Solutions to Problems in Jackson,

Classical Electrodynamics, Third Edition

Homer Reid
October 8, 2000
Chapter 4: Problems 8-13
Problem 4.8
A very long, right circular, cylindrical shell of dielectric constant /
0
and inner and
outer radii a and b, respectively, is placed in a previously uniform electric eld E
0
with its axis perpendicular to the eld. The medium inside and outside the cylinder
has a dielectric constant of unity.
(a) Determine the potential and electric elds in the three regions, neglecting end
eects.
(b) Sketch the lines of force for a typical case of b 2a.
(c) Discuss the limiting forms of your solution appropriate for a solid dielectric
cylinder in a uniform eld, and a cylindrical cavity in a uniform dielectric.
We will take the axis of the cylinder to be the z axis and the electric eld to
be aligned with the x axis: E
0
= E
0

i. Since the cylinder is very long and were

told to neglect end eects, we can ignore the z direction altogether and treat
this as a two-dimensional problem.
(a) The general solution of the Laplace equation in two dimensional polar co-
ordinates is
(r, ) =

[A
n
r
n
+B
n
r
n
][C
n
sin(n) +D
n
cos(n)]
For the region inside the shell (r < a), the B coecients must vanish to keep
the potential from blowing up at the origin. Also, in the region outside the shell
1
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 2
(r > b), the only positive power of r in the sum must be that which gives rise
to the external electric eld, i.e. E
0
r cos with A
n
= 0 for n > 1. With these
observations we may write expressions for the potential in the three regions:
(r, ) =
_

r
n
[A
n
sinn +B
n
cos n], r < a

r
n
[C
n
sin n +D
n
cos n] +r
n
[E
n
sin n + F
n
cos n], a < r < b
E
0
r cos +

r
n
[G
n
sin n +H
n
cos ], r > b
The normal boundary condition at r = a is

x=a
=

r

x=a+
or

na
n1
[A
n
sin n +B
n
cos n] =

na
n1
[C
n
sin n +D
n
cos n] na
(n+1)
[E
n
sin n +F
n
cos n]
From this we obtain two equations:

A
n
= C
n
E
n
a
2n
(1)

B
n
= D
n
F
n
a
2n
(2)
Next, the tangential boundary condition at r = a is

x=a+
=

x=a
or

na
n
[A
n
cos n B
n
sin n] =

na
n
[C
n
cos n D
n
sinn] +na
n
[E
n
cos n F
n
sin n]
from which we obtain two more equations:
A
n
= C
n
+E
n
a
2n
(3)
B
n
= D
n
+F
n
a
2n
(4)
Similarly, from the normal boundary condition at r = b we obtain

E
0
cos

0

nb
(n+1)
[G
n
sinn +H
n
cos ] =

nb
n1
[C
n
sin n +D
n
cos n] nb
(n+1)
[E
n
sin n +F
n
cos ]
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 3
which leads to

G
n
= C
n
b
2n
E
n
(5)

b
2
E
0

n1

H
n
= D
n
b
2n
F
n
(6)
Finally, we have the tangential boundary condition at r = b:
bE
0
sin +

nb
n
[G
n
cos n H
n
sinn] =

nb
n
[C
n
cos n D
n
sinn] +nb
n
[E
n
cos n F
n
sin n]
giving
G
n
= C
n
b
2n
+E
n
(7)
b
2
E
0

n1
+H
n
= D
n
b
2n
+F
n
. (8)
The four equations (1), (3), (5), and (7) specify a degenerate system of linear
equations, which can only be satised by taking A
n
= C
n
= E
n
= G
n
= 0 for
all n. Next, for n = 1, the system of equations (2), (4), (6), and (8) specify the
same degenerate system of equations, so B
n
= D
n
= F
n
= G
n
= 0 for n = 0.
However, for n = 1, we have

