111Equation Chapter 1 Section 1HW 03 - electrostatic potential: chapter 24, problems 8, 17, 25, 33, 39, 51,

59, 74 therein. Pool of questions: 8, 17, 39, 51, 59, 74

•• Chapter 24, problem 8: A graph of the x-

component of the electric field as a function of x in
a region of space is shown in the Figure. The scale
of the vertical axis is set by Exs  20.0 C . The y and
N

z components of the electric field are zero in this

region. If the electric potential at the origin is
V (0)  10V , (a) what is the electric potential V ( x1 )

at x1  2.0m , (b) what is the greatest positive value

of the electric potential for points on the x axis for
which 0  x  6.0m , and (c) for what value of x is
the electric potential zero?

(a) The electric field is Es  Es ( x)   ds , where s  x and V  V ( x) is the unknown function of x that is the
dV

solution to the problem. In the region 0  x  x1 , the linearly-increasingly-negative electric field is given by the
linear function E1 ( x)  ( x / x1 ) Exs (this function is the solution to the question “what linear function passes
through the origin ( x, Ex )  (0, 0) and through the point ( x, Ex )  ( x1 , Exs ) ?”). This is an “ordinary” differential
equation with the “boundary condition” V (0)  10V to coin some lingo from differential equations class1,
V (x ) x x
dV1 ( x) 1 1 1 1

E1 ( x)     dV1 ( x )    E ( x)dx  V1 ( x1 )  V1 (0)     ( xdumb / x1 ) E xs  dxdumb ;

dx V1 (0) 0 0
212\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

1
That sounds like an advanced topic, but I’m only mentioning some lingo from it (rather than gory computational techniques). You
heard it here first, so it won’t be so scary when you hear it later…
xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J / C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )

x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 dxdy  dydx V  i dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
d 2V d 2V
Carrying out the integral on the right hand side (“RHS”) of Error: Reference source not found and solving for
V ( x1 ) ,
x1
E E xs 1 2 1 2
V1 ( x1 )  V1 (0)   xs
x1 x
0
dumb  dxdumb  V1 (0) 
x1 2
( x1  2 0 )  V1 (0)  12 Exs x1  10V  12 (20.0 CN )(2.0m)  30V ;

313\* MERGEFORMAT (.)

(b) The problem is asking for the global maximum of the potential given a piecewise-defined electric field, so
we must find the potential in all regions. The functional form of the electric field is2,
0  x  x1  2.0m 2.0m  x1  x  2 x1  4.0m 4.0m  2 x1  x  3 x1  6.0m
E1 ( x)  ( x / x1 ) Exs 2E E3 ( x )  [constant]  E xs ;
E2 ( x)  (slope) x  (y-int )  x xs  3Exs ;
x1

Then, the potential V  V ( x) in all 3 regions is similarly piecewise-defined3,

0  x  x1  2.0m 2.0m  x1  x  2 x1  4.0m 4.0m  2 x1  x  3 x1  6.0m
V1 ( x )  V (0)  12 E xs x1  2 ; x x
V2 ( x)  V1 ( x1 )   E2 ( xdumb )dxdumb ; V3 ( x)  V2 (2 x1 )   E (x 3 dumb )dxdumb ;
x1 2 x1

Notice that the integration in the 2nd column gives you the potential starting from V ( x1 ) due to the bounds of
integration starting at xdumb  x1 , and the integration in the 3rd column gives you the potential starting from
V (2 x1 ) due to the bounds of integration starting at xdumb  2 x1 . Hence the term “boundary” condition.

We now shall carry out the integration. To make the integration cleaner4, let’s effect the change of integration-
variables  d  xdumb / x1 ,
2
In the 2nd column, the red “3” was incorrectly a “2” before! It was a mistake I made while doing the problem, and I only noticed the
mistake by doing this problem out in gory detail as I have. I encourage you to do the same when tackling problems.
xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J / C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )

x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 dxdy  dydx V  i dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
d 2V d 2V

3 x
In the 2nd and 3rd columns of the above table, dumb is what people call a “dummy (integration) variable”: it is a placeholder-
variable naturally occurring in the integration process, and people encounter it so much that it has its own name. You’ll hear people
talk about “dummy variables” all the time.

