Electric Field In Material Space

Introduction
Convection & Conduction Currents
Conductor & Conductance
Joules Law Generation & Resistance from Field Theory
Polarization in Dielectrics
Dielectric Constant & Strength
Linear, Isotropic and Homogeneous Dielectric
Boundary Conditions
Capacitor

Introduction
The behavior of electromagnetic fields will change from one
material to other.
This is because the different material have different
permittivity , permeability , and
conductivity .
Permittivity is associated with electrical fields.
Whereas permeability is associated with magnetic parameters of
material.
Conductivity relates to a measure of how easily electrons can
travel through the material under the influence of an external
electric field.
Materials can be classified in terms of their conductivity as
Conductors (metal copper and aluminum)
Non-conductors (insulators or dielectrics glass and rubber)

Introduction (Cont.)
A metal has high conductivity ( >>1),
An insulator has low conductivity ( <<1),
A material whose its conductivity lies in between metals and
insulators such as silicon and germanium is called a
semiconductor.
The SI unit for conductivity is Siemens per meter (S/m)
The conductivity of material influences by some factor such as
temperature and impurities.
If T , free electrons and lattice access more energy.
It causes lattice vibration become more frequent and hence more
scattering occurs.
So, the of conductor decreases with the increasing of T.
T in insulator will causes electrons stripped from their bound
orbit and conduction will happen (voltage breakdown).

Introduction (Cont.)
Conductivity of Some Materials
Conductivity,
Conductivity,
Material
Material
(S/m) at 200C
(S/m) at 200C
Conductors
Semiconductors
Silver
6.2 x 107
Pure Germanium
2.2
Copper
Pure Silicon
4.4 x 10-4
5.8 x 107
Gold
4.1 x 107
Insulators
Aluminum
3.5 x 107
Paper
10-11
Tungsten
1.8 x 107
Glass
10-12
Zinc
1.7 x 107
Porcelain
10-12
Brass
1.1 x 107
Mica
10-15
Pure Iron
107
Paraffin
10-15
Mercury
106
Hard Rubber
10-15
Carbon
3 x 104
Fused Quartz
10-17
Sea Water
4
Wax
10-17

>>1

<<1

Convection and Conduction Currents

Current:
Electric current is generally caused by the motion of electric
charges.
The current through a given area is the electric charge passing
through the area per unit time.
I = dQ/dt

(Amperes)

One ampere (1 A) meaning that, the charge is being transferred

at a rate of one coulomb per second.
1 Ampere = 1 Coulomb of charge /1 Second

Convection and Conduction Currents (Cont.)

Current Density, J:
If current, I flowing through a planar surface, S, the current
density in perpendicular to the surface is given by
J = I/S
Thus,
I = JS
If the current density is not normal to the surface, the current is
I = JS
Thus, the total current flowing through a surface is given by:

I J dS
S

Convection and Conduction Currents (Cont.)

Convection Current:
Convection current occurs in insulator or dielectric such as
liquid, vacuum and rarified gas.
It results from motion of electrons (current flows) or ions
through an insulating medium.
E.g. A beam of electrons in a vacuum tube.
Convection current doesnt involve conductors.
Hence it does not satisfy Ohms law.

Convection and Conduction Currents (Cont.)

Convection Current Density:
Consider an element of cylinder with volume charge density v.
The charge move along cylinder axes with average velocity ux.
In the time interval t the element of charge has moved at a
distance x.
The total charged particle moved through a surface cylinder
perpendicular to the direction of motion in a time increment t
is

Q v v v sx

The resultant current is

Q v sx
I

v su x
t
t

I
J v u x
s
J v u

Convection and Conduction Currents (Cont.)

Conduction Current:
Conduction current occurs in conductors where there are a large
number of free electrons.
It occurs due to the drift motion of electrons (charge carriers).
Conduction current obeys ohms law.
When an external electric field, E is applied to a conductor,
conduction current occurs due to the drift of electrons.
The charge inside the conductor experiences a force, F that is,
F = eE
Due to continuous collision with atomic lattice, the electrons
moves or drifts with an average velocity called the drift velocity,
u which is proportional to the applied electric field, E.

Convection and Conduction Currents (Cont.)

The conduction current density is;
2
e ne
J v u ne E
E
m
m
JE
The point form of ohm law

ne 2
is the conductivity of the conductor.
m
In a semiconductor, current flow is due to the movement of both
electrons and holes, hence conductivity is given as;

where

= neuee + nhuhe
where nh and uh are the number of hole per unit volume and
hole mobility respectively.