B
1
= D
1
F
1
a
2
D
1
=
1
2
_
1 +

0

_
B
1

B
1
= D
1
+F
1
a
2
F
1
=
1
2
a
2
_
1

0

_
B
1
.
and
H
1
= b
2
E
0
+

0
D
1
b
2

0
F
1
H
1
= b
2
E
0
+D
1
b
2
+F
1
0 = 2b
2
E
0
+b
2
_
1 +

0
_
D
1
+
_
1

0
_
F
1
Substituting from above,
4b
2
E
0
=
1

0
_
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2

B
1
or
B
1
=
4
0
b
2
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
E
0
.
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 4
Then
D
1
=
2
0
( +
0
)b
2
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
E
0
F
1
=
2
0
(
0
)a
2
b
2
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
E
0
H
1
=
b
2
(b
2
a
2
)(
2
0

2
)
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
E
0
.
The potential is
(r, ) =
_

_
4
0
b
2
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
E
0
rcos , r < a
2
0
b
2
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
_
( +
0
)r + (
0
)
a
2
r
_
E
0
cos , a < r < b
(b
2
a
2
)(
2
0

2
)
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2

b
2
r
E
0
cos E
0
rcos , b < r.
As
0
, E
0
r cos in all three regions, which is reassuring.
The electric eld is
E(r, ) =
_

_
4
0
b
2
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
E
0
[cos r sin ] , r < a
2
0
b
2
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2
__
( +
0
) (
0
)
a
2
r
2
_
E
0
cos r

_
( +
0
) + (
0
)
a
2
r
2
_
E
0
sin
_
, a < r < b

(b
2
a
2
)(
2
0

2
)
b
2
( +
0
)
2
a
2
(
0
)
2

_
b
r
_
2
E
0
[cos r + sin ]
+E
0
[cos r sin ] , b < r.
(b) In Figure 4.1 Ive plotted the eld lines for b = 2a, = 5
0
. Also, as an
appendix to this document Ive included the C program I wrote to generate this
plot.
(c) For a solid dielectric cylinder in a uniform eld, we would have a 0. In
that case the eld would look like
E(r, ) =
_

_
2
0
+
0
E
0

i, r < b
E
0

i
(
2
0

2
)
( +
0
)
2
_
b
r
_
2
E
0
[cos r + sin ], r > b
On the other hand, a cylindrical cavity in a uniform dielectric corresponds to
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 5
Figure 1: Field lines in Problem 4.8 for b = 2a, = 5
0
.
b , in which case the eld becomes
E(r, ) =
_

_
4
0
( +
0
)
2
E
0

i, r < a
2
0
( +
0
)
E
0

i
2
0
(
0
)
( +
0
)
2
_
a
r
_
2
E
0
[cos r + sin ], r > a.
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 6
Problem 4.9
A point charge q is located in free space a distance d away from the center of a
dielectric sphere of radius a (a < d) and dielectric constant /
0
.
(a) Find the potential at all points in space as an expansion in spherical harmonics.
(b) Calculate the rectangular components of the electric eld near the center of
the sphere.
(c) Verify that, in the limit /
0
, your result is the same as that for the
conducting sphere.
We will take the origin of coordinates at the center of the sphere, and put
the point charge on the z axis at z = +h. Then the problem has azimuthal
symmetry.
(a) Since there is no free charge within the sphere, D = 0 there. But since the
permittivity is uniform within the sphere, we may also write (D/) = E = 0
there. This means that polarization charge only exists on the surface of the
sphere, so within the sphere the potential satises the normal Laplace equation,
whence
(r, ) =

l
A
l
r
l
P
l
(cos ) (r < a).
Now, in the region r > a, the potential may be written as the sum of two
components
1
and
2
, where
1
comes from the polarization charge on the
surface of the sphere, while
2
comes from the external point charge. Since

1
satises the Laplace equation for r > a, we may expand it in Legendre
polynomials:

