaussian surface and flux calculation

In the present case, a convenient Gaussian surface is a box, since the expected electric field points
in one direction only. To keep the Gaussian box symmetrical about the plane of charges, we take
it to straddle the plane of the charges, such that one face containing the field point P is taken par-
allel to the plane of the charges. In (Figure), sides I and II of the Gaussian surface (the box) that
are parallel to the infinite plane have been shaded. They are the only surfaces that give rise to
nonzero fluxExplaining
Previous: because Gauss’s
the electric
Law field and the area vectors of the other faces are perpendicular to
each other.
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
A thin charged sheet and the Gaussian box for finding the electric field at the field point P.
The normal to each face of the box is from inside the box to outside. On two faces of the box,
the electric fields are parallel to the area vectors, and on the other four faces, the electric fields
are perpendicular to the area vectors.

Let A be the area of the shaded surface on each side of the plane and be the magnitude of the
electric field at point P. Since sides I and II are at the same distance from the plane, the electric
field has the same magnitude at points in these planes, although the directions of the electric field
at these points in the two planes are opposite to each other.

Magnitude at I or II:

If the charge on the plane is positive, then the direction of the electric field and the area vectors
are as shown in (Figure). Therefore, we find for the flux of electric field through the box

where the zeros are for the flux through the other sides of the box. Note that if the charge on the
plane is negative, the directions of electric field and area vectors for planes I and II are opposite to
each other, and we get a negative sign for the flux. According to Gauss’s law, the flux must equal
. From (Figure), we see that the charges inside the volume enclosed by the Gaussian box
reside on anExplaining
Previous: area A ofGauss’s
the xy-plane.
Law Hence,

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

Using the equations for the flux and enclosed charge in Gauss’s law, we can immediately deter-
mine the electric field at a point at height z from a uniformly charged plane in the xy-plane:

The direction of the field depends on the sign of the charge on the plane and the side of the plane
where the field point P is located. Note that above the plane, , while below the plane,
.

You may be surprised to note that the electric field does not actually depend on the distance from
the plane; this is an effect of the assumption that the plane is infinite. In practical terms, the result
given above is still a useful approximation for finite planes near the center.

Summary

For a charge distribution with certain spatial symmetries (spherical, cylindrical,

and planar), we can find a Gaussian surface over which , where E is
constant over the surface. The electric field is then determined with Gauss’s
law.
For spherical symmetry, the Gaussian surface is also a sphere, and Gauss’s law
simplifies to .

For cylindrical symmetry, we use a cylindrical Gaussian surface, and find that
Gauss’s law simplifies to .

For planar symmetry, a convenient Gaussian surface is a box penetrating the

plane, with two faces parallel to the plane and the remainder perpendicular, re-
sulting in Gauss’s law being .

Conceptual Questions

Would Gauss’s law be helpful for determining the electric field of two equal but opposite charges
a fixed distance apart?
No,Previous: Explaining
since the situationGauss’s Lawhave symmetry, making Gauss’s law challenging to simplify.
does not
Discuss the role that symmetry plays in the application of Gauss’s law. Give examples of continu-
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
ous charge distributions in which Gauss’s law is useful and not useful in determining the electric
field.
Discuss the restrictions on the Gaussian surface used to discuss planar symmetry. For example, is
its length important? Does the cross-section have to be square? Must the end faces be on opposite
sides of the sheet?
Any shape of the Gaussian surface can be used. The only restriction is that the Gaussian integral
must be calculable; therefore, a box or a cylinder are the most convenient geometrical shapes for
the Gaussian surface.

Problems

Recall that in the example of a uniform charged sphere, Rewrite the answers in
terms of the total charge Q on the sphere.

Suppose that the charge density of the spherical charge distribution shown in (Figure) is
for and zero for Obtain expressions for the electric field both inside
and outside the distribution.
A very long, thin wire has a uniform linear charge density of What is the electric field
at a distance 2.0 cm from the wire?

A charge of is distributed uniformly throughout a spherical volume of radius 10.0 cm.

