Physics 536 Dr. D.

Sober

Revised 14 January 2014

Setting up Griffiths Problem 2.7: Electric field due to a thin spherical shell A thin spherical shell of radius R carries a uniform surface charge density F. You know the answer from Physics 216 where you obtained it using Gausss law and symmetry: (1) This result, which applies also to the gravitational field due to a thin uniform spherical shell of mass (with suitable change of variables), is often referred to as the shell theorem, and is used frequently in solving both electrostatic and gravitational problems in which a thin spherical shell can be used as an element of integration. It is highly instructive to solve the problem by direct integration and show that the Gausss law result (1) is justified. (It also increases ones appreciation of Newton to realize that he derived this result after first inventing the calculus to do it!) The simplest way to set up the problem is to place the origin at the center of the sphere and let the z axis pass through the desired field point P, a distance z from the center. Because of the azimuthal symmetry (no N-dependence), we can choose a thin annulus from polar angle 2 to 2+d2 to be our element of integration, and use the familiar (Phys. 216) result for the electric field on the axis of a thin, uniformly charged ring of radius a and charge q (where Z = distance above the center of the ring): (2)

To find the electric field E(z) at point P (a distance z from the center of the sphere), we replace the ring by the thin annulus, making the following substitutions in (2): Z 6 z !R cos2 (distance above center of annulus) a 6 R sin 2 (radius of annulus) q 6 dq = (2BR sin2)(R d2)F = 2BR2 F sin2 d2 Z2+a2 6

= (z!R cos2)2 + (R sin2)2 = R2 + z2 ! 2R z cos2

(The distance r from each point on the annulus to point P can also be calculated from the law of cosines, as illustrated in the figure.) The final result involves integration over 2 from 0 to B:
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For all 2, this contribution is in the +z direction. The integral can be simplified by substituting , giving , to be integrated from u = z!R to u = z+R. This integral is of the form , which is not explicitly in Schaum, but can be obtained from (17.2.17). (It can also be solved using integration by parts, or you may simply verify the result by differentiation.) Finally, as indicated in the statement of the problem, you must always take the positive square root , which is either R!z or z!R depending on whether R>z or z>R. These two cases lead to the very different results seen in (1).

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