1
(r, ) =

l
B
l
r
(l+1)
P
l
(cos ) (r > a).
On the other hand,
2
is just the potential due to a point charge at z = d:

2
(r, ) =
_

_
q
4
0

r
l
d
l+1
P
l
(cos ), r < d
q
4
0

d
l
r
l+1
P
l
(cos ), r > d.
(9)
Putting this all together we may write the potential in the three regions as
(r, ) =
_

A
l
r
l
P
l
(cos ), r < a

_
B
l
r
(l+1)
+
q
4
0
r
l
d
l+1
_
P
l
(cos ), a < r < d

_
B
l
+
qd
l
4
0
_
r
(l+1)
P
l
(cos ), r > d.
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 7
The normal boundary condition at r = a is

r=a
=
0

r=a+

0
lA
l
a
l1
= (l + 1)B
l
a
(l+2)
+
lqa
l1
4
0
d
l+1
A
l
=

0

_
(l + 1)
l
B
l
a
(2l+1)
+
q
4
0
d
l+1
_
(10)
The tangential boundary condition at r = a is

r=a
=

r=a+
A
l
a
l
= B
l
a
(l+1)
+
q
4
0
a
l
d
(l+1)
B
l
= A
l
a
2l+1

q
4
0
a
2l+1
d
l+1
(11)
Combining (10) and (11), we obtain
A
l
=
1

0
+
l+1
l
_
2l + 1
l
_
q
4
0
d
l+1
B
l
=
1

0
+
l+1
l
_
1

0
_
qa
2l+1
4
0
d
l+1
In particular, as /
0
we have
A
l
0
as must happen, since the eld within a conducting sphere vanishes; and
B
l

qa
2l+1
4
0
d
l+1
. (12)
With the coecients (12), the potential outside the sphere due to the polariza-
tion charge at the sphere boundary is

1
(r, ) =
1
4
0
_

qa
d
_

_
a
2
d
_
l
1
r
l+1
P
l
(cos ).
Comparing with (9) we see that this is just the potential of a charge qa/d on
the z axis at z = a
2
/d. This is just the size and position of the image charge
we found in Chapter 2 for a point charge outside a conducting sphere.
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 8
(b) Near the origin, we have
(r, ) = A
1
rP
1
(cos ) +A
2
r
2
P
2
(cos ) +
=
q
4
0
_
3
0
d
2
( + 2
0
)
z +
1
2
_
5
0
d
3
(2 + 3
0
)
_
(z
2
x
2
y
2
) +
_
so the eld components are
E
x
=
q
4
0
d
2

5
0
2 + 3
0
_
x
d
_
+
E
y
=
q
4
0
d
2

5
0
2 + 3
0
_
y
d
_
+
E
z
=
q
4
0
d
2
_
3
0
+ 2
0
+
5
0
2 + 3
0
_
z
d
_
+
_
Problem 4.10
Two concentric conducting spheres of inner and outer radii a and b, respectively,
carry charges Q. The empty space between the spheres is half-lled by a hemi-
spherical shell of dielectric (of dielectric constant /
0
), as shown in the gure.
(a) Find the electric eld everywhere between the spheres.
(b) Calculate the surface-charge distribution on the inner sphere.
(c) Calculate the polarization-charge density induced on the surface of the dielectric
at r = a.
Well orient this problem such that the boundary between the dielectric-
lled space and the empty space is the xy plane. Then the region occupied
by the dielectric is the region a < r < b, 0 < < /2, and the problem has
azimuthal symmetry.
(a) Since the dielectric has uniform permittivity, all the polarization charge
exists on the boundary of the dielectric, so within its body we may take the
potential to be a solution of the normal Laplace equation. The potential in the
region between the spheres may then be written
(r, ) =
_
_
_