 Exs  20.0 C V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)   2 m1 x, y , z

N 20.0( N / C )
10( J / C )


L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  

0
u 1
 0
u 1
 
0
u 1
 
0
u 1
 0
du  
0 1
u 1
 
d 1
   ln   1  ln1  ;
w d  d  
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q  d 2V
3 dxdy
d 2V
dy dx V  iˆ dV ˆ dV
dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b

4 xdumb
You may be squeamish about unnecessarily-effecting substitution-integration, but “clean” means less chance of making a
mistake!
 x x
 2 Exs 
V2 ( x)  V1 ( x1 )   E2 ( xdumb )dxdumb   V1 (0)  12 Exs x1     xdumb  3E xs  dxdumb
x1 x1  x1 

  V1 (0)  12 Exs x1   Exs x1  (2  d  3) d  d  V1 (0)  E xs x1 (3  32   2 ) ;
1 414\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

From Error: Reference source not found we can calculate5 the boundary condition
V2 (2 x1 )  V1 (0)  E xs x1 (3  2  32  22 )  V1 (0)  12 E xs x1 , which is needed in the expression for the potential in the 3rd
region,
x 
V3 ( x)  V2 (2 x1 )   E (x 3 dumb )dxdumb   V1 (0)  E xs x1   (  E xs x1 )  d  d
1
2
2 x1 2

 V1 (0)  Exs x1  ( Exs x1 )(   2)  V1 (0)  E x (   );

1
2
5
xs 1 2 515\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

We can plot both the electric field and the potential it follows from vs. the dimensionless   x / x1 . In tabular
form, these objects appear as,
Interval 0    1 1   2 2 3
  x / x1
Electric E1 ( x )   Exs  E2 ( x)  Exs (2   3); E3 ( x)  Exs ;
field
potential V1 ( x )  V (0)  12 Exs x1  2 ; V2 ( x)  V1 (0)  Exs x1 (3   2  32 ) V3 ( x)  V1 (0)  Exs x1 ( 52   )

 Exs  20.0 C V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)   2 m1 x, y , z

N 20.0( N / C )
10( J / C )


L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  

0
u 1
 0
u 1
  0
u 1
 
0
u 1
 0
du  
0 1
u 1
 
d 1
   ln   1  ln1  ;
w d  d  
ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 dxdy  dydx V  i dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
2 2
d V d V

5 xdumb
The red “  ” in the last step is another place where I made a mistake! It cost me a lot of time while preparing this solution set,
and it could have cost me more if I didn’t explore this problem deeply and record in writing my exploration.
Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)   2 m1 x, y, z  20.0( N / C )
10( J / C )
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 dxdy  dydx V  i dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
d 2V d 2V
It is obvious that we should plot the dimensionless electric field E1 ( x) / Exs and the dimensionless potential
V ( x) / V1 (0) , and we hence notice that the plot is sensitive to the ratio6 Exs / V1 (0) ,

 
V V 0 ,E ES
4
Potential and Field vs. x
   
E x
V x
ES
V 0
3


2

x x1
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
1
616\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

(c) With the plot Error: Reference source not found, one can numerically see where the potential passes through
zero, but we can solve the problem analytically just to be sure. Let x be the coordinate where the potential is
zero. We also see that x is in region-3, so V3 ( x )  0  V1 (0)  Exs x1 ( 2   ) . Solving this expression for x  x1 ,
3

 5 x  solve for x V (0)  52 Exs x1 10 NCm  52 (20 CN )2.0m 1  10 11

V3 ( x )  0  V1 (0)  Exs x1     x  1   m m;
 2 x1  Exs 20 C 2 2
N

717\* MERGEFORMAT (.)

Afterword: I made lots of mistakes in preparing the above solution (Obviously, those mistakes are corrected,
and I do not show them to you because they’d cause you all sorts of mischief and trouble when you’re trying to
learn), and I was able to quickly correct them by laying out and carefully recording all my works and steps!

Chapter 24, problem 17: In the Figure, what is the 15

particles if V  0 at infinity, q  5.00 10 C , and
net electric potential at point P due to the four
d  4.00  102 m ?

