Applications of Gauss s Law

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 Example By symmetry, clearly a
Spherical Conductor SPHERICAL
A thin spherical shell of Gaussian surface is needed!!
radius r0 possesses a total
net charge Q that is
uniformly distributed on it.
Calculate the electric
field at points.
(a) Outside the shell (r > r0)
and
(b) Inside the shell (r < r0)
(c) What if the conductor
were a solid sphere?
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 Example By symmetry, clearly a
Solid Sphere of Charge SPHERICAL
An electric charge Q is Gaussian surface is needed!!
distributed uniformly
throughout a nonconducting
sphere, radius r0. Calculate the
electric field
(a) Outside the sphere (r > r0)
& (b) Inside the sphere (r < r0).

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example By symmetry, clearly a
Solid Sphere of Charge SPHERICAL
An electric charge Q is Gaussian surface is needed!!
distributed uniformly
throughout a nonconducting
sphere, radius r0. Calculate the
electric field
(a) Outside the sphere (r > r0)
& (b) Inside the sphere (r < r0).
Results E = (Qr)/(4πε0r03)
Outside (r > r0):
E = Q/(4πε0r2)
Inside (r < r0): E = Q/(4πε0r2)
E = (Qr)/(4πε0r03)
Note!! E inside has a very different
r dependence than E outside!
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 Example: Nonuniformly By symmetry, clearly a
Charged Solid Sphere
SPHERICAL
A solid sphere of radius r0 contains
Gaussian surface is needed!!
total charge Q. It s volume charge
density is nonuniform & given by
ρE = αr2
where α is a constant.
Calculate:
(a) The constant α in terms of Q & r0.
(b) The electric field as a function of
r outside the sphere.
(c) The electric field as a function of r
inside the sphere.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example: Nonuniformly By symmetry, clearly a
Charged Solid Sphere
SPHERICAL
A solid sphere of radius r0 contains
Gaussian surface is needed!!
total charge Q. It s volume charge
density is nonuniform & given by
ρE = αr2
where α is a constant.
Calculate:
(a) The constant α in terms of Q & r0.
(b) The electric field as a function of
r outside the sphere. Results
(c) The electric field as a function of r α = (5Q)/(4π0r05)
inside the sphere. Outside (r > r0):
Note!! E inside has a very different E = Q/(4πε0r2)
r dependence than E outside! Inside (r < r0):
E = (Qr3)/(4πε0r05)
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 Example
Long Uniform Line of Charge
• A very long straight (effectively, ℓ ) wire of radius R has a
uniform positive charge per unit length, λ. Calculate the
electric field at points near (& outside) the wire, far from the ends.

By symmetry, clearly
a Cylindrical
Gaussian Surface is
needed!!
Note!! E for the wire
has a very different R
Results: E = λ/(2πε0R) dependence than E for
= 2kλ/R the sphere!
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 Example
A Cylindrical Gaussian
surface was chosen, but
Infinite Plane of Charge here, the shape of the
Charge is distributed uniformly, Gaussian surface
with a surface charge density doesn t matter!! The
σ [= charge per unit area = (dQ/dA)] result is independent of
that choice!!!
over a very large but very thin
non-conducting flat plane
surface. Calculate the electric
field at points near the plane.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example
A Cylindrical Gaussian
surface was chosen, but
Infinite Plane of Charge here, the shape of the
Charge is distributed uniformly, Gaussian surface
with a surface charge density doesn t matter!! The
σ [= charge per unit area = (dQ/dA)] result is independent of
that choice!!!
over a very large but very thin
non-conducting flat plane
surface. Calculate the electric
field at points near the plane.

Results: E = σ /(2ε0)

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example
Electric Field Near any Conducting Surface
Show that the electric field
just outside the surface of any
good conductor of arbitrary
shape is given by
E = σ/ε0
where σ is the surface charge
density on the surface at that point.

A Cylindrical Gaussian Surface was chosen, but

here, the shape of the Gaussian surface doesn t
matter!! The result is independent of that choice!!!

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 • The difference between the electric field
outside a conducting plane of charge
& outside a nonconducting plane of
charge can be thought of in 2 ways:
1. The E field inside the conductor
is zero, so the flux is all through
one end of the Gaussian
cylinder.
2. The nonconducting plane has a A thin, flat charged
total surface charge density σ, but conductor with surface
the conducting plane has a charge charge density σ on
each surface. For the
density σ on each side, effectively
conductor as a whole,
giving it twice the charge density. the charge density is
σ´ = 2σ
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 Consider a static conductor of any
shape with total charge Q.
See figure
Choose a Gaussian surface
(dashed in figure) just below &
infinitesimally close to the conductor
surface. We just said that the electric
field inside a static conductor must
be zero.
By Gauss s Law, since the electric
field inside the surface is zero, there
must be no charge enclosed. So,
All charge on a static
conductor must be
on the surface.
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 Now, consider a static conductor
of any shape with total charge Q &
an empty cavity inside
See figure
Choose a Gaussian surface (dashed
in the figure) just outside & below,
infinitesimally close to the surface
of the cavity. Since it is inside the
conductor, there can be no electric
field there. So, by Gauss s Law,
there can be no charge there, so
there is no charge on the cavity
surface &
All charge on a static
conductor must be on it s
OUTER surface
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 Outline of Procedure for Solving
Gauss s Law Problems:
1. Identify the symmetry, & choose a Gaussian
surface that takes advantage of it (with surfaces
along surfaces of constant field).
2. Sketch the surface.
3. Use the symmetry to find the direction of E.
4. Evaluate the flux by integrating.
5. Calculate the enclosed charge.
6. