HW7

Due: 11:59pm on Tuesday, September 15, 2009

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Parallel Lines of Charge

A very long uniform line of charge has charge per unit length 4.90 of charge has charge per unit length -2.30 Part A What is the magnitude of the net electric field at point ANSWER:
5 = 6.4210 Correct

and lies along the x-axis. A second long uniform line = 0.392 .

and is parallel to the x-axis at

= 0.218

on the y-axis?

Part B What is the direction of the net electric field at point ANSWER: -y-axis +y-axis Correct = 0.218 on the y-axis?

Part C What is the magnitude of the net electric field at point ANSWER:
4 = 4.2810 Correct

= 0.614

on the y-axis?

Part D What is the direction of the net electric field at point ANSWER: -y-axis +y-axis Correct = 0.614 on the y-axis?

Part E What is the size of the attractive force, by the positively-charged line, on a one-meter length of the negatively-charged line? ANSWER: 0.517 Correct

Problem 22.48
A very long, solid cylinder with radius . Part A Derive the expression for the electric field inside the volume at a distance density . ANSWER: Correct from the axis of the cylinder in terms of the charge has positive charge uniformly distributed throughout it, with charge per unit volume

Part B What is the electric field at a point outside the volume in terms of the charge per unit length ANSWER: Correct in the cylinder?

The Electric Field inside and outside a Charged Insulator

A slab of insulating material of uniform thickness , lying between

to

along the x axis, extends infinitely in the y and z

directions, as shown in the figure. The slab has a uniform charge density . The electric field is zero in the middle of the slab, at .

Part A Which of the following statements is true of the electric field ANSWER: at the surface of one side of the slab?

The direction of

is constant but its magnitude varies across the surface. are constant across the entire surface.

Both the magnitude and the direction of The direction of

varies across the surface but its magnitude is constant. vary across the surface.

Both the magnitude and the direction of Correct

Part B What is the angle that the field makes with the surface of the

slab, which is perpendicular to the x direction? Express your answer in radians, in terms of .

ANSWER:

= 1.57 Correct

Part C What is , the magnitude of the electric field outside the slab? is not given as a function of , this magnitude is constant everywhere outside the slab, not just

As implied by the fact that at the surface. Hint C.1

How to approach the problem Hint not displayed

Hint C.2

Gauss's law Hint not displayed

Hint C.3

A Gaussian surface for this problem Hint not displayed

Hint C.4

Calculate the enclosed charge Hint not displayed

Hint C.5

Compute the electric flux Hint not displayed

Express your answer in terms of ANSWER: = Correct

, , and

Part D What is Hint D.1 , the magnitude of the electric field inside the slab as a function of How to approach the problem ?

Hint not displayed Hint D.2 A Gaussian surface for this problem Hint not displayed Hint D.3 Calculate the enclosed charge Hint not displayed Hint D.4 Compute the flux Hint not displayed ANSWER: = Correct Basic models of diodes and transistors (which are components used in more complex circuits, like those on computer chips) treat regions inside them as slabs of charge. In this example you found that the electric field points in opposite directions on the two sides of . However, if a slab with negative charge were added behind this slab, i.e., from to , you can check that the electric field would be zero in the regions where there is no charge, because

the fields due to the positive and negative charges cancel, and that the electric field in the regions where there is charge is always in the positive x direction. Such a setup (usually called a PN junction) can be used as an electric "one-way street," since it supports the flow of positive charge only in the positive direction, i.e., along the electric field, and severely inhibits the flow of current in the opposite direction.

The Electric Field inside a Conductor

Learning Goal: To understand how the charges within a conductor respond to an externally applied electric field. To illustrate the behavior of charge inside conductors, consider a long conducting rod that is suspended by insulating strings (see the figure). Assume that the rod is initially electrically neutral, and that it remains so for this discussion. The rod is positioned along the x axis, and an external electric field that points in the positive x direction (to the right) can be applied to the rod and the surrounding region. The atoms in the rod are composed of positive nuclei (indicated by plus signs) and negative electrons (indicated by minus signs). Before application of the electric field, these atoms were distributed evenly throughout the rod.

Part A What is the force felt by the electrons and the nuclei in the rod when the external field described in the problem introduction is applied? (Ignore internal fields in the rod for the moment.) Hint A.1 Formula for the force on a charge in an electric field Hint not displayed ANSWER: Both electrons and nuclei experience a force to the right. The nuclei experience a force to the right and the electrons experience a force to the left. The electrons experience a force to the left but the nuclei experience no force. The electrons experience no force but the nuclei experience a force to the right. Correct

Part B What is the motion of the negative electrons and positive atomic nuclei caused by the external field? Hint B.1 How to approch this part Hint not displayed Hint B.2 Masses and charges of nuclei and electrons Hint not displayed ANSWER: Both electrons and nuclei move to the right. The nuclei move to the right and the electrons move to the left through equal distances. The electrons move to the left and the nuclei are almost stationary. The electrons are almost stationary and the nuclei move to the right. Correct

The nuclei of the atoms of a conducting solid remain almost in their places in the crystal lattice, while the electrons relatively move a lot. In an insulator, the electrons are constrained to stay with their atoms (or molecules), and at most, the charge distribution is displaced slightly. The motion of the electrons due to the external electric field constitutes an electric current. Since the negatively charged electrons are moving to the left, the current, which is defined as the "flow" of positive charge, moves to the right.

Part C Imagine that the rightward current flows in the rod for a short time. As a result, what will the net charge on the right and left ends of the rod become? Hint C.1 How to approach this part

Remember that the rod as a whole must remain electrically neutral even if the charges are redistributed. This is because applying an electric field does not change the charge on the rod, only redistributes it. ANSWER: left end negative and right end positive left end negative and right end negative left end negative and right end nearly neutral left end nearly neutral and right end positive both ends nearly neutral Correct Given that the positively charged nuclei do not move, why does the right end of the rod become positively charged? The reason is that some electrons have moved to the left end, leaving an excess of stationary nuclei at the right end. Part D The charge imbalance that results from this movement of charge will generate an additional electric field near the rod. In what direction will this field point? Hint D.1 Direction of the electric field

The electric field point away from positive charges and towards negative ones. ANSWER: It will point to the right and enhance the initial applied field. It will point to the left and oppose the initial applied field. Correct An electric field that exists in an isolated conductor will cause a current flow. This flow sets up an electric field that opposes the original electric field, halting the motion of the charges on a nanosecond time scale for meter-sized conductors. For this reason, an isolated conductor will have no static electric field inside it, and will have a reduced electric field near it. This conclusion does not apply to a conductor whose ends are connected to an external circuit. In a circuit, a rod (or wire) can conduct current indefinitely.

Exercise 22.19
Part A How many excess electrons must be added to an isolated spherical conductor of diameer 34.0 of 1125 ANSWER: just outside the surface?
10 = 2.2610 Correct

to produce an electric field

Exercise 22.22
Part A At a distance of 0.204 from the center of a charged conducting sphere with radius from the center of the sphere? , the electric field is 485

. What is the electric field 0.594 ANSWER: = 57.2 Correct

Part B At a distance of 0.206 485 from the axis of a very long charged conducting cylinder with radius from the axis of the cylinder? , the electric field is

. What is the electric field 0.584 = 171 Correct

ANSWER:

Part C At a distance of 0.192 from a large uniform sheet of charge, the electric field is 485 . What is the electric field 1.22

from the sheet? ANSWER: = 485 Correct

Score Summary:
Your score on this assignment is 98%. You received 44.08 out of a possible total of 45 points.