KALMAN KNIZHNIK - SOLUTIONS TO JACKSON - CHAPTER 1

JACKSON 1.1
Part a
Since a conductor has no E eld inside, by Gausss law E =

0
there can also be no charge
density inside the conductor. This means that excess charge must lie entirely on its surface. 2
Part b
You can place a Gaussian surface just inside the conductor. Since there is no charge density inside,
by Gausss law (perhaps more easily seen in integral form)

E da =
Qenc

0
there is also no E eld
inside, in spite of all of the charges outside the conductor. However, if there are charges inside the
hollow conductor, the same law tells you that Q
enc
,= 0, meaning that the eld outside is nonzero
too. Hence, it shields its interior from charges outside but does not shield its exterior from charges
inside. 2
Part c
The E eld on the surface of the conductor must be normal to its surface, since otherwise charge
would ow on the surface (we are making the assumption that the charge is static. As for the
magnitude, we use Gausss law in integral form:

E da =
Q
enc

0
(1)
Now, dQ
enc
= n da, since the only charge that exists is on the surface. Thus, we rewrite Gausss
law as
E da =

0
n da =

(E

0
n) da = 0 (2)
and since this must hold for any area, we conclude
E =

0
n 2 (3)
JACKSON 1.2
Starting with Jacksons denition of the delta function:
D(; x, y, z) = (2)
3/2

3
exp[
x
2
+y
2
+z
2
2
2
] (4)
we note that D 0 unless x, y, z 0 as well (i.e. replace x, y, z with dx, dy, and dz). Now notice
that dx
2
+ dy
2
+ dz
2
ds
2
is the arc length squared. We can write D exp[ds
2
/2
2
]. In the
general coordinate system given by Jackson, we can write the square of the arc length as:
ds
2
= (
du
U
)
2
+ (
dv
V
)
2
+ (
dw
W
)
2
(5)
This is not to say that dx = du/U. Rather, I have replaced the entire arc length ds, which is the
same in all coordinate systems.
Let du u u

, dv v v

, and dw w w

. We obtain:
D(; u, v, w) =
e
(uu

)
2
/2
2
U
2

2
e
(vv

)
2
/2
2
V
2

2
e
(ww

)
2
/2
2
W
2

2
(6)
This is starting to look like the usual denition of the delta function. Now for some trickery. We
will replace the s in each term with
u
/U,
v
/V,
w
/W. We justify this by saying that each of
the s go to zero, so the replacement does not change the limit of the function. The result of this
replacement is
D(; u, v, w) =
e
(uu

)
2
/2
2
u

2
u
e
(vv

)
2
/2
2
v

2
v
e
(ww

)
2
/2
2
w

2
w
UV W (7)
This is the result we were looking for. The left hand side (or the right hand side in equation 4) is
(x x

). Meanwhile the left hand side is the product of three delta functions time UV W. Thus,
(x x

) = (u u

)(v v

)(w w

)UV W 2 (8)
This result is useful because it can be used to show that for spherical coordinates, for instance,
when u = r, v = , w = , and the length elements are dr, rd, rsind, (which leads to U = 1, V =
1/r, W = 1/rsin) we can nd that
(x x

) = (r r

)(

)(

)
1
r
2
sin
(9)
JACKSON 1.3
Part a
The charge is uniformly distributed over a spherical shell, so its position is a constant R. Therefore
we can write
(r) (r R) (10)
(I choose to switch from x to the more natural spherical r). Of course, I need to normalize it,

(r)dV = Q. I therefore write:

Q =

dV C(r R) = C

r
2
sin(r R)drdd = 4CR
2
(11)
and therefore C = Q/4R
2
, meaning
(r) =
Q
4R
2
(r R) 2 (12)
Part b
By the same reasoning as in part a,
(r) (r b) (13)
and normalizing:
=

dAC(r b) = C

rddr(r b) = 2Cb (14)

meaning that C = /2b, resulting in:
(r) =

2b
(r b) 2 (15)
There was no integral over z because we were normalizing to the charge density.
Part c
Here we must employ the Heaviside theta function to write that
(r) (R r)(z) (16)
where the step function tells us that there is no charge outside of the disk, and the delta function
tells us that the charge is conned to the disk. Normalizing:
Q =

