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Phys-113

Lecture 06

Conductors and Insulators


One thing that we havent talked much about are conductors and insulators. Ive just tacitly assumed you knew what they were. Lets take a minute to formally dene them: Electrical conductors readily conduct electric charge. through them. They let charge move

Electrical insulators poorly conduct electric charge. They do not let charge move through them. Electrical conductors are typically metals, like copper, aluminum, silver and gold. Some common electrical insulators are rubber, wood, some plastics, and some kinds of glass.

The electric eld inside a conductor


In conducting materials, charges distribute themselves evenly over the SURFACE of the material. This happens because every charge wants to get as far away from each other as possible. Like charges repel. At equilibrium under electrostatic conditions, any excess charge resides on the surface of the conductor.

Figure 1: If we tried to place a ball of negatively charged particles at the center of a conductor (a), the charges would repel each other. Because they can move freely through the conductor, they are happiest at the surface (b) where they are as far apart as possible.

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113

Lecture 06

Because all of the charge resides on the surface, the INTERIOR of the conductor doesnt have many charges moving around. As a result, at equilibrium under electrostatic conditions, the electric eld is zero at any point WITHIN a conductor. Any charges induced on the surface of the conductor must not change the overall charge of the conductor. Because of this, even when we put a conductor in an electric eld, the electric eld cannot penetrate the conductor. There might be an induced charge, but the conductor shields any charge within it from electric elds created outside the conductor. Because charges are shielded inside the conductor and the interior of the conductor is undisturbed, we can cut a cavity in the interior. In fact, we can use a hollow conductor to shield sensitive electronics from interference. This works because the conductor ALTERS the electric eld created by external forces. In fact, the electric eld just outside the surface of a conductor is perpendicular to the surface. Challenge Lets take a hollow, electrically neutral conductor with a total charge of zero. Suspend a positive charge inside with a magnitude +q . What charges will be induced on the interior and exterior of the conductor?

The best way to understand this is to draw the eld lines on the point charge. Because its positive, it is the source of eld lines. These eld lines cannot terminate in the middle of space they have to terminate on a negative charge. So, an equal number of negative charges must line the interior of the conductor to balance the point charge. The total induced charge on the interior must be q . Because the conductor is electrically neutral, we have to balance the induced charge. If we induced a charge of q on the interior, we must have a charge of +q on the exterior. Erin M. Handberg Page 2 of 11

Phys-113

Lecture 06

Electric ux
On Wednesday, we spent some time getting to know electric eld lines, and we learned how they are proportional to the charge they originate from or terminate at. We dont make the electric eld lines proportional to the charge just for kicks. Its actually instructive: the eld lines are closer together where the eld is stronger. We want to nd the actual number of eld lines emerging from a single point charge. Lets start with a positive point charge Q, and lets put an imaginary sphere around it. At the surface of that sphere, Coulombs law tells us that the magnitude of the eld is E= The surface area of the sphere is A = 4r2 . If E represents the number of lines through the surface of the sphere per unit area, and A is the area of the sphere, then the product EA is the just the number of lines. Now, check this out: k |Q| 4r2 = 4kQ EA = 2 r Because the rs cancel out, we know that ALL spheres with this charge at the center have the exact same number of eld lines. It doesnt matter where we put our imaginary sphere, as long as the point charge is contained within it, well get the same number for EA k |Q| r2

Figure 2: The number of lines through the sphere is independent of r.

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113

Lecture 06

I want to clean this equation up a little bit more. Remember Wednesday when I introduced this guy 0 ? We found that 0 is related to the Coulomb constant k by k= 1 . 4 0

Substituting this into our equation for EA, we nd EA = 4kQ = 4 1 Q Q= . 4 0 0

The number of lines through our spherical surface is Q/ 0 . Now, instead of referring to this value as the number of lines through a spherical surface, lets give it a name. The value EA is the ELECTRIC FLUX, and when were solving equations, we usually call it Capital . We can also name our imaginary surface: its a Gaussian surface.

Figure 3: We can give our imaginary sphere around the point charge a name. We call it the Gaussian surface. The Gaussian surface is named after the famous German mathematician and physicist Johann Carl Frederich Gauss. Gauss was probably the most prolic mathematician in history. His achievements are so notable that he has more than 100 topics in math and science named after him. In fact, Gauss determined a more precise relationship between the charge and the electric eld it produced.

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113

Lecture 06

Gauss Law
To start o with, Gauss realized that it doesnt matter if the our point charge is in the center of our Gaussian surface, or even what the shape of the surface is. The relationship between charge and the electric eld will be the same. Lets talk for a second about the shape of our Gaussian surface: We only care that its larger than the charges were considering and that its CLOSED. Our surface can look like a big uy cloud, if we want. It just has to surround the charges and not have any holes in it. There is one more catch: if we pick a goofy surface where the eld lines arent perpendicular to the surface, we have to modify our equation a little. We write = (E cos )A, where the angle describes the angle between the eld lines and the line perpendicular or NORMAL to the surface.

Figure 4: If the eld lines arent perpendicular to the surface, we need to make sure we only count the eld component that IS perpendicular. Okay, now we can formally introduce Gauss Law.

