PHYS1004 Extension Topics - Assignment 2: Electromagnetism and Electric Circuits

This assignment is due 10pm on Monday 31 October.

1. (Electrostatics). In Faraday’s famous “ice pail” experiment it was shown that when a charged object is
placed within a conducting container, charge builds up on the inner and outer surfaces of the cylinder.
This is called induced charge.
In the figure below a charge −q is suspended from an insulating string at the centre of a concentric
set of conducting (metal) spheres. The spheres are all insulated from one another, e.g. with an air gap
between them, and the spheres start out with no net charge.

-q

(a) Explain what charge would be induced on the outside of the smallest sphere and on the inside of
the outermost sphere. Which one of the following 4 options is correct for each case, if any are
correct?
A −q . B between −q and 0. C between 0 and q. Dq. [4 marks]
(b) Explain how the induced charge on the outer surface of the inner sphere would change if the
spheres were replaced by concentric hemispheres, again referring to the following set of options:
A −q . B between −q and 0. C between 0 and q. Dq. [3 marks]

2. (Electric circuit theory). Consider the circuits shown below. The batteries are identical in all the
circuits and can be considerd to provide a constant DC voltage. The incandescent light bulbs are also
all identical; each acts as a resistor and glows with a brightness that’s proportional to the amount of
electrical power that is expended in it.

D
A B C

Use Kirchhoff’s laws to consider each of the three circuits above to determine how the bulbs rank in
brightness - i.e list the bulbs A, B, C D in order from brightest to the dimmest. The answer can use
any combination of logical argument and quantitative analysis. [6 marks]

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3. Consider the following circuit, in which the batteries are considered to consist of an ideal battery
(always-constant voltage supply) in series with an internal resistence.

R4

V1 V2

R1 R2

R3

In the circuit V1 = 6V , V2 = 24V , R1 = 1.0Ω and R2 = 0.5Ω, R3 = 3Ω and R4 = 4.5Ω. What is

A B

C1 C2 V

C D

The capacitors C1 and C2 have a capacitance of 0.3µF and 0.1µF. The circuit element with a V inside
a circle is a device for measuring voltage (voltmeter). It can be considered to have infinite resistance.
Note that the relationship between the charge on a capacitor and its voltage is given by Q = CV

(a) The capacitor C1 is charged by being connected to a 5 V DC voltage source for an extended
period. What charge will C1 carry after being charged? [2 marks]
(b) C1 is disconnected from the battery The two circuits are brought together so that A is connected
to B and C is connected to D. Which of the following is the best estimate for the fraction of C1 ’s
initial charge that is transferred to C2 , if C2 was initially uncharged?
A 25% B 50% C 75% D 90% [4 marks]

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5. (Electrostatics) Three identical spheres S1 , S2 and S3 are placed along a line as shown in the figure
below.

S1 S2 S3

d1 d2

The charge on S1 is +2q, on S2 is +1q and on S3 is +3q. In the following you may assume that the
spheres are small relative to the space between them.

(a) You are able to move the sphere S3 along the line to adjust the distance d2 . At what distance d2
does the sphere S2 feel no net electrostatic force from S1 and S3 ?
r r
3 2 3 2
A d1 B d1 C d1 D d1 [4 marks]
2 3 2 3
(b) Another sphere S4 carrying a charge of −q is brought into contact with sphere S1 , then S2 , then
S3 . After this process, what charge would you expect on S3 ? Assume that all four spheres are
the same size and composed of a perfect conductor.
15 15
A +3q B+ q C+ q D +4q [4 marks]
8 4
(c) Would your answer to the previous questions been different if the spheres were solid rather than
hollow? [1 mark]

6. (Electromagnetism, mass spectrometry). The diagram below is a schematic of a mass spectrometer

- H3

H1
Ion Source
H2 +
 , B1
E
B2

Detector

The instrument operates as follows: a beam of ions produced by a heated filament and an accelerating
voltage are passed through two pinholes H1 and H2 . When exiting pinhole H2 , the beam then passes
into a region of ’crossed’ electric and magnetic fields. The ions pass between two parallel metal plates

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 ⃗ In the same region,
across which a potential difference is applied, creating a uniform electric field E.
strong magnets are used to create a magnetic field B ⃗ 1 that is directed out of the page (indicated by
circles with dots at their centre). The relative strength of the fields E⃗ and B⃗ 1 is chosen so that the
appropriate beam passes through the pinhole H3 .
The remaining ions then enter a larger chamber of the instrument where there is no electric field but
⃗ 2 , again directed out of the page, but with a different magnitude to B
there is a magnetic field B ⃗ 1 . The
ions now follow a circular arc; where they strike the detector depends on the radius of the arc.
Notes:
1. The interior of the instrument can be considered a vacuum, the ions can be considered to be travel-
ling fast enough that gravity can be ignored.
2. These expressions may be helpful: F⃗ = q E ⃗ and |F⃗ | = q|⃗v ||B|
⃗ sin θ

(a) An ion of mass m and charge +q passes through pinhole H2 into the region containing E ⃗ B⃗ 1.
Calculate the speed of the ion if it is to pass straight through this chamber and pass through
pinhole H3 . Which of the following expressions is correct?
B1 qE B1 E
A B C D [5 marks]
qE B1 E B1
(b) An ion of mass m and charge q is detected on the detector at a distance d along from pinhole
H3 . If the instrument is set up to allow only ions of speed v, which of the following expressions
is the most accurate estimate for the charge-to-mass ratio of the ion:
2dB2 v dB2 2v
A B C D [4 marks]
v 2dB2 2v dB2
(c) The mass spectrometer is modified to allow it to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of negatively-
charged ions. You are able to reverse the direction of the electric field E ⃗ and the two magnetic
fields B⃗1 and B⃗2 . What is the simplest set of field reversals that you need to make to achieve the
change? [2 marks]

7. (Electric Circuits). The risk of serious injury to a person exposed to an alternating-current electricity
(AC) supply indcreases roughly in proportion to the electric current that flows through their body.
The human body presents a different resistance depending on the voltage being applied. The resistance
also depends on factors like where it enters and leaves the body and depends on whether your skin is
wet, but a typical resistance to an applied voltage of 110 V (mains voltage in the US) is 3200 Ω and to
240 V (mains voltage in Australia, the UK and Europe) is 2400 Ω.
Which of the following is the best estimate of the ratio between the risk to a person from exposure to
mains voltage in the US relative to that in Australia?
A1:2. B 2 : 3. C 1 : 3. D1:4. [2 marks]