[A
l
r
l
+B
l
r
(l+1)
]P
l
(cos ), 0 < <

2

[C
l
r
l
+D
l
r
(l+1)
]P
l
(cos ),

2
< <
First lets apply the boundary conditions at the interface between the di-
electric and free space. That region is described by = /2, a < r < b, and we
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 9
must have

=/2+
=
0

=/2

=/2+
=

r

=/2
which leads to

0
A
l
C
l
_
P

l
(0)r
l
+
_

0
B
l
D
l
_
P

l
(0)r
l+1
= 0 (13)

l [A
l
C
l
] P(0)r
l1
(l + 1) [B
l
D
l
] P
l
(0)r
l+2
= 0. (14)
Since these equations must be satised for all r in the region a < r < b, the
coecients of each power of r must vanish identically. In (13), this requirement
is automatically satised for l even, since P

l
(0) vanishes for even l. Similarly,
(14) is automatically satised for l odd. For other cases the vanishing of the
coecients must be brought about by taking

0
A
l
= C
l

0
B
l
= D
l
, l odd (15)
A
l
= C
l
B
l
= D
l
, l even. (16)
Next lets consider the charge at the surface of the inner sphere. There are
actually two components of this charge; one component comes from the surface
distribution of the free charge +Q that exists on the sphere, and the other
component comes from the bound polarization charge on the inner surface of
the dielectric
Problem 4.13
Two long, coaxial, cylindrical conducting surfaces of radii a and b are lowered
vertically into a liquid dielectric. If the liquid rises an average height h between the
electrodes when a potential dierence V is established between them, show that the
susceptibility of the liquid is

e
=
(b
2
a
2
)ghln(b/a)

0
V
2
where is the density of the liquid, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and the
susceptibility of air is neglected.
First lets work out what happens when a battery of xed voltage V is con-
nected between two coaxial conducting cylinders with simple vacuum between
them. To begin, we can use Gauss law to determine the E eld between the
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 10
cylinders. For our Gaussian pillbox we take a disk of thickness dz and radius
r, a < r < b centered on the axis of the cylinders. By symmetry there is no
component of E normal to the top or bottom boundary surfaces, and the com-
ponent normal to the side surfaces (the radial component) is uniform around
the disc. Hence
_
E dA = 2 r dzE

=
q

0
=
1

0
(2 a dz)
E

() =
a

0
r
where is the surface charge on the inner conductor. This must integrate to
give the correct potential dierence between the conductors:
V =
_
b
a
E

()d =
a

0
ln
b
a
which tells us that, to establish a potential dierence V between the conductors,
the battery has to ow enough charge to establish a surface charge of magnitude
=

0
V
a ln(b/a)
(17)
on the cylinder faces (the surface charges are of opposite sign on the two cylin-
ders).
It is useful to gure out the energy per unit length stored in the electric eld
between the cylinder plates here. This is just
W
v
=
1
2
_
b
a
_
2
0
E D d d
=
0
_
b
a
E
2
() d
=
a
2