dV C(R r)(z) = C

rdzddrC(R r)(z) =
1
2
R
2
2C (17)
we nd that C = Q/R
2
(the theta function is akin to an integral from 0 to R, and the integral of
a delta function over all space is unity). Thus,
(r) =
Q
R
2
(R r)(z) 2 (18)
2
Part d
The same as in part c, except that here instead of being conned to the z-plane, we are conned
to the = /2 plane.
Q =

dV C(R r)(

2
) = C

r
2
sindrddC(R r)(

2
) = 2R
2
C (19)
leading to:
(r) =
Q
2R
2
(R r)(

2
) 2 (20)
JACKSON 1.4
Part a
The rst sphere, being a conductor, has no electric eld inside (E= 0 for r < a). Outside the
sphere, we can place a Gaussian surface, and since the enclosed charge is Q, it is trivial to show
that outside, E =
Q
4
0
r
2
r if r > a. 2
Part b
Since the charge density is uniform, we write Q
enc
= Q(4r
3
/4a
3
) inside and Q
enc
= Q outside
and integrate E da from 0 to either some point r inside the sphere or over its whole area. Thus,
for inside the sphere,

r
0
E da =
1

0
Q
r
3
a
3
E
in
=
Qr
4
0
a
3
r 2 (21)
and for outside the sphere:

a
0
E da =
1

0
Q E
out
=
Q
4
0
a
2
r 2 (22)
Part c
This sphere has a charge density r
n
. Therefore, dQ = Ar
n
dV . Now integrate.

r
0
E da =
1

Adrdr
2
r
n
=
4A

0
r
n+2
dr =
4A

0
1
n + 3
r
n+3
(23)
and recalling that the area of our Gaussian sphere of radius r is 4r
2
, we obtain that the electric
eld inside the sphere is:
E
in
=
A

0
r
n+1
n + 3
r 2 (24)
We are not done, however, because we still want to nd the constant A. To do so, recall that

a
0
dV = Q. Performing this integration, with = Ar
n
, it is easy to nd that A = Q(n+3)/4a
n+3
.
Thus, the electric eld inside this sphere is:
E
in
=
Q
4
0
r
n+1
a
n+3
r 2 (25)
Of course, the E eld outside is the same in this case as it was in parts a and b. The eld outside
does not depend on the form of the charge density inside, only on the total charge.
JACKSON 1.5
Our potential is
=
q
4
0
e
r
r
(1 +
r
2
) (26)
Now, one may be tempted to use =
0

2
. However, this is problematic in that the potential
is singular at r = 0. Before dealing with that, lets take the Laplacian of our potential (multiplied
by
0
).

2
=
0

r
r
2

r
=
q
3
e
r
8
(27)
3
Now, for r 0, we must expand :

q
4
0
r
(1 +
r
2
) (28)
where I have used the fact that for x 1, e
x
1. The second term in the parentheses will
contribute nothing to the Laplacian, since it will have no r dependence when multiplied out. But
the rst term looks a lot like the potential of a point charge. Now, from Jackson page 35, we recall
that
2
(
1
r
)=4
3
(r). This allows us to write the full charge density (remembering to cancel out
4s and
0
s):
= q
3
(r)
q
3
e
r
8
2 (29)
The rst term represents the proton charge, located at the origin, where the potential blows up,
while the second term represents the negatively charged electron cloud in the 1s orbital around
the proton. You can verify that the total charge

dV = 0, as it should. If you had forgotten to

include the delta function, the total charge would be -q, which is wrong, since the hydrogen atom
consists of the positively charged nucleus and the negatively charged electron cloud, which sum to
0.
JACKSON 1.6
Part a
Lets examine only one side of the capacitor rst. From Gausss law,

E da = Q
enc
/
0
, and using
a Gaussian pillbox of negligible thickness and two sides of area A, we nd that the left hand side
is 2[E[A. Meanwhile, on the right hand side, the charge enclosed is the charge density times the
area A of the actual plate. I dont have a factor of 2 here because the charge is only on a single
plate, whereas the Gaussian pillbox that I am using has two plates, so its area is 2A. Now, setting
the two sides equal, I nd that
E =

2
0
n. (30)
However, the capacitor has two plates, and since the charge is opposite on the second plate, the
electric eld will be pointing toward one plate and away from the other, meaning that the electric
eld points in the same direction, call it n. Then the total electric eld between the plates is
E =

