HET316 L4 Gauss Law

HET316 Electromagnetic Waves: Gauss Law
4.1
Maxwells Equations for a
Static Electric Field
4.2
Gauss Law
4.3
Maxwells Equations for a Static Electric Field
For the next few sections we assume the microscopic picture of
electric fields in which we tacitly assume that the positions of all
the charges are known.
The initial aim is to find a concise way of writing the laws
governing the generation of electric fields by static charge
distributions.
The ultimate aim is to find the complete set of equations governing
electric and magnetic fields.
4.4
Gauss Law (I).
We shall start with the electrostatic problems already considered.
The crucial observation (which is anything but obvious) is that the
distribution of electrostatic fields is governed by
(1). the properties of electric field lines.
(2). the fact that the field is conservative.
4.5
Ignoring point (2) for the moment, the relevant properties of
electric field lines are:
(a). Field lines start on positive charges (or at infinity) and end
on negative charges (or at infinity).
(b). Except at points where there are charges or the field falls to
zero, electric field lines do not branch or cross.
(c). The number of field lines starting (or ending) on a point
charge is proportional to the charge of the particle. (This is really
only possible for inverse square law forces.)
+ -
Field lines start on positive charges
Or at infinity
Field lines end on negative charges
Or at infinity
4.6
4.7
Suppose we imagine a closed surface surrounding a collection of
charged particles.
The field lines may cross this surface; count a crossing from inside
to outside as positive and from outside to inside as negative.
A field line which begins on a charge inside the region and ends on
a charge also inside the region contributes nothing to the number
of lines crossing the surface (since the line cannot split or end
anywhere else and outward crossings must balance inward
crossings since the surface is closed).
Similarly lines which start and end outside the region contribute
nothing to the net number of crossings .
- +
S
Number of lines crossing a surface (here equal to 12)
remains constant as surface changes
4.8
- +
S
4.9
- +
S
4.10
- +
S
Outgoing lines count as positive
Ingoing lines count as negative
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
-1
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
The negative crossing here is
cancelled by a new positive
crossing so the number of lines
crossing the surface remains
unchanged.
+1
4.11
- +
S
If the number of charges inside the region bounded by the surface changes
then the number of field lines crossing the surface does change.
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
The change in number of
lines is proportional to the
change in charge inside
the surface.
4.12
4.13
A little thought will convince that the total number of field lines,
e
(S), crossing a closed surface, S, must be proportional to the
total charge, Q(S), contained in the region bounded by the surface .
) ( ) ( S Q S
e

This intuitive result (we have not derived it just given a plausible
justification) is the essence of Gauss Law.
In this form it is an interesting observation, but not much use.
The pay-off comes when we find a way of interpreting the number
of field lines crossing S in terms of the electric field on S .
4.14
Electric Flux
The quantity we have loosely identified with the number of field
lines crossing S need not really be an integer, all we need is some
quantity, usually called electric flux, which behaves in the same
way.
The simplest approach is to take the total flux leaving a charge q as
equal to q.
We shall use the symbol to denote this quantity. For a single
point charge q we then have
q =
Choose a surface S which is a sphere of radius r, centred on
the charge.
+
r
The surface area of the sphere is
2
4 r A =
The flux density on this sphere is
clearly uniform over the surface
and given numerically by
4.15
2
4 r
q
A
D
= =
4.16
But this is directly proportional to the strength of the electric field
on the surface of the sphere.
) (
4
) (
0
2
0
0
r E
r
q
r D
= =
This suggests that a possible interpretation of the magnitude of the
electric flux density in the vicinity of a point, r, is just the
magnitude of the electric field E(r) in the vicinity of the point.
4.17
Indeed the electric field itself can serve as the electric flux density
vector; we shall define the total electric flux, d
e
crossing a small
plane surface perpendicular to E with area dS as
dS d
e
E =
dS
E
4.18
If the area element is not perpendicular to the field direction we
can still calculate the flux across the projection of the area at right
angles to the field and take this as the definition of the elemental
flux.
cos dS d
e
E =
dS
E
cos dS
To complete the definition we introduce the elemental area
vector dS which is a vector normal to the element with a
magnitude equal to the area of the element. Then use the
definition of the scalar product
cos S E S E d d =
dS
E
cos dS
To give the definition
of the elemental flux
S E d d
e
=
4.19
The idea of a surface integral is needed to extend the
definition of electric flux to finite surfaces.
Consider a smooth surface S (which may be open or closed)
S
4.20
Divide the surface into N small elements, let dS
n
be the area
vector describing the n-th small element. For open surfaces
the direction of dS
n
is defined by the right-hand rule once a
direction has been assigned to the bounding curve.
S
dS
1
dS
2
dS
n
For closed surfaces
the direction is
taken along the
outward normal.
n n n
n n
dS d
d dS
s S
S
=
=
4.21
Assume that the a scalar function, f(r), is sufficiently smooth
that on any given small element it can be well approximated
by its value at the centre of the element (f(r
n
)). The surface
integral of f over S is defined to be the limit of the sum.
S
f(r
1
)dS
1
f(r
n
)dS
n
f(r
2
)dS
2
=
N
n
n n
dS f
1
) (r
as the size of each element
goes to zero and the number
of elements goes to infinity.
=
N
n
n n
N
dA
S
dS f fdS
n
1
0
) ( lim r
4.22
For a vector field, f(r), the flux is the surface integral of the
normal component of the field over the surface.
=
=
N
n
n n
N
dA
N
n
n n n
N
dA
f
d
dS
n
n
1
0
1
0
) ( lim
) ( lim
S r f
s r f
S
=
S
f
dS f
This is often written in the
symbolic form :
n n n n n
d dS S r f s r f = ) (
) (
4.23
The electric flux across a finite surface, S, is then the sum of
the fluxes across all of the small elements into which the
surface is partitioned. Thus
S
=
S
e
dS E
E
dS
If the surface is closed then
it is conventional to indicate
this by drawing a circle on
the integral sign
=
S
e
dS E
4.24
Gauss Law
We are now in a position to state Gauss law in its usual form.
In fact it can be shown that the total electric flux across any
closed surface is proportional to the total charge contained
within the region bounded by the closed surface.
4.25
0
) (
s Q
d
S
=
S E
This is the integral form of Gauss law in the microscopic
picture.
Gauss law is the first of Maxwells equations.
It is also common to write this in terms of a second field, D,
called the electric displacement field:
4.26
In terms of which Gauss law becomes
) ( ) (
0
r E r D =
In the microscopic picture (or in free space) the two fields are
strictly proportional to one another and there is no particular
advantage in using D.
In the macroscopic picture, using smoothed average charge
distributions, the distinction becomes important and both fields
are required.
) (S Q d
S
=
S D
4.27
Two points need to be emphasised
1. The surface in Gauss Law can be any closed surface.
Its shape is usually chosen for convenience of calculation in a
given problem.
2. By itself Gauss law is not strictly enough to completely
determine the electric field.
If the field has known symmetries, however, then Gauss law may
be enough to determine the distribution of field strengths.
4.28
Electric Field for a Uniformly Charged Sphere.
The most famous case for which Gauss law can be used to
simplify the field calculation is for radially symmetric volume
charge distributions.
We start with the simplest case;
a spherical volume containing
a uniform charge distribution
V
.