6 xdumb  Hence, the relative shape of the plot depends on only one of the problem gives! A 2-dimensional plot is a way to illustrate a
salient feature of a problem, and plotting dimensionless quantities automatically removes up to 2 of the “givens” in the problem! For

instance, our problem-statement contains 3 givens (

Exs  20.0 CN , V (0)  10V , and x1  2.0m ), but by plotting E ( x ) / Exs vs.
Exs / V1 (0)  20.0(
  x / x1 and V ( x ) / V1 (0) vs.   x / x1 , we see that the plot is sensitive only to 10( J / C )  2 m
N /C ) 1
(a dimension-ful
quantity of inverse-length).
x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 dxdy  dydx V  i dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
d 2V d 2V
In contrast to the above, this is a rather boring question to answer, for we just write,
kq kq kq kq k ( q ) k ( q) k ( q ) k (q ) kq
VP  V1  V2  V3  V4  1  2  3  4       1  1  1  12 
r1 r2 r3 r4 d d d 2d d
15
kq (8.99 10 NCm2 )(5.00 10 C ) (8.99)(5.00)
9 2
N m J
  2
 104  5.62  104 ;
2d 2(4.00  10 m) 2(4.00) C C 818\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

Afterword: Notice a few things about our calculation: (1) The electric field can be gotten from the potential by

E  iˆ dxd VP  ˆj dyd VP  VP
the operation . Although x, y aren’t floating around in our expression Error:
Reference source not found, this is possible, but we would require a coordinate system. That brings us to (2)
Even so a potential implies an electric field, calculating the potential does not necessarily7 make reference to a
coordinate system (unlike the electric field it implies)!

2
Chapter 24, problem 25: A plastic rod has been bent into a circle of radius R  8.20  10 m . It has a charge
Q1  4.20  1012 C uniformly distributed along one-quarter of its circumference and a charge Q2  6Q1

uniformly distributed along the rest of the circumference (see the Figure). With V  0 at infinity (i.e., V ()  0
), what is the electric potential at (a) the center C of the circle and (b) point P, on the central axis of the circle

2
at distance D  6.71  10 m from the center?

(a) Let C be the origin of a cylindrical coordinate system. The potential at C is due to a charge-density
1  Q1 / 1 in the circle-arc of length 1  14 (2 R)  12  R plus that of a charge density 2  Q2 / 2 in the

xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
7

One does make reference to a coordinate system in calculating the potential if they do wish to have x, y , z floating around in their
(simplest exact form) expression, because then one would apply the  operation described above…to get a field.
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  

0
u 1
 0
u 1
 
0
u 1
 
0
u 1
 0
du  
0 1
u 1
 
d 1
   ln   1  ln1  ;
w d  d  
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q
d 2V
3 dxdy
 d 2V
dy dx V  iˆ dV ˆ dV
dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
circle-arc of length 2  4 (2 R)  2  R . An element of charge dq   ( )  d    ( )  Rd (where  is a polar-
3 3

 
r  rq  R
coordinate-angle) is a distance away, where  ( ) is piecewise-defined over  , and so,
 2 
1
2 2 2
dq  ( )  Rd
V   dV   k    0 0  0 
k  k  ( )  d   k    d     d  
r  rq R
1 2

q  1
2 
 1 1  kQ1 kQ
 12 k  1  32   12 k  (Q1 / 1 )  3(Q2 / 2 )   12 k Q1  1  18 3   1  6   5 1 ;
 2R 2R  R R
919\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

Plugging in numbers, we have,

5(8.99 109 NCm2 )(4.20 1012 C )
2
kQ N m
V  5 1   2
 2.30 ;
R 8.20 10 m C 10110\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

(b) For a point a distance D above C , we simply repeat the same steps in Error: Reference source not found,
 
R  R 2  D 2  r  rq
except with the replacement effected in the denominator where it appeared in Error:
Reference source not found,
 2 
1
2 2 2
dq  ( )  Rd kR kR
V   dV   k     k
2  2   
  ( )  d      d     d 
r  r R 2
 D 2
R 2
 D R 2
 D
1 2

q q 0 0 0 1
2
 
1
 kR  1 1  kQ1 kQ1
 2 Q1  1  18 3    1  6   5 ;
R2  D2  2  R 2R  R2  D2 R2  D2
11111\* MERGEFORMAT (.)

