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Lecture-11 Applications of Gauss Law

The document discusses the applications of Gauss's Law in calculating electric fields for various symmetric charge distributions, including point, line, surface, and volume charges. It outlines the conditions for selecting appropriate Gaussian surfaces and provides mathematical formulations for determining electric displacement fields (D) in these scenarios. Additionally, it presents problems for calculating electric flux and field intensity in specific configurations.

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muneebharoon261
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33 views16 pages

Lecture-11 Applications of Gauss Law

The document discusses the applications of Gauss's Law in calculating electric fields for various symmetric charge distributions, including point, line, surface, and volume charges. It outlines the conditions for selecting appropriate Gaussian surfaces and provides mathematical formulations for determining electric displacement fields (D) in these scenarios. Additionally, it presents problems for calculating electric flux and field intensity in specific configurations.

Uploaded by

muneebharoon261
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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APPLICATIONS OF

GAUSS´S LAW
Gauss’s Law
 We will now consider how we may use the Gauss’s law
below:

 The procedure for applying Gauss's law to calculate the


electric field involves first knowing whether symmetry
exists

 Once symmetric charge distribution exists, we construct a


mathematical closed surface (known as a Gaussian
surface) around the source of electric field
Gauss’s Law
 The solution to the Gauss’s law equation is easy if we are
able to choose a closed surface which satisfies two
conditions:

1. D is everywhere either normal or tangential to the closed


surface, so that D.dS becomes either DdS or zero,
respectively

2. On that portion of the closed surface for which D.dS is


not zero, D = constant

 We will now apply Gauss’s law to the four types of


charged sources, namely point, line, surface and volume
charge
A Point Charge
 Suppose a point charge Q is located at the origin

 To determine D at a point P, it is easy to see that


choosing a spherical surface containing P will satisfy
symmetry conditions

 Thus, a spherical surface


centered at the origin is the
Gaussian surface in this case as
shown in figure
A Point Charge
 Since D is everywhere normal to the Gaussian surface,
that is, D = Drar, applying Gauss's law (ψ = Qenclosed) gives:

 Where is the surface area of the Gaussian surface

 Thus:

 Which is the same result obtained previously


Infinite Line Charge
 Suppose the infinite line of uniform charge ρL C/m lies
along the z-axis as shown in figure

 To determine D at a point P, we
choose a cylindrical surface
containing P to satisfy
symmetry condition

 D is constant on and normal to


the cylindrical Gaussian surface;
that is: D = Dρaρ
Infinite Line Charge
 If we apply Gauss's law to an arbitrary length l of the line:

 Where is the surface area of the Gaussian surface

 Note that evaluated on the top and bottom surfaces of


the cylinder is zero since D has no z-component; that
means that D is tangential to those surfaces

 Thus:

 Which is the same result obtained previously


Infinite Sheet of Charge
 Consider the infinite sheet of uniform charge ρs C/m2 lying
on the z = 0 plane

 To determine D at
point P, we choose a
rectangular box that
is cut symmetrically
by the sheet of
charge and has two
of its faces parallel to
the sheet
Infinite Sheet of Charge
 As D is normal to the sheet, D = Dzaz, and applying
Gauss's law gives:

 Note that D.dS evaluated on the sides of the box is zero


because D has no components along ax and ay

 If the top and bottom area of the box each has area A, the
above equation becomes:

 And thus:

 Or:
Uniformly Charged Sphere
 Consider a sphere of radius a with a uniform charge ρv
C/m3

 To determine D everywhere, we construct Gaussian


surfaces for cases and separately
 Since the charge has
spherical symmetry,
it is obvious that a
spherical surface is
an appropriate
Gaussian surface
Uniformly Charged Sphere
 For , the total charge enclosed by the spherical surface of
radius r, as shown in figure (a), is:
Uniformly Charged Sphere
 Hence, gives:

 Or:

 For , the Gaussian surface is shown in figure (b)

 The charge enclosed by the surface is the entire charge in


this case, that is:
Uniformly Charged Sphere
 We have the total flux as:

 Hence from the previous two equations, we have:

 Or:
Uniformly Charged Sphere
 Thus D everywhere is given
as:

 The sketch of |D| versus


distance from the center of
the sphere is shown:
Problem-1

 The electric field density in a region is given by nC/m2.


Calculate the electric flux passing through the surface
bounded by the region .
Problem-2
 In a rectangular coordinate system in free space:
pC/m2

a. Find the electric flux in the given surface in a direction


away from the origin:

b. Find the magnitude of the electric field intensity at


P(3,2,1)

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