Cube Charge

  • charge density
    • computer Visualizing Flux through a Cube

      computer Computer Simulation

      30 min.

      Visualizing Flux through a Cube
      Static Fields 2023 (6 years) Students explore the effects of putting a point charge at various places inside, outside, and on the surface of a cubical Gaussian surface. The Mathematica worksheet or Sage activity shows the electric field due to the charge, then plots the the flux integrand on the top surface of the box, calculates the flux through the top of the box, and the value of the flux through the whole cube.
    • assignment Gauss's Law for a Rod inside a Cube

      assignment Homework

      Gauss's Law for a Rod inside a Cube
      Static Fields 2023 (4 years) Consider a thin charged rod of length \(L\) standing along the \(z\)-axis with the bottom end on the \(x,y\)-plane. The charge density \(\lambda_0\) is constant. Find the total flux of the electric field through a closed cubical surface with sides of length \(3L\) centered at the origin.
    • assignment Total Charge

      assignment Homework

      Total Charge
      charge density curvilinear coordinates

      Integration Sequence

      Static Fields 2023 (6 years)

      For each case below, find the total charge.

      1. A positively charged (dielectric) spherical shell of inner radius \(a\) and outer radius \(b\) with a spherically symmetric internal charge density \begin{equation} \rho(\vec{r})=3\alpha\, e^{(kr)^3} \end{equation}
      2. A positively charged (dielectric) cylindrical shell of inner radius \(a\) and outer radius \(b\) with a cylindrically symmetric internal charge density \begin{equation} \rho(\vec{r})=\alpha\, \frac{1}{s}\, e^{ks} \end{equation}

    • assignment Cross Triangle

      assignment Homework

      Cross Triangle
      Static Fields 2023 (6 years)

      Use the cross product to find the components of the unit vector \(\mathbf{\boldsymbol{\hat n}}\) perpendicular to the plane shown in the figure below, i.e.  the plane joining the points \(\{(1,0,0),(0,1,0),(0,0,1)\}\).

    • assignment Tetrahedron

      assignment Homework

      Tetrahedron
      Static Fields 2023 (7 years)

      Using a dot product, find the angle between any two line segments that join the center of a regular tetrahedron to its vertices. Hint: Think of the vertices of the tetrahedron as sitting at the vertices of a cube (at coordinates (0,0,0), (1,1,0), (1,0,1) and (0,1,1)---you may need to build a model and play with it to see how this works!)

    • assignment Energy of a relativistic Fermi gas

      assignment Homework

      Energy of a relativistic Fermi gas
      Fermi gas Relativity Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

      For electrons with an energy \(\varepsilon\gg mc^2\), where \(m\) is the mass of the electron, the energy is given by \(\varepsilon\approx pc\) where \(p\) is the momentum. For electrons in a cube of volume \(V=L^3\) the momentum takes the same values as for a non-relativistic particle in a box.

      1. Show that in this extreme relativistic limit the Fermi energy of a gas of \(N\) electrons is given by \begin{align} \varepsilon_F &= \hbar\pi c\left(\frac{3n}{\pi}\right)^{\frac13} \end{align} where \(n\equiv \frac{N}{V}\) is the number density.

      2. Show that the total energy of the ground state of the gas is \begin{align} U_0 &= \frac34 N\varepsilon_F \end{align}

    • biotech Microwave oven Ice Calorimetry Lab

      biotech Experiment

      60 min.

      Microwave oven Ice Calorimetry Lab
      Energy and Entropy 2021 (2 years)

      heat entropy water ice thermodynamics

      In this remote-friendly activity, students use a microwave oven (and optionally a thermometer) to measure the latent heat of melting for water (and optionally the heat capacity). From these they compute changes in entropy. See also Ice Calorimetry Lab.
    • assignment Divergence through a Prism

      assignment Homework

      Divergence through a Prism
      Static Fields 2023 (6 years)

      Consider the vector field \(\vec F=(x+2)\hat{x} +(z+2)\hat{z}\).

      1. Calculate the divergence of \(\vec F\).
      2. In which direction does the vector field \(\vec F\) point on the plane \(z=x\)? What is the value of \(\vec F\cdot \hat n\) on this plane where \(\hat n\) is the unit normal to the plane?
      3. Verify the divergence theorem for this vector field where the volume involved is drawn below. (“Verify” means calculate both sides of the divergence theorem, separately, for this example and show that they are the same.)

    • assignment Reduced Mass

      assignment Homework

      Reduced Mass
      Central Forces 2023 (3 years)

      (Simple graphing) Purpose: Discover some of the properties of reduced mass by exploring the graph.

      Using your favorite graphing package, make a plot of the reduced mass \begin{equation} \mu=\frac{m_1\, m_2}{m_1+m_2} \end{equation} as a function of \(m_1\) and \(m_2\). What about the shape of this graph tells you something about the physical world that you would like to remember? You should be able to find at least three things. Hint: Think limiting cases.

    • assignment Quantum concentration

      assignment Homework

      Quantum concentration
      bose-einstein gas statistical mechanics Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020 Consider one particle confined to a cube of side \(L\); the concentration in effect is \(n=L^{-3}\). Find the kinetic energy of the particle when in the ground state. There will be a value of the concentration for which this zero-point quantum kinetic energy is equal to the temperature \(kT\). (At this concentration the occupancy of the lowest orbital is of the order of unity; the lowest orbital always has a higher occupancy than any other orbital.) Show that the concentration \(n_0\) thus defined is equal to the quantum concentration \(n_Q\) defined by (63): \begin{equation} n_Q \equiv \left(\frac{MkT}{2\pi\hbar^2}\right)^{\frac32} \end{equation} within a factor of the order of unity.
  • Static Fields 2023 (6 years)
    1. Charge is distributed throughout the volume of a dielectric cube with charge density \(\rho=\beta z^2\), where \(z\) is the height from the bottom of the cube, and where each side of the cube has length \(L\). What is the total charge inside the cube? Do this problem in two ways as both a single integral and as a triple integral.
    2. On a different cube: Charge is distributed on the surface of a cube with charge density \(\sigma=\alpha z\) where \(z\) is the height from the bottom of the cube, and where each side of the cube has length \(L\). What is the total charge on the cube? Don't forget about the top and bottom of the cube.