Determine the electric field due to this charge at a distance of (a) 2.0 cm, (b) 5.0 cm, and (c) 20.0
cm from the center of the sphere.
Repeat your calculations for the preceding problem, given that the charge is distributed uniformly
over the surface of a spherical conductor of radius 10.0 cm.
a. 0; b. 0; c.
A total charge Q is distributed uniformly throughout a spherical shell of inner and outer radii
respectively. Show that the electric field due to the charge is

When a charge is placed on a metal sphere, it ends up in equilibrium at the outer surface. Use this
information to determine the electric field of charge put on a 5.0-cm aluminum spherical
ballPrevious:
at the following
Explainingtwo points
Gauss’s Lawin space: (a) a point 1.0 cm from the center of the ball (an inside
point) and (b) a point 10 cm from the center of the ball (an outside point).
Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
a. 0; b.
A large sheet of charge has a uniform charge density of What is the electric field due
to this charge at a point just above the surface of the sheet?
Determine if approximate cylindrical symmetry holds for the following situations. State why or
why not. (a) A 300-cm long copper rod of radius 1 cm is charged with +500 nC of charge and we
seek electric field at a point 5 cm from the center of the rod. (b) A 10-cm long copper rod of ra-
dius 1 cm is charged with +500 nC of charge and we seek electric field at a point 5 cm from the
center of the rod. (c) A 150-cm wooden rod is glued to a 150-cm plastic rod to make a 300-cm
long rod, which is then painted with a charged paint so that one obtains a uniform charge density.
The radius of each rod is 1 cm, and we seek an electric field at a point that is 4 cm from the center
of the rod. (d) Same rod as (c), but we seek electric field at a point that is 500 cm from the center
of the rod.
a. Yes, the length of the rod is much greater than the distance to the point in question. b. No, The
length of the rod is of the same order of magnitude as the distance to the point in question. c. Yes,
the length of the rod is much greater than the distance to the point in question. d. No. The length
of the rod is of the same order of magnitude as the distance to the point in question.
A long silver rod of radius 3 cm has a charge of on its surface. (a) Find the electric field
at a point 5 cm from the center of the rod (an outside point). (b) Find the electric field at a point 2
cm from the center of the rod (an inside point).
The electric field at 2 cm from the center of long copper rod of radius 1 cm has a magnitude 3
N/C and directed outward from the axis of the rod. (a) How much charge per unit length exists on
the copper rod? (b) What would be the electric flux through a cube of side 5 cm situated such that
the rod passes through opposite sides of the cube perpendicularly?
a.

;
b.
A long copper cylindrical shell of inner radius 2 cm and outer radius 3 cm surrounds concentri-
cally a charged long aluminum rod of radius 1 cm with a charge density of 4 pC/m. All charges on
the aluminum rod reside at its surface. The inner surface of the copper shell has exactly opposite
charge to that of the aluminum rod while the outer surface of the copper shell has the same charge
as the aluminum rod. Find the magnitude and direction of the electric field at points that are at the
following distances from the center of the aluminum rod: (a) 0.5 cm, (b) 1.5 cm, (c) 2.5 cm, (d)
3.5 cm, and (e) 7 cm.
Charge is distributed uniformly with a density throughout an infinitely long cylindrical volume
Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law
of radius R. Show that the field of this charge distribution is directed radially with respect to the
cylinder and that Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
 ;

Charge is distributed throughout a very long cylindrical volume of radius R such that the charge
density increases with the distance r from the central axis of the cylinder according to
where is a constant. Show that the field of this charge distribution is directed radially with re-
spect to the cylinder and that

The electric field 10.0 cm from the surface of a copper ball of radius 5.0 cm is directed toward the
ball’s center and has magnitude How much charge is on the surface of the ball?

Charge is distributed throughout a spherical shell of inner radius and outer radius with a vol-
ume density given by where is a constant. Determine the electric field due to this
charge as a function of r, the distance from the center of the shell.
Charge is distributed throughout a spherical volume of radius R with a density where
is a constant. Determine the electric field due to the charge at points both inside and outside the
sphere.

Consider a uranium nucleus to be sphere of radius with a charge of 92e distrib-

uted uniformly throughout its volume. (a) What is the electric force exerted on an electron when it
is from the center of the nucleus? (b) What is the acceleration of the electron at this
point?
The volume charge density of a spherical charge distribution is given by where
Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law
and are constants. What is the electric field produced by this charge distribution?
integrate by parts: Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
 Glossary

cylindrical symmetry
system only varies with distance from the axis, not direction

planar symmetry
system only varies with distance from a plane

spherical symmetry
system only varies with the distance from the origin, not in direction

LICENSE SHARE THIS BOOK

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

University Physics Volume 2 by
cnxuniphysics is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License, except where
otherwise noted.

Powered by Pressbooks

Guides and Tutorials | Contact

Previous: Explaining Gauss’s Law

Next: Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium