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University College London Department of Physics and Astronomy

The document is a problem sheet for a university physics course. It contains two problems: [1] The first problem asks students to find the general solution to a first order partial differential equation and determine the specific solution that satisfies a given boundary condition. [2] The second problem asks students to use separation of variables to find the general solution to Laplace's equation in plane polar coordinates, and then evaluate the potential given a condition on the ring r=a.

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Roy Vesey
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43 views1 page

University College London Department of Physics and Astronomy

The document is a problem sheet for a university physics course. It contains two problems: [1] The first problem asks students to find the general solution to a first order partial differential equation and determine the specific solution that satisfies a given boundary condition. [2] The second problem asks students to use separation of variables to find the general solution to Laplace's equation in plane polar coordinates, and then evaluate the potential given a condition on the ring r=a.

Uploaded by

Roy Vesey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2B21 M6

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON


DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
2B21 MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

Problem Sheet M6 (2003–2004)


Solutions to be handed in on Tuesday 18 November 2003

1. A function u(x, y) of two independent variables x and y satisfies the first order
partial differential equation
∂u ∂u
x −y =u.
∂x ∂y

By first looking for a separable solution of the form


u(x, y) = X(x) × Y (y), find the general solution of the equation. [8 marks]

Determine the u(x, y) which satisfies the boundary condition


u = x + x3 when y = x. [2 marks]

2. The potential V (r, θ) in plane polar coordinates satisfies the equation

1 ∂2
!
1 ∂ ∂
∇2 V (r, θ) = r V (r, θ) + 2 2 V (r, θ) = 0 .
r ∂r ∂r r ∂θ

By searching for a solution in the separable form, V (r, θ) = R(r) × Θ(θ) show
that the general solution in the region 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π is
∞ 
Dn

Cn rn +
X
V (r, θ) = A + B `n r + (En cos nθ + Fn sin nθ) . [7 marks]
n=1 rn

If the potential on the ring r = a is given by V (a, θ) = V0 cos θ, evaluate the


potential in the regions 0 ≤ r ≤ a and a ≤ r < ∞. [3 marks]

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