Plugging in numbers, Error: Reference source not found yields,

5kQ1 5(8.99 109 N m2
C2
)(4.20 1012 C ) N m
V   1.78 ;
R D
2 2 2
(8.20 10 m)  (6.7110 m)
2 2 2 C
12112\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

••• Chapter 24, problem 33: The thin plastic rod

2
shown in the Figure has length L  12.0  10 m
and a nonuniform linear charge density
12 C
   ( x)  cx , where c  28.9 10 .With V  0
m2

at infinity, find the electric potential at point P1 on

2
the axis, at distance d  3.00 10 m from one end.
Even so this is a 3-dot problem, it is physically trivial (only the calculus is difficult) if we follow the same
procedure that we did for any similar 1-dot problems we may have undertaken,
k  dq
L
 ( x)  dx L
cx  dx
L
x  dx
L
 1/ d 2  x  dx L/d
u  du
V   dV      k   k  ck   ck   d    ckd  ;
q r  rq
ˆ
0 xi   di
ˆ 0 ( x  d )i
ˆ 0
xd 0
1/ d  x  d 0
u 1
13113\* MERGEFORMAT (.)

Math interlude – for your interest only8: We then integrate by parts by (1) calculating the differential
d (u ln(u  1)) using the product rule and solving for the resulting u  du / (u  1) , as,
0 1 solve for u du /( u 1) u  du
d (u  ln(u  1))  du  ln(u  1)  u  du    d (u  ln(u  1))  du  ln(u  1);
u 1 u 1
14114\* MERGEFORMAT (.)

Then, (2) calculating the differential d ( y  ln y ) and solving for the resulting dy ln y in which y  u  1 ,
1
d ( y  ln y )  dy  ln y  y  dy  dy ln y  dy 
solve for dy ln y
 dy ln y  d ( y ln y )  dy;
y 15115\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
8

x, y , z  Meaning I will not quiz you on the purely-mathematical machinations given here. I will just give you the antiderivative.
This is because this is a physics class, not a calculus class! But it’s good, also, to gain a sense of which problem-solving steps are
mathematical vs. those which are physical. (Often, the latter are harder!).
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  

0
u 1
 0
u 1
 
0
u 1
 
0
u 1
 0
du  
0 1
u 1
 
d 1
   ln   1  ln1  ;
w d  d  
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q
d 2V
3 dxdy
 d 2V
dy dx V  iˆ dV ˆ dV
dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
End of mathematical interlude9: Combining Error: Reference source not found and Error: Reference source not
found with Error: Reference source not found, and calculating the dimensionless10 V / (ckd ) and   L / d , we
have,
1
u  du
 
V
  d (u ln(u  1))  ln(u  1) du   ln(  1)  0 ln(0  1) 
ckd 0 u  1 0
  ln y  dy
1
1
 ln(  1)    d ( y ln y)  dy   ln(  1)   (  1) ln(  1)  1 ln1      ln(  1)  0;
1 16116\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)
•• chapter 24, problem 39: An electron is placed
in an xy-plane where the electric potential depends
on x and y as shown in the Figure (the potential
does not depend on z). The scale of the vertical axis
is set by Vs  500V . In unit-vector notation, what is
the electric force on the electron?

Let the scales of the horizontal and vertical axes be X  Y  0.2m   , as indicated. Then,
   dV ˆ dV   ˆ V ˆ V   ˆ Vs  Vs ˆ 15 Vs  53 Vs 
F  qE  q  V   q  iˆ j   q   i  j   q  i 2  0  j 2  0 
 dx dy   x y   
19

qVs  ˆ
i ˆj 2   (1.602 10 C )(500V )  iˆ  ˆj 2   4.01iˆ  1.602  1016 N ;
 
  5 0.2m  5
19119\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

Chapter 24, problem 51: In the rectangle of the q2  2.0 106 C . With V  0 at infinity, what is the
Figure, the sides have lengths h  5.0cm and electric potential at (a) corner A and (b) corner B?
6
widths w  15cm  3h , q1  5.0  10 C , and (c) How much work is required to move a charge

xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
9

x, y , z  A student came into office hours, and showed me this alternate trick which bypasses the heavy machinations in Error:
Reference source not found and Error: Reference source not found:
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1  0 u  1  0 u  1  0 u  1  0 du  01 u  1  d  1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
On using ln1  0 , one arrives at the same result Error: Reference source not found at the end of this Problem. (I love it when my
students teach me things! ).
V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 d 2V
dxdy  d 2V
dydx V  iˆ dV ˆ dV
dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b

xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
10

x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ln1  0 Obviously, V / (ckd ) scales out the computationally-intensive machinations of calculus we are effecting from Error:
Reference source not found and Error: Reference source not found.
q1 , q2 , q3 d 2V
dx dy  d 2V
dy dx V  iˆ dV ˆ dV
dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
q3  3.0  10 6 C from B to A along a diagonal of the
rectangle? (d) Does this work increase or decrease
the electric potential energy of the three charge
system? Is more, less, or the same work required if
q3 is moved along a path that is (e) inside the
rectangle but not on a diagonal and (f ) outside the
rectangle?

(a) and (b) Let q1   q2   q , where we obviously have   2 and q3   q where   2 . Now we won’t
5 3

have any q ’s with subscripts running around—only Greek letters and terms of q . We further note that if we
had   1 (which we do not) the answers to parts (a) and (b) would be the same, and we can use this as a
check against any mistakes. This being said, let us proceed to calculate VA , VB ,
6
  q q  kq 3   (8.99 10 N C 2 )(2.0 10 C ) 3  25
9 m2
 q1 q2  J
VA  VA1  VA2  k     k     2
 5.99 104 ;
w h  3h h  h 3 (5.0  10 m) 3 C
6
  q q  kq 1  3 (8.99  10 N C 2 )(2.0 10 C ) 1  3( 25 )
9 m 2
q q  J
VB  VB1  VB 2 k 1  2 k    2
 7.79 105 ;
 h w  h 3h  h 3 (5.0 10 m) 3 C
20120\* MERGEFORMAT (.)

(c) and (d) The work to move a charge q3   q from B to A is easily calculated as,
 kq 3   kq 1  3  kq
W  q3 (V f  Vi )   q  VA  VB    q      q  (3   )  (1  3 ) 
 h 3 h 3  3h
6
2 3 (8.99  10 N Cm2 )(2.0 10 C )
9 2 2
2 kq 2
  1     1  52   2.52 N  m  0 ;
3 h 32 (5.0  102 m) 21121\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

The work Error: Reference source not found calculated is defined to be that which an external agent does.
When an external agent does positive work upon a system, the energy of that system increases11.

xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
11

x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ln1  0 V / (ckd ) In our case, potential energy is stored in the charge system, which may be realized as acceleration for the charges
q1 , q2 , q3 being massive. Other examples: friction does positive work upon a sliding object, and the “work input” is realized as
thermal energy.
d 2V
dx dy  d 2V
dy dx V  iˆ dV ˆ dV
dx  j dy q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
  
F  qE  q(iˆ dV ˆ dV
dx  j dy )  q (V )
(e) and (f) The electrostatic force is conservative, so the work is the same no

matter which path is used. Proof (pure math – for your own interest): A conservative force field   qV is a F
 
vector field  F ( x, y ) whose vector curl is zero. The curl in this special case is given by
F
 
curl F    F  ( dxd Fy  dyd Fx )kˆ F   q dV F   q dV
, wherein we have y dy
and x dy
, and so12,
 d d   d  dV  d  dV   ˆ  d 2V d 2V  ˆ
curl F   Fy  Fx  kˆ    q  k  q  0  k  0 ;
  q k   q  ˆ
   
 dx dy   dx  dy  dy  dx    dx  dy dy  dx 
22122\* MERGEFORMAT (.)

Chapter 24, problem 59: In the Figure, a charged particle (either an electron or a proton) is moving
3
rightward between two parallel charged plates separated by distance d  2.00  10 m . The plate potentials are
V1  70.0V and V2  50.0V . The particle is slowing from an initial speed of v0  9.00  104 ms at the left plate.

(a) Is the particle an electron or a proton? (b) What is its speed just as it reaches plate 2?