0
n. (31)
From the denition of capacitance, C = Q/V , and it is well known that the potential dierence of
a capacitor is V = Ed, where d is the spacing between the plates. Thus, V = d/
0
. Dividing the
charge on one plate, Q = A, by this potential, results in
C =

0
A
d
2 (32)
Part b
The electric eld between two concentric conducting spheres is easily found from Gausss law to be
E =
Q
4
0
r
2
r r [a, b] (33)
since it is just the same as the electric eld outside a conducting sphere, but restricted to the region
between a and b. The potential is
V =

a
b
E dl =
Q
4
0
(
1
a

1
b
) (34)
meaning that the capacitance Q/V is
C = 4
0
(
ab
b a
) 2 (35)
4
Part c
We can nd the electric eld between two concentric cylinders (or look it up) from Gausss law.

E da =
Q
enc

0
E2rL =
Q

0
(36)
where r is the radius of our Gaussian cylinder (remember that the area of a cylinder of length L
and radius r is 2rL). Thus, E = Q/2rL
0
. Once again, we integrate to nd the potential
V =

a
b
E dl =
Q
2L
0

a
b
dr
r
=
Q
2L
0
ln
b
a
(37)
and so the capacitance is
C =
2L
0
ln
b
a
2 (38)
Part d
For this question, we just plug and chug to solve for b, and remember that we want is the diameter,
i.e. 2b. Also note that we are dealing with the capacitance per unit length.
ln
b
.5 10
3
=
28.85 10
12
3 10
11
2b = 6.4 10
3
m 2 (39)
ln
b
.5 10
3
=
28.85 10
12
3 10
12
2b = 1.1 10
5
m 2 (40)
Note how much you need to shrink your coaxial capacitor in order to improve your capacitance by
just an order of magnitude.
JACKSON 1.7
The electric eld outside a single cylindrical conductor is:

E da =
Q
enc

0
E2rL =
Q

0
E =

2r
0
r (41)
where is the charge per unit length. Thus, the total eld along the line joining the two conductors
is
E = (

2r
+

0
+

2r

0
)r (42)
where r
+
, r

are the distances from the two conductors. Then the potential dierence between
them is
V =
+

E dl =

2
0

da
2
a
1
dr
+
r
+
+

da
1
a
2
dr

=

2
0
ln
(d a
1
)(d a
2
)
a
1
a
2
(43)
Where did I get this from? Well, we need to nd the potential from conductor + and subtract
from it the potential due to conductor -. This tells us the potential dierence between the two
conductors. Now, the potential due to the rst conductor is the integral of the electric eld from
its own surface, a
1
, to the surface of the second conductor, d a
2
(there is no eld inside either
conductor, and d is the line joining the centers of the conductors). The potential from the second
conductor is the integral of the electric eld from its own surface, a
2
, to the surface of the rst
conductor, d a
1
. We can make the approximation
V

2
0
ln
d
2
a
1
a
2
(44)
since d a
1
, a
2
. Now we are able to nd the capacitance per unit length, C = /V :
C = 2
0
(ln
d
2
a
1
a
2
)
1
(45)
5
Now, for those of you unaware of what geometric mean is, the geometric mean G of a set of numbers
x
1
, ..., x
n
is dened as
G =
n

x
1
...x
n
(46)
Thus, the geometric mean of the radii is just

a
1
a
2
a.
C = 2
0
(ln
d
2
a
2
)
1
=

0
ln
d
a
2 (47)
To nd the diameter of the wire, we solve for a:
a = de

0
/C
(48)
If the capacitance in the wire is 1.2 10
11
F/m, then we get a 0.1d. Plugging in the separation
distances of 0.5cm, 1.5cm, and 5.0cm, we get diameters 2a of 1mm, 3mm, and 10mm. 2
JACKSON 1.8
Part a
In problem 1.6, I found the electric eld of these three situations. Electrostatic energy U =
1
2
CV
2
,
and energy density is w =
1
2

0
[E[
2
. Using the results from 1.6a,
U =
1
2

0
A
d
(
d

0
)
2
=
1
2
0

2
Ad =
1
2
0
Q
2
d
A
2 (49)
while the energy density is
w =
1
2

2
0
=
Q
2
2
0
A
2
2 (50)
Note that the energy density of a parallel plate capacitor is constant.
Part b
Using the results from 1.6b
U =
1
2
4
0
ab
b a
(
Q
4
0
(
1
a