Conductor and Conductance (Cont.)

An Isolated Conductor:
A conductor has abundance of charge that is
free to move within the material.
When an isolated conductor is placed in an
external electric field Ee, the positive free
charges are pushed along the same direction
as the electric field, while the negative free
charges move in the opposite direction very
quickly.
The charges accumulate on the surface of
the conductor and form an induced surface
charge.

+
+
+
+ +

Ee
Ee
Ee

Conductor and Conductance (Cont.)

These separated negative and positive charges
on the opposite sides of the conductor
produces an internal induced electric field Ei
which will cancel the Ee inside the conductor
if the conductor is a perfect or good conductor.
The net field inside the conductor is equal to
zero (E = 0).
This immediately implies that the charge
density v is also equal to zero everywhere
(Gauss's law).
There is no potential difference between any
two points in the conductor (VAB = 0).

Ei
Ei

+
+
+

v=0

- E = 0+
-

Ee
Ee
Ee

Ee
Ee
Ee

Conductor and Conductance (Cont.)

Non Isolated Conductor:
Non isolated conductor is a conductor whose their ends are
maintained at a potential difference V as shown below;
E

+V-

It is wired to a source of electromotive force

When a potential difference of V is applied across the conductor,
the electric field inside a conductor is not zero.
E-field must exist inside the conductor to sustain the flow of
current.

Conductor and Conductance (Cont.)

Hence there is no static equilibrium inside a conductor.
Conductor is said to be in electrostatic equilibrium only if no
electric field exist inside a conductor.
Since E 0, the free charges in the conductor start moving, thus
producing conduction current.
As the electrons moves from one end to another, they experience
a damping force called resistance, R.
The reciprocal of R is called the conductance G and the unit of G
is siemens (S) or -1.
G = 1/R
The direction of the electric field produced is the same as the
direction of the flow of positive charges or current.

Joules Law Generation and Resistance

from Field Theory
Resistance:
The electric field E applied is uniform (since V is constant) and it
is related to electric potential V as:
E=V/l
Since the conductor has a uniform cross section, the current
density is given as:
J=I/S
Also conduction current density (J) is given by:
J=E
Substituting the value of J in the above equation, we have
I=ES

Joules Law Generation and Resistance

from Field Theory (Cont.)
Equating the expressions for E
E=V/l=I/S
V = (l / S) I
V=IR
Hence Resistance of a conductor is given as:
R=l/S=l/S
Where is the conductivity and is the resistivity of the
conductor.
For a conductor of non-uniform cross section , the resistance is
given by:
V E dl E dl
R

I
J dS
E dS

Joules Law Generation and Resistance

from Field Theory (Cont.)
Joules Law:
We now consider the power dissipated in a conducting medium in
the presence of an electrostatic field E.
For a volume v, the total dissipated power in watt is

P E.J dv

(Joules law)

P E . dv
2

The power density, wp in W/m3 is given by

dP
2
E.J E .
wp
dv
For a conductor with uniform cross section, dv = dS dl, so

P E.J dv E.J dSdl E.dl J .dS VI I 2 R

v

Polarization in Dielectrics
The major difference between a metal and an insulator lies in the
number of electrons available for conduction of current.
Dielectric materials have few electrons available that are
strongly bounded to the atom.
Metals have an abundance of free electrons that can migrate
through the structure of the material.
Dielectric material can be categorized as non-polar and polar
materials.
Non-polar material:
e.g. hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and the rare gases.
It does not have permanent dipole moments.
It only polarized when external field is applied and return to
original manner after removing external field.

Polarization in Dielectrics (Cont.)

Polar material:
e.g. water, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid and polystyrene.
It comprises permanent dipoles moments that oriented
randomly throughout the interior of the material which tend to
align along the direction of applied external field.
Effects of Electric Field on a Dielectrics
Without an electric field,
The negative charge (electron) is in any material form a
symmetrical cloud around the nucleus (positive charge), with
the center of the cloud being at the same location as the center
of the nucleus.

Polarization in Dielectrics (Cont.)

When an external electric field is applied,
The charges in a dielectric are not able to move about freely or
no migration of charges because they are bound by finite
force.
But the external electric field can polarize the atoms or
molecules in the material by distorting the center of the cloud
and the location of the nucleus.

