Electricity & Magnetism – Lecture 5

Application of Gauss’ law

Electric Field due to a uniformly charged spherical shell
Consider a uniformly charged spherical shell of radius R and total charge q

i) At a point outside the shell (r > R)

ii) At the surface (r = R)

r′′
iii) At a point inside the shell (r ′ < R)

i) At a point outside the shell (r > R)

Using Gauss’ law,
 = ∮ . ⃗ =

Since   ⃗ are in the same direction

Electric Field due to a uniformly charged spherical shell

 = ∮ . ⃗ =

 =  T =

 = E   =

 = E 4"# $ =

1 (
=
4"&' # $
Since,
( = )(4"+$ )

1 V(4"+$ )
=
Electric field due to a uniformly charged thin 4"&' #$
spherical shell at a point outside the shell is such as
V+$
if the whole charge were concentrated at the centre
of the shell. =
&' # $
Electric Field due to a uniformly charged spherical shell

i) At a point outside the shell (r > R)

ii) At the surface (r = R)
iii) At a point inside the shell (r ′ < R)
r′′

 = ∮ . ⃗ =
 = E 4"+$ =

1 V(4"+$ ) V
= =
4"&' +$ &'

Electric field due to a uniformly charged thin spherical shell

at a point on the surface of the shell is maximum
Electric Field due to a uniformly charged spherical shell

i) At a point outside the shell (r > R)

ii) At the surface (r = R)
iii) At a point inside the shell (r ′ < R)
r′′

 = ∮ . ⃗ =

 = E 4"#′$ = q= ????

1 0
= Since, q = 0 inside the Gaussian surface
4"&' #′$
=0
Electric Field due to a uniformly charged spherical shell

V+$
=
&' # $
V
=
&'
=0
Electric Field due to a solid non-conducting uniformly charged sphere

Consider a uniformly charged sphere of radius R and total charge q Case (a): At a point outside the sphere (r > R)
Case (b): At the surface (r = R)
Case (c): At a point inside the sphere (r < R)

Case (a):

(
7 .  =  4"# $ =
8'

E=
9: 56

4 1
q / = Charge per unit volume ( = "+ /
3
(c) 23 4
E=
1 56
Electric Field due to a solid non-conducting uniformly charged sphere

Case (a): At a point outside the sphere (r > R)

Case (b): At the surface (r = R)
Case (c): At a point inside the sphere (r < R)

Case (b):
Radius of Gaussian surface r = R

(
7 .  =  4"+$ =
8'
E=
q 9: 36

4 1
/ = Charge per unit volume (= "+ /
(c) 3
23
E=
1
Electric Field due to a solid non-conducting uniformly charged sphere

Case (a): At a point outside the sphere (r > R)

Case (b): At the surface (r = R)
Case (c): At a point inside the sphere (r < R)

Case (c):
Consider a uniformly charged sphere of radius R and
total charge q as shown in Figure.

?
7 .  =  4"# $ =
q* 8'
∗
q E=
9: 56
9 54
(c) (∗ = = u "# 1 =
:3 4 1 34
4
5 25
E=
E=
9: 3 4 1
Electric Field due to a solid non-conducting uniformly charged sphere
23 4 Variation of E with r
E=
1 56

23
E=
1

25
E=
1
Lightning
Source: Internet

Lightning is a sudden
high-voltage discharge of
electricity.

A typical lightning produce -

• About 30 to 120 kA of current,
• 30 to 100 MV,
Globally -
• 15 to 350 Coulombs of electric charge
• ~300000C. • About 40 to 50 flashes/second
• Around 1.4 billion flashes occur
per year
• Almost 75% of total lightning
flashes occur in the tropical
zone.
Application of Gauss’s in real life

Run to your vehicle for safety.

A car or a bus is safe during lightning because the lightning will

travel around the surface of the vehicle and then go to ground.
The metallic frame of the car, being a good conductor, would
direct the current around the objects and discharge it safely to
the ground while shielding the objects inside the car.
Lightning
A thunderstorm is a localized storm accompanied by lightning and thunder.

 Cumulonimbus clouds
 Strong rising air (updrafts).
 Strong warm updrafts and cooler
downdrafts create turbulence.
 The continuous collisions of different
size hydrometeors create huge electrical
charges within the thunderstorm. Source: Internet

When the rising ice crystals collide with graupel, generally the ice crystals become
positively charged and the graupel becomes negatively charged.
Causalities due to Lightning
 The effects of thunderstorms including Bangladesh Bureau of statistics
lightning in our country are not insignificant (BBS) report 2016 −
compared with damages caused by other Flood damage: 23%
natural hazards. Thunderstorm damage: 14%
 Recently, the fatalities and injuries in Bangladesh due to lightning has been increased
devastatingly.

Fatalities Causalities and damages due to

Injuries lightning in Bangladesh:
 114 fatalities in annual averages
 251 fatalities per year during last six
years (2010-2015)

Dewan et al. (Weather Clim. Soc., 2017).

 Following the deaths of 81 people on 12 and 13 May 2016, Bangladesh government has
declared lightning as a natural disaster.