a
r
v
4.29
The symmetry of the problem makes it clear that the field strength
can depend only on the distance from the centre of the sphere
and that the field direction is radial
(ie. points to or away from the centre of the sphere).

a
S
r
E(r)
) (
) ( r E r r E =
To take advantage of this symmetry
choose the Gaussian surface S to
be a sphere with radius r and the
same centre as the charge
distribution.
4.30
The calculation is best done in two parts;
(1). Calculate the total electric flux through the Gaussian
surface
(2) Calculate the total charge in the region bounded by the
surface.

a
S
r
E(r)
The surface normal at r is
so
r
dS d r S
=
and
dS r E dS r E d ) (
) (
) ( = = r r S r E
4.31
Calculating the total flux across the sphere is now easy, (it does
not matter if r < a or r > a for this part of the calculation), since r
is constant on the surface of the sphere.

a
S
r
E(r)
r
2
4 ) ( ) (
hence
sphere of area ) (
) ( ) ( ) (
r r E d
r E
dS r E dS r E d
S
S S S
=
=
= =

S r E
S r E
4.32
To calculate the charge inside S treat the cases r < a and r > a
separately.
For the r > a case (Gaussian surface outside the surface of the
charged sphere), the total charge inside S is just the total charge,
Q
0
, on the sphere:

a
S
r
E(r)
0
3
3
4

Sphere Charged of Volume ) (
Q a
S Q
V
V
=
=

Gauss Law then becomes

a r
Q
r r E
S Q
d
S
> = =
; 4 ) (
) (
0
0
2
0

S E
4.33
For r < a, the charge inside S is given by

a
S
r
3
0
3

3
4

Sphere Gaussian of Volume ) (
|
\
|
=
=
=
a
r
Q
r
S Q
V
V

Gauss Law then becomes

a r
a
r Q
r r E
S Q
d
S
\
|
= =
; 4 ) (
) (
3
0
0
2
0

S E
4.34
Thus
>
=
a r r
a r a r Q
r E
; 1
;
4
) (
2
3
0
0

a r
E(r)
Q
0
/(4
0
a
2
)
Note that, outside the sphere
the field is indistinguishable
from the field of a point charge
Q
0
at the centre of the sphere.
4.35
Electric Field for a Uniformly Charged Cylinder.
A Gauss law argument can be easily adapted to the field due to a
uniformly charged cylinder of infinite length.