Eext = 0

Eext 0

Electric Dipole

Polarization in Dielectrics (Cont.)

Positive charge is displaced from its equilibrium position in the
direction of E by the force F+ = QE.
Negative charge is displaced in the opposite direction of E by the
force F- = QE
An electric dipole is produced (charge +Q at the center of the
nucleus and charge Q at the center of the electron cloud)
The dielectric is polarized.
Such electric dipole induced small electric fields called a
polarization field which is weaker than and opposite in direction
to Eext.
It can be described by dipole moment p as
p =Qd
(Cm)
where q is the positive charge and d is the distance vector
from Q to + Q of the dipole.

Polarization in Dielectrics (Cont.)

If there are N dipoles in a volume v of the dielectric, the total

dipole moment due to the electric field is
N

p total Q1d1 Q2d 2 .... QN d N Qk d k

k 1

Polarization in Dielectrics (Cont.)

The electric polarization field P is defined as the dipole moment
per unit volume is

1 nv
1 nv
P lim
p k lim
Qk d k
v 0 v k 1
v 0 v k 1
There is no free charge within the closed surface, so the volume
bound charge is

Qvb P dS
s

If in the dielectric region contains free charge. From Gausss law

the total enclosed charge, bound plus free charge is

QT 0 E dS Qvb Q
s

Polarization in Dielectrics (Cont.)

Thus, the free charge enclosed is

Q QT Qvb
0 E dS P dS
s

0 E P dS
s

D dS
s

where D 0 E P
The volume charge densities of bound charge, total and free
enclosed charge are

Qvb vb dv
v

QT T dv
v

Q dv
v

Polarization in Dielectrics (Cont.)

By using divergence theorem, (

D dS Ddv
s

Qvb P dS Pdv vb dv
s

QT 0 E dS 0 Edv T dv
s

Q D dS Ddv v dv
s

P
E
D

vb

In free space, P = 0. For some dielectric, P is proportional to the

applied E

P e 0 E

where

e (chi) is the electric susceptibility of the material

Dielectric Constant and Dielectric Strength

Dielectric Constant:
The dielectric constant or relative permittivity, r is the ratio of
the permittivity of the dielectric, to that of free space, 0 .

r
0

r 0

By subtituting P e 0 E into D 0 E P, we obtained

D 0 E e 0 E 1 e 0 E r 0 E

Thus,

r 1 e
0

For free space and non-dielectric material r = 1.

Dielectric Constant and Dielectric Strength (Cont.)

Dielectric Strength:
The dielectric strength, Eds is the maximum electric field that a
dielectric can tolerate or withstand without electrical breakdown.
Dielectric breakdown is said to have occurred when a dielectric
becomes conducting.
When the electric field in a dielectric is sufficiently large (E >
Eds), it begins to pull electrons completely out of the molecules
and the dielectric becomes conducting.

Dielectric (Linear, Isotropic and Homogeneous)

A dielectric material is
linear if the magnitude of the induced polarization field is
directly proportional to the magnitude of E or does not
change with the applied E field.
Isotropic if P and E are in the same direction or does not
change with direction.
Homogeneous if its constitutive parameters (, and ) are
constant throughout the material or does not change from
point to point.

Boundary Conditions
If electric field E exists in a region consisting of two different
media, the conditions that the field must satisfy at the interface
separating the media are called boundary conditions
E.g. The boundary conditions at an interface separating;
Dielectric and dielectric
Conductor and dielectric
Conductor and free space
E can be decomposed into two orthogonal components:
Et

E = Et + En
where Et and En are the tangential and
normal components of E respectively.

En

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

-- Dielectric and dielectric - First boundary condition can be determined by performing a line
integral of E around a closed rectangular path abcda.
From the figure,
E1=E1t + E1n
E2=E2t + E2n
By assuming the closed
path abcda is very
small with respect to
the variation of E.
Thus,

E dl E dl E dl E dl E dl 0

abcda

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

From the line integral of E around a closed rectangular path

abcda

E dl E dl E dl E dl E dl 0

we get,
h
h
h
h
E2t l E2n
E1n
E1t l E1n
E2n
0
2
2
2
2
E2t l E1t l 0

E2t E1t l 0
E1t E2t
and
D1t D2t

1
2

The tangential
component of E is
continuous across
an interface.