0
ln(b/a)
=

0
V
2
ln(b/a)
(18)
where the v subscript stands for vacuum, since (18) is the energy per unit length
stored in the eld between the cylinders with just vacuum between them.
Now suppose we introduce a dielectric material between the cylinders. If the
voltage between the cylinders is kept at V , then the E eld must be just the
same as it was in the no-dielectric case, because this eld integrated from a to
b must still give the same potential dierence. However, in order to establish
this same E eld in the presence of the retarding eects of the dielectric, the
battery now has to establish a surface charge that is greater that it was before
by a factor (/
0
). With this greater charge on the electrodes, the D eld will
now be bigger by a factor (/
0
) than it was in our above calculation. So the
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 11
energy per unit length stored in the eld between the cylinders increases by a
factor (/
0
1) over the result (18):
W
d
= (
0
)
V
2
ln(b/a)
.
On the other hand, to get to this point the battery has had to ow enough
charge to increase the surface charges to be of magnitude (/
0
) times greater
than (17). In doing this the internal energy of the battery decreases by an
amount equal to the work it had to do to ow the excess charge, namely
W
b
= V dQ = V (2 a d) = (
0
)
2V
2
ln(b/a)
(per unit length). The energy lost by the battery is twice that gained by the
dielectric, so the system with dielectric between the cylinders has lower overall
energy than the system with vacuum between the cylinders by a factor
W = (
0
)
V
2
ln(b/a)
(19)
(per unit length).
Turning now to the situation in this problem, well take the axis of the
cylinders as the z axis, so that the surface of the liquid is parallel to the xy
plane. Well take the boundary between the liquid and the air above it to be at
z = 0. With no potential between the cylinder plates, the liquid between the
cylinders is at the same height as the liquid outside.
Now suppose a battery of xed potential V is connected between the two
cylinder plates. As we showed earlier, the combined system of battery and di-
electric can lower its energy by having more of the dielectric rise up between the
cylinders. However, at some point the energy win we get from this is balanced
by the energy hit we take from the gravitational potential energy of having
the excess liquid rise higher between the cylinders. The height at which we no
longer gain by having more liquid between the cylinders is the height to which
the system will settle.
So suppose that, with a battery keeping a voltage V between the electrodes,
the liquid between the electrodes rises to a height h above the surface of the
liquid outside the electrodes. The decrease in electrostatic energy this aords
over the case with just vacuum lling that space is just (19) times the height,
i.e.
E
e
= h(
0
)
V
2
ln(b/a)
(20)
This must be balanced by the gravitational potential energy E
g
of the excess
liquid. E
g
is easily calculated by noting that the area between the cylinders is
(b
2
a
2
), so the mass of liquid contained in a height dh between the cylinders
is dm = (b
2
a
2
)dh, and if this mass is at a height h above the liquid surface
its excess gravitational energy is
dE
g
= (dm)gh = g(b
2
a
2
)hdh.
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 12
Integrating over the excess height of liquid between the cylinders,
E
g
= g(b
2
a
2
)
_
h
0
h

dh

=
1
2
g(b
2
a
2
)h
2
. (21)
Comparing (20) to (21), we nd that the gravitational penalty of the excess
liquid just counterbalances the electrostatic energy reduction when
h =
2(
0
)V
2
g(b
2
a
2
) ln(b/a)
=
2
e

0
V
2
g(b
2
a
2
) ln(b/a)
Solving for
e
,

e
=
gh(b
2
a
2
) ln(b/a)
2
0
V
2
.
So I seem to be o by a factor of 2 somewhere.
Actually we should note one detail here. When the surface of the liquid
between the cylinders rises, the surface of the liquid outside the cylinders must
fall, since the total volume of the liquid is conserved. Hence there are really
two other contributions to the energy shift, namely, the change in gravitational
and electrostatic energies of the thin layer of liquid outside the cylinders that
falls away when the liquid rises between the cylinders. But if the surface area of
the vessel containing the liquid is suciently larger than the area between the
cylinders, the dierence layer will be thin and its energy shifts negligible.
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 13
Appendix
Source code for eld line plotting program used in Problem 4.8.
/*
* Program to draw field lines for Jackson problem 4.8.
* Homer Reid October 2000
*/
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
#include "/usr2/homer/include/GnuPlot.c"
#define EZ 1.0 /* permittivity of free space */
#define EPS 5.0 /* permittivity of cylinder */
#define E0 1.0 /* external field (irrelevant here) */
#define A 4.0 /* radius of inner cylinder */
#define B 8.0 /* radius of outer cylinder */
#define NUMLINES 25.0 /* number of field lines to draw */
#define NUMPOINTS 250.0 /* no. of pts to plot for each line */
#define DELTAX (4.0 * B) / NUMPOINTS /* horiz spacing of pts */
#define DELTAY (4.0 * B) / NUMLINES /* vert spacing of initial pts */
#define DENOM (B*B*(EPS+EZ)*(EPS+EZ) - A*A*(EPS-EZ)*(EPS-EZ))
/*
* Return r component of electric field at position (r,phi).
*/
double Er(double r, double phi)
{
double Coeff;
if ( r < A )
Coeff=(4.0*EPS*EZ*B*B)/DENOM;
else if ( r < B )
Coeff=(2*EPS*B*B/DENOM)*( (EPS+EZ) - (EPS-EZ)*(A*A)/(r*r) );
else
Coeff=1.0 - ((B*B - A*A)*(EZ*EZ-EPS*EPS)*(B*B)/(r*r*DENOM));
return Coeff*E0*cos(phi);
}
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 14
/*
* Return phi component of electric field at (r,phi).
*/
double Ephi(double r, double phi)
{
double Coeff;
if ( r < A )
Coeff=(4.0*EPS*EZ*B*B)/DENOM;
else if ( r < B )
Coeff=(2*EPS*B*B/DENOM)*( (EPS+EZ) + (EPS-EZ)*(A*A)/(r*r) );
else
Coeff=1.0 + ((B*B - A*A)*(EZ*EZ-EPS*EPS)*(B*B)/(r*r*DENOM));
return -Coeff*E0*sin(phi);
}
void main()
{
double i,j,r,phi,x,y,dx,dy;
double RComp,PhiComp;
FILE *g;
g=GnuPlot("Field lines");
/*
* Send basic GnuPlot configuration commands.
*/
fprintf(g,"set terminal postscript portrait color\n");
fprintf(g,"set output fig4.1.eps\n");
fprintf(g,"set multiplot \n");
fprintf(g,"set size square\n");
fprintf(g,"set noxtics\n");
fprintf(g,"set noytics\n");
fprintf(g,"set xrange [%g:%g]\n",-2.0*B,2.0*B);
fprintf(g,"set yrange [%g:%g]\n",-2.0*B,2.0*B);
/*
* Draw circles at r=a and r=b.
*/
fprintf(g,"plot - t , - t with lines, - t with lines\n");
fprintf(g,"e\n");
for(phi=0; phi<=2*M_PI; phi+=(2*M_PI/100))
fprintf(g,"%g %g\n",A*cos(phi),A*sin(phi));
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 15
fprintf(g,"e\n");
for(phi=0; phi<=2*M_PI; phi+=(2*M_PI/100))
fprintf(g,"%g %g\n",B*cos(phi),B*sin(phi));
fprintf(g,"e\n");
/*
* Draw field lines.
*/
for (i=1.0; i<=NUMLINES; i+=1.0)
{
/*
* Compute starting x and y coordinates and initiate plot.
*/
x=-2.0*B; y=2.0*B * ((NUMLINES - 2.0*i)/NUMLINES);
fprintf(g,"plot - t with lines\n");
/*
* Plot NUMPOINTS points for this field line.
*/
for (j=0.0; j<NUMPOINTS; j+=1.0)
{
/*
* compute polar coordinates of present location
*/
r=sqrt(x*x + y*y);
if (x==0.0)
phi=(y>0.0) ? M_PI/2.0 : -M_PI/2.0;
else
phi=atan(y/x);
/*
* compute rise and run of electric field
*/
RComp=Er(r,phi);
PhiComp=Ephi(r,phi);
dx=cos(phi)*RComp - sin(phi)*PhiComp;
dy=sin(phi)*RComp + cos(phi)*PhiComp;
/*
* bump x coordinate forward a fixed amount, and y
* coordinate up or down by an amount depending on
* the direction of the electric field at this point
*/
x+=DELTAX;
y+=DELTAX * (dy/dx);
fprintf(g,"%g %g\n",x,y);
Homer Reids Solutions to Jackson Problems: Chapter 4 16
};
fprintf(g,"e\n");
};
printf("Thank you for your support.\n");
}