We do part (b) first where we calculate the final velocity v , and note that v  v0 because it is said that the
31
particle is slowing. We furthermore note that the mass m is that of either an electron me   9.1110 kg or a
m p  1.67  1027 kg  1833me 
proton . Hence,
K  mv1 2
2K 2( K 0  W ) 2( K 0  q (V2  V1 ))
2
v   ;
K 0  12 mv0 2
m m m
23123\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

In Error: Reference source not found, for K  K 0 , we must have W  q (V2  V1 )  0 ; since
V2  V1  (50.0  70.0)V  20.0V  0 , we have q  0 , and thus the particle is a proton; accordingly, the final
velocity Error: Reference source not found is,

xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
12

x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1  0 u  1  0 u  1  0 u  1  0 du  01 u  1  d  1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 In the last step, we used the fact that derivatives commute: dxdy  dydx . The V  i dx  j dy
d 2V d 2V

is called the gradient operation, and the curl of a gradient always vanishes. You won’t be quizzed on this proof, but my mentioning it
may make Calc III easier.
q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
 2( 12 m p v0 2  (e)(V2  V1 )) 2( 12 (1.67 1027 kg )(9.00 104 ms ) 2  (1.602 1019 C )(20.0 CJ )) m
v  27
 6.53 104 ;
mp 1.67 10 kg s
24124\* MERGEFORMAT (.)
3
We do not need the distance d  2.00  10 m between the plates, because of the path-independence of the
conservative electrostatic potential, and because “what’s the final velocity” is a question about a final state,
rather than what happens in between. We would need the distance if we wanted to calculate quantity that
happens in between the two plates, such as the acceleration of the proton during its trip.

Chapter 24, problem 74: Three particles, charge

q1  10 106 C  q , q2  20 106 C  2q , and

q3  30 106 C  3q , are positioned at the vertices

of an isosceles triangle as shown in the Figure. If
a  10  102 m and b  6.0  102 m , how much work
must an external agent do to exchange the positions
of (a) q1 and q3 and, instead, (b) q1 and q2 ?

The answer to part-a is W13  U13  U 0 , and the answer to part-b is W12  U12  U 0 , where U 0 is the total energy
of the charge-distribution, U12 is the total-energy of the charge-distribution with 1  2 interchange, and U13 is
the total-energy of the charge-distribution with 1  3 interchange. These three expressions are,
qq qq q q  qq qq q q  qq qq q q 
U 0  k  1 2  1 3  2 3  ; U13  k  1 2  1 3  2 3  ; U12  k  1 2  1 3  2 3   U 0 ;
 b a a   a a b   b a a  25125\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)
From Error: Reference source not found, we immediately see that U12  U 0  U 0  U 0  0 , which is the answer
to (b) in simplest exact form13. For part-a, letting14 q2  2q   q , q3  3q   q , and b  10 a  (1/  )a (i.e.,
6

( ,  ,  )  (2,3, 106 ) ,

 q q q q q q q q q q q q  kq        
2
U13  U 0  k  1 2  1 3  2 3  1 2  1 3  2 3      1  1   
 a a b b a a  a  1 1   1 1 
kq 2 kq 2
                 (  1)(  1) ;
a a 26126\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)
Plugging in numbers to Error: Reference source not found, we get,
(8.99  109 N m2
C2
)(10  106 C )2
U13  U 0   2(3  1)( 106  1)  24.97 N  m ;
10  102 m 27127\*
MERGEFORMAT (.)

xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
13

x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 dxdy  dydx V  i dx  j dy That is, the result for part-(b) is insensitive to the choices of the
d 2V d 2V

numbers at the outset of the problem (what it is sensitive to is the chosen geometry of an isosceles triangle; the zero-answer here is a
consequence of its symmetry).
q3  3q1  3q q1  q   3  a   b
xdumb  Exs  20.0 CN V (0)  10V x1  2.0m E ( x ) / Exs   x / x1 V ( x ) / V1 (0)   x / x1 Exs / V1 (0)  10( J /C )  2 m1
20.0( N / C )
14

x, y , z 
L/ d L/d L/ d L/ d L/d L / d 1 L / d 1
u  du (u  1  1)  du (u  1)  du (1)  du d (u  1) L dw L   L  
0 u  1 0 u  1
  0 u  1 0 u  1 0
  du  01 u  1 d 1 w  d   ln  d  1  ln1 ;
 

ˆ dV ˆ dV
ln1  0 V / (ckd ) q1 , q2 , q3 dxdy  dydx V  i dx  j dy I’m just letting Greek letters be dimensionless multiples that tell
d 2V d 2V

the relative values of one quantity to another. For instance, the fact that 3
q  3q1  3q is “triple the charge of q1  q ” means
  3 ; similarly with the  I introduce for the lengths
a b.