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

Second boundary condition is determined by applying Gausss
Law over a small pillbox shaped Gaussian surface.
From the figure,
D1=D1t + D1n
D2=D2t + D2n
By applying Gausss
law;

D.dS Q S
S
enc

top

bottom

side

If h 0, the contribution to the total

D1n S D2 n S 0 s S flux by the side surface goes to zero,

leaving flux through the top and bottom.

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

We get

D1n S D2 n S s S
D1n D2 n s

The electric flux density is discontinuous

across an interface if a surface charge
exists. The size of the discontinuity is
equal to the surface charge density.

If medium 1 = 1 and medium 2 = 2

1 E1n 2 E2 n s
If no free charges exist (s = 0) at the interface. Then
D1n D2 n

1 E1n 2 E2 n

The normal component of D is

continuous across the interface; that is
D undergoes no change at the boundary.

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

The refraction of the electric field across the interface can be
determined as follows;
E1t E2t
From
We have E1 sin 1 E2 sin 2
(1)
From
D1n D2 n
D1 cos 1 D2 cos 2
1 E1 cos 1 2 E2 cos 2
We get
Dividing (1) by (2) and then
by substituting = 0 r give

tan 1 r1

tan 2 r 2

(2)

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

-- Conductor and dielectric - First boundary condition can be determined by performing a line
integral of E around a closed rectangular path abcda.
From the figure,
Dielectric (1 = 0 r1)
E1=E1t + E1n
E2=E2t = E2n= 0
By assuming the closed
path abcda is very
small with respect to
the variation of E.
Thus,

Conductor
E2 = 0

E dl E dl E dl E dl E dl 0

abcda

h
h
h
h
E2t l E2n E1n E1t l E1n E2n
0
2
2
2
2

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

Due to the fact that E = 0 inside the perfect conductor,

E2t E2n 0
Thus, we get

h
h
h
h
(0)l (0)
E1n
E1t l E1n
(0)
0
2
2
2
2
E1t l 0
Dielectric (1 = 0 r1)
E1t 0
and

D1t 1E1t 0

Conductor
E2 = 0

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

Second boundary condition can be determined by applying
Gausss Law over a small pillbox shaped Gaussian surface.
From the figure,
D1=D1t + D1n
Dielectric
(1 = 0 r1)
E2 = 0, D2 = 2E2 = 0
D2 = D2t = D2n = 0
By applying Gausss
law;

D.dS Q S
S
enc

top

bottom

side

D1n S D2 n S 0 s S

Conductor
D2=E2 = 0
By letting the cylinders height h 0,
the contribution to the total flux by the
side surface goes to zero.

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

Because of E2 = 0, thus D 2 2 E 2 0
and hence
D2 n 0
Therefore
D1n S ( 0 ) s S
D1n s
1 E1n s
Thus under static conditions, the following conclusions can be
made about perfect conductor:
No electric filed existing within a conductor
No potential difference between any two point in the
conductor (a conductor is an equipotential body).
The electric field can be external to the conductor and normal
to its surface

Conductor as Electrostatic Screening or Shielding

The important application of the fact that E = 0 inside a
conductor is in electrostatic screening or shielding.
The conductor is used as a conductive enclosure to protect an
electronic device from other electric circuits in order to prevent
an electromagnetic interference to be occurred as well as to
achieve an electromagnetic compatibility.
If conductor A kept at zero potential
A
surrounds conductor B, B is said to
be electrically screened by A from
B
conductor C.
Conductor C outside A is screened
by A from B.
C
Thus A acts like a screen or shield.

Boundary Conditions (Cont.)

-- Conductor and free space - Free space may be regarded as a special dielectric with a
dielectric constant that equal to 1 (r = 1).
Thus the boundary conditions become
Free space (r = 1)

Conductor
E2 = 0

Free space
(r = 1)

Conductor
E2 = 0

E1t 0

D1n s

D1t 0 E1t 0

0 E1n s

Example 1
Two extensive homogeneous isotropic dielectrics meet on plane z =
0. For z > 0, r1 = 4 and for z < 0, r2 = 3. A uniform electric field
E1 5 x 2 y 3z kV/m exists for z 0. Find E2 for z 0 and the
angles E1 and E2 make with the interface and normal to the interface
( z-axis) for a boundary without charge density
(s = 0).