a
r
E(r)
S

The symmetry in this case suggests
that the field strength can depend
only on the perpendicular distance
from the axis of the cylinder and
that the direction of the field is
radial in planes perpendicular to
the axis.
) (
) ( r E r r E =

a
r
S
E(r)
S

L
dS = zdS
^
dS = rdS
^
4.36
The appropriate Gaussian surface to choose is a cylinder with the
same axis as the charged cylinder.
The surface normals on the curved surface are radial, and on the
end surfaces are axial.
On the end surfaces
dS d r S
=
(On the curved surface)
dS d z S
=
(On the end surfaces)
0

) ( = = dS r E d z r S E
(since r and z are perpendicular)

a
r
S
E(r)
S

L
dS = zdS
^
dS = rdS
^
4.37
On the curved surface
Thus the total electric flux across
the surface S is equal to the flux
across the curved surface and,
since E(r) is constant on this
surface
dS r E dS r E d ) (

) ( = = r r S E
rL r E
r E
dS r E
dS r E d
Curved
Curved S
2 ) (
surface curved of Area ) (
) (
) (
=
=
=
=

S E

a
r
S
S

L
4.38
The calculation of the total charge inside the surface S is carried
out for two cases:
Gaussian surface outside the charged cylinder, ie. r > a
For which Gauss Law becomes:
L V
V
L L a
S Q

=
=
2

S inside Cylinder Charged of Volume ) (
a r L rL r E
S Q
d
L
S
> =
=
; 2 ) (
) (
0
0
S E

a
r
S

L
S
4.39
Gaussian surface inside the charged cylinder, ie. r < a
For which Gauss Law becomes:
2
2

S inside Volume ) (
|
\
|
=
=
=
a
r
L
L r
S Q
L
V
V
a r
a
r
L rL r E
S Q
d
L
S
\
|
=
=
; 2 ) (
) (
2
0
0
S E

a
r
S

E(r) = E(r)r
^
4.40
Thus the magnitude of the field due to a uniformly charged
cylinder is given by :
Note that the field outside the
cylinder is the same as the field
due to a charged line at the axis of
the cylinder with the same linear
charge density as the charged
cylinder.
>
=
a r r
a r a r
r E
L
; 1
;
2
) (
2
0

4.41
Electric Field due to an Uniformly Charged, Infinite Slab
Suppose a uniformly charged slab of thickness 2a is parallel to the
XOY plane.

2a
E(z)z
Uniformly charged slab
x
y
z -E(z)z
^
^
Symmetry suggests that the
electric field strength at a point
(x, y, z) must be independent
of the x and y coordinates and
that the field direction must be
parallel to the z direction:
Symmetry also suggests that
the electric field above the
XOY plane points in the
opposite direction to the field
below the plane.
z E
) ( ) , , ( z E z y x =
4.42
The appropriate Gaussian surface is a cuboid with its end faces
parallel to the slab.

2a
2z
L
L
E(z)
Gaussian surface S
x
y
z
On the upper surface
dS d z S
=
On the lower surface
dS d z S
=
On the side surfaces dS is
perpendicular to the field.
The total flux crossing S
is thus
2
) ( 2
face upper of Area ) ( 2
) ( ) (
L z E
z E
dS z E dS z E d
Lower Upper S
=
=
+ =

S E
4.43
The total charge contained within S is, for |z| > a

2a
2z
L
L
E(z)
Gaussian surface S
x
y
z
For which, Gauss Law
becomes:
2 2
2
S inside Slab Charged of Volume ) (
L aL
S Q
S V
V

=
=
a L L z E
S Q
d
S
S
> =
=
z ; 2 ) (
) (
0
2 2
0
S E
4.44
For |z| < a the total charge contained within S is:

2a
2z
x
y
z
For which, Gauss Law
becomes:
2 2
2
S surface Gaussian inside Volume ) (
L
a
z
L z
S Q
S V
V

= =
=
a
a
z
L L z E
S Q
d
s
S
=
=
z ; 2 ) (
) (
0
2 2
0
S E
4.45
So that the magnitude of the electric field due to a uniformly
charged slab is
The field outside the slab is
the same as the field due to a
uniformly charged plane with
the same surface charge
density as the slab.
>
=
a
a a z
z E
S
z ; 1
z ;
2
) (
0

z
E
z
(z)
a
-a
V
/ (2
o
)
4.46
Electric Fields due to Shells
One of the curious properties of inverse square law forces is that
the field inside a symmetric uniformly charged shell is often zero.
We leave it as an exercise to show that the electric field is zero
(i). inside a uniformly charged spherical shell,
(ii). inside a uniformly charged infinitely long cylindrical shell
(iii). between a pair of equally, uniformly charged, parallel
plates
4.47
Electric Fields due to Layered Distributions.
The charge distribution need not be strictly uniform for some of
the results derived above to remain valid.
We leave it as an exercise to show that the external fields for the
spherical, cylindrical and slab charge distributions are unchanged
if the charge distribution depends only on the distance from the
centre for the spherical case, on the perpendicular distance from
the axis for the cylindrical case, and on the z coordinate alone in
the slab case.

HET316 L4 Gauss Law

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HET316 Electromagnetic Waves: Gauss Law

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HET316 Electromagnetic Waves: Gauss Law

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