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113 Gauss Law

Lecture 06

The electric ux E through a Gaussian surface is equal to the net charge Q enclosed by the surface, divided by 0 , the permittivity of free space. E = (E cos )A = Q
0

Youll notice that this looks a little dierent that what weve written up on the board so far, and heres why. This sum will let us accomodate a bunch of dierent surfaces, so for example, if we want to nd the ux through all 6 sides of a cube, we can calculate each side individually and SUM it all up. In the same way that Q is the SUM of all the charges enclosed in the surface. Simple example: Challenge A cubical Gaussian surface surrounds two charges, q1 = 6.0 1012 C and q2 = 2.0 1012 C. What is the electric ux passing through the surface?

Because the cubical Gaussian surface forms a CLOSED box, we can use Gauss law to nd the ux: Q E =
0

where the total charge Q is Q = q1 + q2 . Then, E = Q


0

6.0 1012 C 2.0 1012 C = = 0.45 N m2 /C 12 12 2 2 8.85 10 8.85 10 C /N m

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113

Lecture 06

Okay, now I have a really quick example for you. We have three point charges, q1 , q2 and q3 , and Im going to put a spherical Gaussian surface around two of them. My rst question is this: (a) Which charges determine the electric FLUX through the Gaussian surface?

Only q1 and q2 . The only charges that inuence the ux through a surface are the charges INSIDE the surface. Okay, question two: (b) Which charges produce the electric eld that exists at point P? All 3 of them. The Gaussian surface doesnt CHANGE anything. Its just a tool we use for understanding the eld. Example: Now that weve set the stage, Id like to do one of the most commonly used examples in a course on electricity and magnetism. I would bet money that 95% of the people who teach this course use this exact example. This is good stu. A positive charge q is spread uniformly over a thin spherical shell of radius R. Find the magnitude of the eld at any point (a) outside the shell or (b) inside the shell.

The rst thing we want to notice is that we have a sphere with charge distributed evenly over it. This means that the electric eld is directed radially outward, just like we were dealing with a point charge. To determine the electric eld, were going to start by determining the FLUX using a Gaussian surface. The best choice of a Gaussian surface here would be a sphere. Erin M. Handberg Page 7 of 11

Phys-113

Lecture 06

OUTSIDE: We draw a sphere around the whole charged shell. Lets give it a radius r. Heres Gauss law: E = (E cos )A Because our Gaussian surface is a sphere too, the eld lines are perpendicular to the surface so we can set = 0, and cos(0) = 1: E = E A The surface area of the sphere is 4r2 : E = E 4r2 = Q
0

Because we know the total charge on our surface is q , we can substitute that in for big Q and solve for E : kq q = 2 E= 2 4 0 r r Look familiar? Its the equation for the eld due to a point charge. We get the same result for E whether the charges are compressed together to a point OR spread out over the surface of a basketball. It doesnt even matter if our charged spherical surface is the EPCOT center. The electric eld is going to be E= kq , r2 r>R

INSIDE: Now if we want to nd the eld inside the sphere, we draw a smaller Gaussian surface also with the radius r. Using the same reasoning we can write out Gauss Law: E = E (4r2 ) = Q
0

Wait. Whats the charge inside the Gaussian surface? There isnt any. All of the charge is on the surface of the sphere. Since Q = 0, the eld inside the charged sphere is zero: E = 0, r<R

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113

Lecture 06

Thankfully, we have enough time, because I want to show you how we gured out what the magnitude of the electric eld inside a parallel plate capacitor. The nice thing about physics is that you dont always have to take something at face value. Oftentimes, you can gure it out on your own. On Wednesday, I claimed that the electric eld inside a parallel plate capacitor is E=
0

where is the charge density, or the charge per unit area. Were going to use Gauss Law to PROVE that the charge inside the parallel plate capacitor is E = / 0 . Here is a cross section of a parallel plate capacitor:

Were going to put a cylindrical Gaussian surface in this parallel plate capacitor. One end will be inside the conductor, here, and the other end will be situtated at the center, between the two plates. The radius of our cylinder doesnt matter.

With a cylinder, we have to nd Gauss Law three times. One for each surface of the Gaussian surface we picked. Remember, thats where the sum comes in. The total

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113 ux through the Gaussian surface will be E = (E cos )A = Q


0

Lecture 06

Since we have three surfaces, we can rewrite this as 1 + 2 + 3 = Q


0

1. Lets nd the ux through the at end of the cylinder thats INSIDE the conducting plate of the capacitor. So, 1 = E1 cos 1 A1 = Q1
0

Wait a sec what is the electric eld inside a conductor? We discussed that right at the beginning of class. Its ZERO. 1 = 0 2. Lets nd the ux through the curved cylinder wall. 2 = E2 cos 2 A2 = Q2
0

But with the eld going through the center of the cylinder, the NORMAL to the cylinder wall will be perpendicular to the eld. The angle then is = 90 , and cos 90 = 0. 2 = 0 3. Alright, last one. Lets determine the ux through the at end of the cylinder hanging out here in space between the plates. 3 = E3 cos 3 A3 = Q3
0

The normal on this plate is parallel to the eld, so the angle is 0. This gives us cos 0 = 1, so 3 = E A.

Erin M. Handberg

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Phys-113 Lets call the area at the end of the cylinder A. So, 3 = EA. Summing all of these up, we have E = 1 + 2 + 3 = 0 + 0 + EA = Therefore, EA = as long as we dene = Q/A. Q
0

Lecture 06

Q
0

E=

Erin M. Handberg

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