Example 2
Region y < 0 consists of a perfect conductor while region y > 0 is a
dielectric medium (r1 = 2). If there is a surface charge of 2nC/m2
on the conductor, determine E and D at
a) A (3, -2, 2)
b) B (-4, 1, -5)

Exercise 1
Question 1:
The plane z = 4 is the interface between two dielectrics. The
dielectric in region z > 4 has dielectric constant of 5 and
E1 6 x 12 y 8 z V/m in that region. If the dielectric constant is 2
in region z < 4, find the electric field intensity in that region. The
angles E1 and E2 make with the interface.
Question 2:
A homogeneous dielectric (r1=2.5) fills region (x 0 ) while region
2 (x 0) is free space. If D1 12 x 10 y 4 z nC/m2 .
Find D2 and 2 .

Exercise 1 (Cont.)
Question 3:
Given that E 2 10 x 6 y 12 z V/m. Find (a) E1 and (b) the angle
E1 and E2 makes with the y-axis.

2 = 30
x

1 = 4.50

Capacitor
Capacitor consists of two conductors or plates carrying equal but
opposite charges and separated by free space or a dielectric.
When dc voltage source (V) is connected to the conductors, +ve
charge (+ Q) will accumulate on the bottom surface of top plate
and an equal amount of ve charge ( Q) will accumulate on the
top surface of bottom plate.
There are generally three types of capacitor:
Parallel-Plate capacitor
Coaxial capacitor
Spherical capacitor

Capacitance
The capacitance, C of the capacitor is defined as the ratio of the
magnitude of the total charge Q on one of the plates to the
magnitude of the potential difference V between conductors.

E dS

Q S
C
V E dl

Capacitance is measured in Farads (F).

The capacitance, C can be obtained from two methods:
Assuming Q and determining V in terms of Q (involving
Gausss law)
Assuming V and determining Q in terms of V (involving
solving Laplaces equation)

Capacitance (Cont.)
Steps to find Capacitance:
Choose a suitable coordinate system.
Let the two conducting plates carry charges + Q and Q.
Determine E using Coulombs or Gausss law.
Find the potential between conductors V from,
B

VAB VB VA E dl
A

The negative sign may be ignored in this case because we are

interested in the absolute value of V.
Obtain C from C = Q/V.

Parallel Plate Capacitor

Consider a capacitor constructed with two pieces of conducting
plates of surface area S and separated by a distance d.
The two plates are assumed carrying charges + Q and Q that
uniformly distributed on them.
The space between the plates is very small compared with the
dimensions of the plates and filled with a homogeneous
dielectric so that the flux fringing at the edges can be ignored.

Parallel Plate Capacitor (Cont.)

Gauss's law can be used to calculate the electric field, E.
A Gaussian surface with height h, and closed by two planes of
area size S, is constructed as shown in the figure below.

The E at the top plate Gaussian surface will be zero as it is inside

the conductor. Thus, D on the top of the Gaussian surface is zero.

Parallel Plate Capacitor (Cont.)

From the Gausss law,
Total charge enclosed by the close Gaussian surface = flux
flowing through top of the Gaussian surfaces + flux flowing
through the side of the Gaussian surfaces + flux flowing through
bottom of the Gaussian surfaces.

Q o r E dS
s

o r E dS o r E dS o r
top

side

0 0 o r
Q o r ES
Thus,

E dS

bottom

E z dS z E dS
o ro

bottom

o r S

o r S

Parallel Plate Capacitor (Cont.)

OR
From Q s dS s S
Thus, the charge density is
Q
s
S

By using conductor-dielectric boundary condition:

Dn S
D n S ( z )

0 r E n S ( z )

S
Q / S
En
z
z
0 r
0 r

0 r S

Parallel Plate Capacitor (Cont.)

The potential difference, V between the plates is:
d
Q
z dl z
V E dl
0 o r S
d
Qd
Q
V
dl
o r S 0
o r S

Thus from C = Q/V, the capacitance for parallel-plate capacitor

is obtained as,

Q
Q
C
Qd
V

o r S

o r S
d

Parallel Plate Capacitor (Cont.)

The capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor is
proportional to area, S.
inversely proportional to separation, d.
proportional to the permittivity of the dielectric filling.
independent of E.

E d S

r 0 ES r 0 S
Q S

C
Ed
d
V E dl

Farads F

Coaxial Capacitor
The inner and outer of coaxial conductors are assumed carrying
charges Q and + Q that uniformly distributed on them
respectively.
By applying Gausss law, the charge Q is obtained as below;

Q E dS
s

E r r d dz r E 2 rL

Hence, the electric field, E is given by;

Q
E
r
2 rL

Coaxial Capacitor (Cont.)