1
b
))
2
=
Q
2
8
0
b a
ab
2 (51)
while the energy density is
w =
1
32
2

0
Q
2
r
4
r [a, b] 2 (52)
Part c
Using the results from 1.6c
U =
1
2
2L
0
ln
b
a
(
Qln
b
a
2L
0
)
2
=
Q
2
ln
b
a
4L
0
2 (53)
while the energy density is
w =
1
2

0
(
Q
2rL
0
)
2
=
Q
2
8
2
r
2
L
2

0
r [a, b] 2 (54)
Note that the energy is more strongly concentrated close to the inner conductor for a spherical
capacitor (energy density goes as r
4
), than for a cylindrical parallel capacitor, where energy
density goes as r
2
.
JACKSON 1.9
Part a
The electric eld due to a single capacitor plate is calculated by

E da = Q/
0
E 2A =
Q/
0
E = Q/2
0
A. Thus the force is:
F = QE =
Q
2
2
0
A
2 (55)
6
Meanwhile, the electric eld due to a cylinder was found in problem 1.7, so the force on one cylinder
due to the other is
F = QE =
Q
2
2
0
Lr

r=d
=
Q
2
2
0
Ld
2 (56)
Part b
Recall from problem 1.6a that for a parallel plate capacitor, the potential dierence was V =
Qd/
0
A. Solving for Q:
Q =

0
AV
d
(57)
and plugging into equation 55, we get:
F =
(

0
AV
d
)
2
2
0
A
2 (58)
For the parallel cylinder capacitor, recall from problem 1.7 that C =
0
/ln
d
a
, meaning that the
charge can be written in terms of the potential dierence Q = CV as
Q =

0
V
ln
d
a
(59)
meaning that the force, from equation 56 is:
F =

0
V
2
2Ld(ln
d
a
)
2
2 (60)
JACKSON 1.10
In mathematical form, the mean value theorem says
(x) =
1
4R
2

S
(x

)d
3
x

, (61)
i.e. that if we take our sphere and integrate the potential over it, then normalize by the area of the
sphere, it will be equal to the potential in the middle. We will use section 1.8 of Jackson as our
guide. We start with Greens Theorem:

V
(
2

2
)d
3
x

S
(

n
)d
2
x

(62)
Jackson sets = 1/R and = , so we shall copy him:

V
(
2
1
R

1
R

2
)d
3
x

S
(

1
R
n

1
R

n
)d
2
x

(63)
Lets examine the left hand side rst. We can use the property that
2
(1/R) = 4(xx

). This
is convenient because it allows us to easily evaluate the rst term. Meanwhile, the second term
on the left hand side is just Poissons
2
= /
0
. Fortunately, the problem asks for charge free
space, so that integral vanishes, since there is no charge inside the region of integration. Thus, the
left hand side becomes:

V
(
2
1
R

1
R

2
)d
3
x

V
(x

)(4)(x x

) (
1
R

0
)d
3
x

= 4(x) (64)
Now the right hand side. The derivative of R with respect to the normal is just 1/R
2
, since the
normal is radial to the surface. The right hand side becomes

S
(

1
R
n

1
R

n
)d
2
x

(x

)
R
2

1
R
(x

)
n
d
2
x

(65)
7
To integrate the last term, note that
0
/n = (see section 2.3.5 of Griths). You can see
where this is going. Once again, since we are in charge free space, this term vanshes. In this way,
the right hand side has been reduced to:

(x

)
R
2

1
R
(x

)
n
d
2
x

=
1
R
2

S
(x

)d
2
x

(66)
Note: R = [x x

[ is a constant on a sphere, so it can be pulled out of the integral. For a more

complicated surface we could not pull it out. Now, going back to equation 63, and using equations
64 and 66, we get the equality:
4(x) =
1
R
2

S
(x

)d
2
x

(67)
Therefore, we have proved the mean value theorem:
(x) =
1
4R
2

S
(x

)d
3
x

2 (68)
JACKSON 1.11
The gure for this problem is taken from:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/ pran/jackson/P505/F07 hw01a.pdf.
Lets look at the 2-D situation rst. We will take a curved Gaussian box above the charged
conductor, such that no charges are enclosed, and use Gausss law in integral form:

S
E da = 0.
For this box, Gausss law says:

S
E da = 0 = E
top
a
top
E
bottom
a
bottom
(69)
where the as corresponds to the top and bottom of the box. There is no contribution from the sides
because they are taken to be normal to the surface. As is clear from the gure, a
top
= (R+)ddz,
while a
bottom
= Rddz. Plugging this into equation 69 (and canceling out ds and dzs, we get
E
bottom
= E
top
(1 +

R
) (70)
From this we can calculate dE/dn.
E
n
= lim
0
E
top
E
bottom

lim
0
E
bottom
(1

R
) E
bottom

=
E
bottom
R
(71)
And therefore:
1
E
E
n
=
1
R
(72)
since E
bottom
E
top
as 0. Now we return to the 3-D situation. This time, the areas of the top
and bottom of the new three-dimensional box are a
bottom
= R
1
R
2
d and a
top
= (R
1
+)(R
2
+)d.
Plugging this into expression 69:
E
bottom
= E
top
(1 +

R
1
)(1 +

R
2
) (73)
This time, taking the limit in equation 71 yields
lim
0
E
top
E
bottom

lim
0
E
bottom
(1

R
1
)(1

R
2
) E
bottom

E
bottom
(
1
R
1
+
1
R
2
) (74)
and so nally:
1
E
E
n
= (
1
R
1
+
1
R
2
) 2 (75)
8
JACKSON 1.12
Starting with Greens theorem:

V
(
2

2
)d
3
x =

S
(

n
)d
2
x (76)
We make the substitution

, , and using Poissons equation

2
= /
0
, and
recalling that =
0
/ n (and similarly for the primed variables), we get:

V
(

0
+

0
)d
3
x =

S
(

0
)d
2
x (77)
Rearranging this equation and canceling the
0
s yields Greens reciprocation theorem:

d
3
x +

d
2
x =

d
3
x +

d
2
x 2 (78)
It is important to emphasize the signicance of Greens reciprocation theorem. Using this theorem,
it is possible to relate a charge conguration with potential to a completely dierent charge
conguration with potential

, as will be done in problem 1.13.

JACKSON 1.13
The problem wants us to use Greens reciprocation theorem

d
3
x +

d
2
x =

d
3
x +

d
2
x, (79)
to prove that a charge placed between two parallel conducting planes separated by a distance d
will induce a charge Q = ql/d on one of the planes, where l is the distance from the other plane.
To do this, we need to nd a second, similar, system to compare this with. From the hint, we need
to realize that the primed system in Greens reciprocation theorem is the electrostatic potential of
a parallel plate capacitor with no charge density (

= 0):

= V
z
d
(80)
where z is the distance from the bottom capacitor and d is the separation distance. You can check
that this formula works for z = 0 and z = d. This system in the problem, the unprimed one in
which there is a charge between the two parallel plates, has the potentials on both plates vanishing
because they are grounded (
bottom
=
top
= 0), and a charge distribution
(x) =
N

i=1
q
i
(x x
i
) = q(x)(y)(z l), (81)
if we suppose that charge is located at (0, 0, l). In this way, we have written down ,

, , and

.
We immediately simplify the reciprocation theorem if we plug in = 0:

d
3
x +

d
2
x = 0. (82)
Now we plug in the charge density from the unprimed coordinate system (equation 81) and the
potential of the primed system (equation 80):

V
V
z
d
q(x)(y)(z l)d
3
x +

d
2
x = 0. (83)
The reason I left the

in the surface integral is because we need to be careful about it in that the

surface integral needs to be separated into integrals over the top and bottom plates.

V
V
z
d
q(x)(y)(z l)d
3
x +

S
bottom

bottom

bottom
d
2
x +

Stop

top

top
d
2
x = 0. (84)
9
The potential of the bottom (top) plate corresponds to plugging z = 0 (z = d) into equation 80,
yielding

= 0 (

= V ). Thus, equation 84 reduces to:

V

V
z
d
q(x)(y)(z l)d
3
x +V

Stop
d
2
x = 0. (85)
Recalling that

Stop

top
d
2
x = Q
top
, this expression is easily evaluated to be:
V q
l
d
+Q
top
V = 0 (86)
leading immediately to
Q
top
= q
l
d
2 (87)
JACKSON 1.14
This is a straightforward application of Greens theorem

V
(
2

2
)d
3
x =

S
(

n
)d
2
x (88)
where we substitute = G(x, y), = G(x,y).

V
(G(x, y)
2
G(x,y) G(x,y)
2
G(x, y))d
3
y =

S
(G(x, y)
G(x,y)
n
G(x,y)
G(x, y)
n
)d
2
y
(89)
Then we use the fact that
2
G(z, y) = 4(y z).

V
(G(x, y)(y x

) G(x

, y)(y x))d
3
y =
1
4

S
(G(x, y)
G(x,y)
n
G(x,y)
G(x, y)
n
)d
2
y
(90)
This is easily integrated to give an expression for the dierence G(x, x

) G(x

, x):
G(x, x

) G(x

, x) =
1
4

S
(G(x, y)
G(x,y)
n
G(x,y)
G(x, y)
n
)d
2
y 2 (91)
Part a
Dirichlet boundary conditions mean that G
D
(x, y) = 0 on the surface of S. That means that the
entire surface integral vanishes, and we nd that G
D
(x, x

) is symmetric in x and x:
G
D
(x, x

) = G
D
(x

, x) 2 (92)
Note that the physical interpretation of the symmetry of the Greens function is that the source
and observation points are interchangeable, i.e. exchanging them would give you the same Greens
function. See page 40 of Jackson.
Part b
The boundary condition that Jackson is referring to is:
G
N
(x, x

)
n

=
4
S
(93)
which is just the denition of the Neumann boundary condition, where S is the area of the surface.
We plug this into equation 91, to obtain:
G
N
(x, x

) G
N
(x

, x) =
1
S

S
(G(x, y) G(x

, y))d
2
y F(x) F(x

) (94)
where F(x) =
1
S

S
G
N
(x, y)d
2
y is dened by Jackson. Now this can be rearranged to show that
G
N
(x, x

) F(x) is symmetric in x and x:

G

N
G
N
(x, x

) F(x) = G
N
(x

, x) F(x

) 2 (95)
10
Side point: Why is G
N
(x, x

)/n

,= 0 for Neumann boundary conditions?

Well, consider the following:

2
G(x, x

)d
3
x

V
G(x, x

)d
3
x

S
G(x, x

) da

S
G(x, x

)
n

da

(96)
But notice:
V

2
G(x, x

)d
3
x

V
4(x x

) = 4, (97)
and therefore:

S
G(x, x

)
n

da

= 4, (98)
meaning that G
N
/n

cannot be 0! Instead, by convention, G

N
/n

= 4/S.
Part c
We will use equation 1.46 in Jackson,
(x) =
S
+
1
4
0

V
(x

)G
N
(x, x

)d
3
x

+
1
4

G
N
(x, x

)da

(99)
which is the Neumann Greens function solution. Here,
S
is the average value of the potential
over the whole surface. Instead of G
N
, we will plug in G

N
G
N
F(x), dened in equation 95:

N
(x) =
S
+
1
4
0

V
(x

)(G
N
(x, x

) F(x))d
3
x

+
1
4

(G
N
(x x

) F(x))da

. (100)
We can multiply out the G
N
(x, x

) F(x) terms:

N
(x) = (x)
1
4
0

V
(x

)F(x)d
3
x

1
4

F(x)da

(101)
where I have used the fact that the G
N
terms constitute the original (x) of equation 99. We can
manipulate this further by noting that F(x) doesnt depend on x

N
(x) = (x)
F(x)
4
0

V
(x

)d
3
x

+
0

S
(x

)
n

da

(102)
or, using /n = n = n E:

N
(x) = (x)
F(x)
4
0
q
enc

S
E(x

) da

(103)
and therefore by Gausss law, we see that the addition of F(x) does not aect the potential:

N
(x) = (x) 2 (104)
JACKSON 1.15
We use the denition of electrostatic energy given by Jackson in equation 1.54:
W =

0
2

V
[[
2
d
3
x (105)
To minimize the energy, we let + . This denes W W + W, and plugging this in to
the above formula yields:
W +W =

0
2

V
[ +[
2
d
3
x =

0
2

V
[[
2
+[[
2
+ 2[ [d
3
x (106)
11
which can be rewritten as
W +W W +
0

V
d
3
x (107)
where I have ignored the term of order [[
2
. To minimize the energy, I need to set the last term
in equation 107 to 0. To do this, we will integrate by parts:
W =
0

V
d
3
x =
0

2
d
3
x = 0 (108)
where S species the surfaces in the region (the rst term in the integration by parts formula is
always a boundary term). Using the fact that there no charges in the volume (
2
= 0), we nd:

S
= 0, (109)
i.e. that = 0 on the surfaces, meaning that the surfaces are equipotentials, proving Thomsons
theorem:

S
= 0 = constant 2 (110)
JACKSON 1.16
This problem is similar to the last one, but we will use a dierent approach. We will dene the
electrostatic energy of the original conguration to be W, and that of the conguration with a new
conductor to be W

. The are:
W =

0
2

V
E
2
d
3
x (111)
W

=

0
2

V
1
E
2
d
3
x (112)
Note that the integration is over dierent volumes (V of the original conguration and V
1
= V V
0
of the new conguration, where V
0
is the volume of the new conductor). Similarly the electric elds
are dierent since the introduction of the new conductor changes the electric eld. Now, our goal
is to prove that W

< W. To do so, lets calculate W W

.
W W

=

0
2

V
E
2
d
3
x

0
2

V
1
E
2
d
3
x (113)
we need to rewrite everything in terms of integrals over the volumes V
0
and V
1
:
W W

=

0
2

V
0
E
2
d
3
x +

0
2

V
1
(E
2
E
2
)d
3
x (114)
In this form it is not entirely clear which term is greater, W or W

. However, I can rewrite the

second integral using the strange looking reorganization of the term E
2
E
2
:
E
2
E
2
= (EE

)
2
+ 2E

(EE

) (115)
You should check to make sure this equality works. It seems like an odd thing to do, but lets keep
going. Well plug this equality into equation 116
W W

=

0
2

V
0
E
2
d
3
x +

0
2

V
1
(EE

)
2
d
3
x +
0

V
1
E

(EE

)d
3
x (116)
Lets look at the last term:
E

(EE

) = (E

E) = ( [E

E] E

E) (117)
where I have used a vector identity to rewrite this. This is useful because we can use the dierential
form of Gausss law to show that the last term is zero ( E = 0). Knowing this, the expression in
116 is simplied to be
W W

=

0
2

V
0
E
2
d
3
x +

0
2

V
1
(EE

)
2
d
3
x
0

V
[E

E]d
3
x (118)
12
which can be simplied even more if I use the divergence theorem on the last term:
W W

=

0
2

V
0
E
2
d
3
x +

0
2

V
1
(EE

)
2
d
3
x
0

S
[E

E] da (119)
We are almost there. Now note that the potential is constant, since we are are dealing with the
same situation as in problem 1.15, where we found that the energy is minimized if the surfaces
were equipotential. Thus, since the potential is constant, we can pull it out of the integral. Then
all we have left in the last term is Gausss law in integral form, which again yields 0! This means
that our expression for W W

reduces to:
W W

=

0
2

V
0
E
2
d
3
x +

0
2

V
1
(EE

)
2
d
3
x > 0 (120)
It is greater than 0 because both integrands are positive denite, so the integrals are too. Therefore,
W

< W 2 (121)
JACKSON 1.17
Part a
We will use equations 1.54 and 1.62 in Jackson:
W =

0
2

V
[[
2
d
3
x =
1
2
N

i=1
N

j=1
C
ij
V
i
V
j
(122)
The right hand side is easily evaluated if we recall that all the conductors are at zero potential
except for one. If we suppose that the rst conductor is the only one with nonzero potential then
the only nonzero term in the sum on the right hand side is when i = j = 1.

0
2

V
[[
2
d
3
x =
1
2
C
11
V
2
1
(123)
but V
1
is at unit potential (V
1
= 1), so this reduces, after canceling out factors of 1/2, to
C =
0

V
[[
2
d
3
x 2 (124)
Part b
The trial function satises the Laplace equation in V, is dened on S, so it satises = 0
on S. Any deviation for (x) can be written as , and the rst order change in the dierence
C[] = C[+] C[] 0, since satises the Laplace equation and C[] C is a stationary
minimum. Therefore
C C[] =
0

V
[[
2
d
3
x 2 (125)
13