Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 1

Summary: The Classical Electron;

Conductors

1. The Classical Electron

2. Conductors
3. Capacitance

Suggested Reading:

Griffiths: Chapter 2, Section 2.5, pages 96-109.

Wangsness: Chapter 6, pages 83-97; Chapter
7, Section 7.4 pages 103-109.
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 2

The Classical Electron

In classical electromagnetic theory one can model
the electron as a sphere with a finite radius r0,
a charge q = −1.6 × 10−19C and a mass me =
9.11 × 10−31kg (or roughly 0.5 MeV). Experimen-
tally it is known that at least some of the mass is
electromagnetic in origin. We know this because
the electromagnetic field of a moving charge has
a momentum which is proportional to (and in the
direction of) the velocity of the charge. Thus, even
if the charge had no mass otherwise, it would have
a mass associated with its electromagnetic field.
Two other experimental observations are very im-
portant when considering the origin of the mass
of the electron. We know that if you accelerate
a charged particle it radiates. This energy it ra-
diates must be supplied by whatever is accelerat-
ing the particle. Hence it takes much more energy
to accelerate a charged particle than it would an
uncharged particle (assuming you could figure out
how to accelerate an uncharged particle!). This
problem is more severe the smaller the mass of
the particle. Thus, electrons are generally accel-
erated in linear accelerators (since then you don’t
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 3

have to worry about the acceleration and radiation

associated with bending the path of the electron).
Finally, scattering experiments with electrons have
failed to identify any finite electron radius, it is as
though they really are point particles.
These experimental observations are difficult to
reconcile either classically or using quantum the-
ory. In fact, in spite of the great success of rela-
tivistic quantum field theory, there is still no ade-
quate or widely accepted explanation of the elec-
tron’s mass (or its self energy). The situation with
other particles is similar. For charged particles it
is clear that some of the mass is electromagnetic in
origin, but how much, and what accounts for the
rest of the mass is unclear. I should point out that
there exist related elementary particles, the muon
and the tauon, which are like electrons except that
they have much larger mass and a shorter lifetime
(for example the muon has a mass 207 times that
of the electron and a lifetime of about a microsec-
ond whereas the electron is stable). Clearly there
is something missing.
Back to the classical electron model: We also
know that while the electron has a charge, it has no
electric dipole moment (or any higher order electric
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 4

moment). Thus, the electron’s charge distribution

is spherically symmetric. Interestingly enough, the
electron has a magnetic dipole moment (but no
higher magnetic moments). The classical explana-
tion for this is that the electron is rotating at some
constant rate. This rotation gives rise to an electric
current at the surface of the electron which results
in a dipole moment (you can calculate this next
semester). It may seem curious that all electrons
rotate with exactly the same angular velocity. The
quantum mechanical reconciliation of this with the
notion that the electron is also a point particle is
that such particles possess an intrinsic quantum
mechanical property called “spin”. The spin of the
electron is 1/2.
In an electron-positron annihilation experiment
we have
e+ + e− → 2hν
Two photons are required in order to conserve lin-
ear momentum in this process. The minimum en-
ergy of the two photons is 2m0c2 where m0 is the
rest mass of the electron or positron.
The electromagnetic self-energy of a positron must
be identical to that of an electron because the in-
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 5

tegral involves E 2. If
ZZZ
1
E 2 dτ = m0c2
2
T
Then, assuming that the electron is a uniformly
charged spherical shell having a radius R, we would
calculate that the self-energy is
e2
We− = = m0 c2
8π0R
which gives, for the classical radius of the electron
e2 (1.6 × 10−19)2
R= =
8π0m0c2 8π · 8.85 × 10−12 · 0.91 × 10−30(3 × 108)2
which reduces to
R = 1.405 × 10−15 m
This is the “classical radius of the electron” (Note:
depending on the choice of charge distribution..a
spherical shell, a solid sphere, some radial depen-
dence on charge distribution..you will come up with
slightly different values for the radius).
The size seems reasonable so this is a rather at-
tractive picture. However, one important question
to consider is: What holds the electron together?
To treat any further the basic questions which
have arisen we need to go beyond classical electro-
magnetic theory.
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 6

1) we need relativity whenever the energies in-

volved approach m0c2
2) we need quantum theory for such small dis-
tances and to consider individual particles like
electrons
3) relativistic quantum electrodynamics has re-
solved many of the technical problems which
have arisen and has increased our understand-
ing of the nature of these particles,but it hasn’t
explained the most fundamental questions re-
garding the origin of a particle’s mass and the
nature of electric charge.

Electrostatics and Conductors

A perfect conductor contains an unlim-
ited supply of completely free charges.
Real conductors approach this ideal if you don’t
look too closely. For example, a metal like copper
is an excellent conductor but it only has roughly
one free electron per atom. Of course that is a
lot of electrons, so it can support very large cur-
rents (but not infinite). As the electrons in a metal
move around they occasionally collide with impu-
rities or are scattered by “lattice vibrations” which
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 7

occur at finite temperatures. These sorts of pro-

cesses result in a finite“resistance”to electrical cur-
rent and some associated heat dissipation (that’s
why a toaster works). Even a superconductor such
as N bSn is not a perfect conductor. While it is
true enough that it has zero resistance at tempera-
tures below it’s superconducting transition, it can-
not support an infinite current.
We can make a few immediate observations con-
cerning electrostatic fields in perfect conductors:
~ = 0 inside a perfect conductor. If we place
a) E
a conducting object into a region where there
~
is a static electric field E

the free charges within the conductor rearrange

themselves in such a way that the electric field
inside exactly cancels the external field. If there
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 8

remained any field inside, the free charges would

move in response to the force set up by that
field. In the steady state the field inside a per-
fect conductor must be precisely zero. Thus,
a perfect conductor is also a perfect dielectric.
(We’ll discuss dielectrics later.)
b) % = 0 in the interior of a conductor. The dif-
ferential form of Gauss’ Law states that
~ = %
~ ·E
∇
0
Clearly if E~ = 0 then % = 0.
c) As a result of b), any net charge or any unbal-
anced charge must be on the surface.
d) The potential V is constant everywhere on and
inside a conductor (if it weren’t a current would
flow distributing charge from one part of the
conductor to another...in the steady state the
charge distribution must be such that there are
no potential differences anywhere in the con-
ductor).
e) The electric field E~ is perpendicular to the
surface of a conductor. Since the surface is
an equipotential (by d) above) then, for ~r =
[x, y, z] on the surface, V (~r) = constant. We
Physics 2460 Electricity and Magnetism I, Fall 2006, Lecture 19 9

saw previously that for a surface defined by the

expression ϕ(x, y, z) = constant, the gradi-
~ is normal to the surface. Thus, E
ent ∇ϕ ~ =
~ (~r) is ⊥ surface.
−∇V

A Conducting Sphere between Two

Charged Plates:
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