The potential different between a and b is determined as below;
b
Q
Q b1
Q
b

ln
V E dl
r dr r
dr
r

a
a
2rL
2L a r
2L
Q
b
ln
V
2L a
Thus, the capacitance of a coaxial capacitor is given by;

Q
C
V

Q
Q

b
ln
2L a
2L
C
b
ln
a

Spherical Capacitor
The inner sphere of radius a and outer sphere of radius b
separated by a dielectric medium.
The charges + Q and Q are assumed on the inner and the outer
spheres respectively.
Applying Gausss law, the charge is obtained as below;

Q E dS
s

Er 2

E r r 2 sin d d r

sin d d
0

0
2

Er 2 ( 2 )( 2 )
E 4 r 2
Thus, the electric field, E can be written as;
Q
E
r
2
4 r

Spherical Capacitor (Cont.)

The potential different Vba between the conductors is
a
Q
Q a 2
Q

V E dl
r
dr
r
r
dr

b 4r 2
4 b
4

1 1
a b

Thus, the capacitance of the spherical capacitor is;

Q
Q
C
Q 1 1
V

4 a b
4
C
1 1
a b
Q
V
4

1
r
b

Leakage Resistance in Capacitor

If insulating material between two conductors does not perfect,
current will flow through the dielectric and capacitor contains
resistance.
E dl
V
The expression is R

The capacitance is

E dS

E d S

Q S
C
V E dl

Thus, the product of both R and C expression yields

RC

is the conductivity of
the dielectric medium

Leakage Resistance in Capacitor

For parallel-plate capacitor:

S
d

C S
S

For a cylindrical capacitor:

2L
,
C
b
ln
a

C 2L

b
ln
a

2L

ln b a

For a spherical capacitor

4
C
,
1 1

a b

1 a 1 b

1 1

a b
4

Electrostatic Potential Energy Stored in the Capacitor

When a source is connected to a capacitor, it uses energy in
charging up the capacitor.
If the capacitor plates are made of a good conductor with zero
resistance and the dielectric separating the two conductors has
zero conductivity, there is no power losses occur anywhere in the
capacitor.
The charging-up energy is stored as the electric field in dielectric
medium in the form of potential energy.
Electric energy stored in a capacitor is the same as the work
required to charge it up.
The amount of energy stored WE in capacitor is given by
2
1
1
Q
WE QV CV 2
2
2
2C

Example 3
Determine the capacitance of each of the capacitors as shown in the
figure below. Take d = 5 mm, S = 30 cm2

r1=4
w/2

r2=6
w/2

r1=4

d/2

r2=6

d/2

Example 4
A coaxial capacitor consists of two concentric,
conducting cylindrical surfaces, one of radius a
and another of radius b, as shown in the figure.
The insulating layer separating the two
conducting surfaces is divided equally into two
semi-cylindrical sections, one filled with
dielectric 1 and the other filled with dielectric 2
(a) Develop an expression for C in terms
of the length l and the given quantities
(b) Evaluate the value of C for a = 2 mm,
b = 6 mm, 1 = 2, 2 = 4 and l = 4 cm

Example 5
A spherical capacitor with a = 1.5 cm and b = 4 cm has an
inhomogenous dielectric of = 10 0 /r . Calculate the capacitance
per meter of the capacitor.
Step 1: Coordinate system
Step 2: Assume that +Q on the inner surface while - Q on the outer surface of the
sphere.
Step 3: Determine E using Gausss law.

Q
40 0 r

Step 4:Find the potential between conductors V.

4
Q
ln
V
40 0 1.5
Step 5: Calculate the capacitance, C.

C 1.13nF

Exercise 2
Question 1:
A parallel plate capacitor has area of 4m2 a separation distance of
0.01 m by a dielectric having r = 10 and = 10-8 S/m. the top plate
is applied with 12 V and bottom plate is grounded. Determine the
electrostatic potential energy stored in the capacitor and the leakage
resistance between the plates.
Question 2:
A cylindrical capacitor has radii a = 1 cm and b = 2.5 cm. if the
space between the plates is filled with an inhomogenous dielectric
with r = (10 + r)/r, where r is in centimeters, find the capacitance
per meter of the capacitor.