EM Assignment 2

Due: 2:00pm on Saturday, October 19, 2013

1. A disk of radius a carries non-uniform surface charge density = 0

r
, where 0 is
a

a constant.
(a) Find the potential at an arbitrary point x on the disk axis, where x = 0 is the disk

center. Express your answer in terms of the variables x , 0 , a , and Coulomb

constant k .
(b) Use the result of part (a) to find the electric field on the disk axis. Express

your answer in terms of the variables x , 0 , a , and Coulomb constant k .

(c) Find the electric field on the disk axis for x>>a. Express your answer in terms

of the variables x , 0 , a , and Coulomb constant k .

2. An open-ended cylinder of radius a and length 2a carries charge q spread uniformly
over its surface. Find the potential on the cylinder axis at its center. Hint: Treat the
cylinder as a stack of charged rings, and integrate. Express your answer in terms
of the variables q , a , and Coulomb constant k .

3. A line charge extends along the x axis from

= 0

L L
to . Its line charge density is
2 2

x
, where 0 is a constant. Find an expression for the potential on the x axis
L

L
. Hint: What does this charge distribution resemble at large distances?
2
Express your answer in terms of the variables x , L , 0 , and Coulomb constant k .

for x >

4. A 520pFcapacitor consists of two 19cm -radius circular plates, insulated with

polystyrene.
(a) Find the thickness of the polystyrene. Express your answer using two
significant figures.
(b) Find the capacitors working voltage. Express your answer using two
significant figures.

5. A sphere of radius R contains charge Q spread uniformly throughout its volume.

Find an expression for the electrostatic energy contained within the sphere itself.
Express your answer in terms of Q , R , and Coulomb constant k .
6. An air-insulated parallel-plate capacitor C0 of capacitance is charged to voltage V0
and then disconnected from the charging battery. A slab of material with dielectric
constant , whose thickness is essentially equal to the capacitor spacing, is then
inserted halfway into the capacitor (See the figure.).

(a) Determine the new capacitance in terms of C0 , V0 , , and the capacitor-plate

length L .
(b) Determine the stored energy in terms of C0 , V0 , , and the capacitor-plate
length L .
(c) Determine the force on the slab in terms of C0 , V0 , , and the capacitor-plate
length L .
7. A transmission line consists of two parallel wires, of radius a and separation b ,
carrying uniform linear charge densities, respectively. In the approximation
a b , their electric field is the superposition of the fields from two long straight
lines of charge. Find the capacitance per unit length for this transmission line.
Express your answer in terms of a , b , and 0 .
8. An unknown capacitor C is connected in series with a 3.0 - F capacitor, this pair
is placed in parallel with a 1.0 - F capacitor, and the entire combination is put in
series with a 2.0 - F capacitor. When a potential difference of 100V is applied
across the open ends of this network, the total energy stored in all the capacitors is
5.8 mJ . Find C .