102 Classical Electromagnetism

EXERCISES

Based on Concepts
1. Why is wood an insulator when it also has a large number of electrons?
2. Give an argument to show that there can be no electric field inside a conductor in an electrostatic
situation.
3. A thin, circular disk of radius R is made up of a conducting material. A charge Q is given to it, which
spreads on the two surfaces. Will the surface charge density be uniform? If not, where will it be
minimum?
4. A point charge Q is placed near a metallic block (Figure
5E.1). Charges are induced on the block as shown in the
figure. Suppose A is the point on the block closest to Q and
B is the point farthest from Q. Which of the two potentials,
VA and VB , will be larger? Or will they be the same?

Fig. 5E.1

5. A charge distribution creates an electric field of E0 at a point A. A metallic sphere is placed with its
centre at A, without disturbing the charge distribution. As a result, a certain charge density (r) is
induced on the surface of the sphere. What is the electric field at the point A only due to the charges
appearing on the surface?
6. Consider the charge density at the centre of a copper atom in a copper wire and that at the centre of a
carbon atom in a plastic wire. Are these both zero, both nonzero, or one zero and the other nonzero? If
the last is true, which is zero and which is nonzero?
7. You must have learnt Ohm’s law in school. The current through a conducting wire is said to be
proportional to the potential difference between the ends of the wire. But in this chapter you learned
that a conductor has the same potential everywhere. Then how can there be a potential difference
between the ends?
8. A metallic block contains a cavity. A charge Q is placed on the conductor in one case and in the cavity
in another case. A, B, C are three points, A outside the block, B in the block, and C in the cavity. At
which of these points will the electric field be different in the two cases? [Ans. C]

Problems
Q
1. A metallic sphere of radius R is given a charge Q. What is d· E as a function of r? [Ans. (r  R)]
4R 2
2. The electric field just outside the surface of a conductor has magnitude 25 V/m and points away from
10
the surface. What is the surface charge density on the conductor. [Ans. 2.2 #10 C/m 2]
3. A large metallic plate is placed along the plane x  y. The electric field at a point (, 0, 0) has an
x-component Ex  2.0 V/m where  is a small positive quantity. Find Ey and Ez at this point.
[Ans. Ey   2.0 V/m, Ez  0]
 Conductors and Electric Fields 103

4. A metallic body is given a charge Q. A point charge q is placed at some distance from the body. The
surface charge density at a point P on the surface is 0 . The line joining P to the point charge q has
length d and is normal to the surface at P. The unit vector in this direction is nt. Find the electric field
0
just outside P. [Ans.  n^]
0
5. A conductor of irregular shape is surrounded by a conducting spherical shell of radius R. The inner
conductor is given a charge q.
(a) What will be the charges induced on the inner and the outer surfaces of the shell?
(b) Will the charge induced on the inner surface of the shell be distributed uniformly on this surface?
(c) Will the charge induced on the outer surface of the shell be distributed uniformly on this surface?
(d) What will be the electric field due to this system at a distance r from the centre of the shell, r being
q ^
larger than R? [Ans. (d) E  2
r]
40 r
6. A spherical cavity of radius R/4 is carved out from a conducting sphere of radius R. The centre of the
sphere is at the origin and that of the cavity is on the x-axis at x   R/2. A charge q is placed at the
centre of the cavity.
(a) Find the surface charge density 1 on the surface of the cavity.
(b) Find the surface charge density 2 on the outer surface of the conductor.
4q q
(c) Find the electric field everywhere. [Ans. (a)  2
, (b) ]
r 4R 2
7. Consider the situation described in the previous problem. In addition to the charge in the cavity,
another charge ql is placed on the x-axis at x  2R.
(a) Will 1 remain the same or will it change?
(b) Will 2 remain the same or will it change?
(c) Will the field inside the cavity remain the same or will it change?
(d) Will the field outside the sphere remain the same or will it change?
[Ans. (a) will remain the same, (b) will change]
8. Consider the situation in the previous problem. The charge in the cavity is moved a little.
(a) Will 1 remain the same or will it change?
(b) Will 2 remain the same or will it change?
(c) Will the field inside the cavity remain the same or will it change?
(d) Will the field outside the sphere remain the same or will it change? [Ans. (b) will remain the same]
9. A conducting sphere of radius a is surrounded by a concentric, thick conducting shell of inner and
outer radii b and c. A charge q is given to the inner sphere.
(a) Find the surface charge density on each of the three surfaces.
(b) Find the electric potential as a function of distance from the centre and plot it. Take the potential at
infinity to be zero.
(c) Find the electric field as a function of r and plot its magnitude.
10. Suppose the outer shell of a spherical capacitor has a very large radius (say infinity) and the inner
sphere has a radius R. (a) What is the capacitance of this capacitor? (b) A charge Q is given to the
2
Q
capacitor. Find the energy of the capacitor using U  · [Ans. (a) 40 R]
(2C)
104 Classical Electromagnetism

11. Find the energy of a charged metallic shell of radius R carrying a uniformly distributed charge Q. Do
you get the same result as in the previous question?
12. The inner sphere of a spherical capacitor is grounded (V  0) and the outer shell is given a charge Q.
The radii of the two surfaces are R and 3R.
(a) Find the charge appearing on the inner sphere.
(b) Find the capacitance C  Q/V , where V is the potential difference appearing between the two
9
conductors. [Ans. (a)  Q/3 (b) # 40 R]
8
13. A parallel-plate capacitor is made by placing plates of area A each at a separation d. A charge Q is
given to one plate and –Q to the other plate. How much work has one to do to increase the separation
Q2 d
between the plates to 2d? [Ans. ]
20 A
14. Two large metallic plates are kept parallel to each other at a small
separation. A charge q1 is put on one plate and a charge q2, on the
other plate (Figure 5E.2). Neglecting the thickness of the plates,
find (a) the charge appearing on each of the four surfaces 1, 2, 3
and 4, and (b) the electric field everywhere.
q1  q2 q1  q2 q2  q1 q1  q2
[Ans. (a) , , , respectively]
2 2 2 2

Fig. 5E.2

15. A capacitor is formed by two conductors in the shape of coaxial

Fig. 5E.3
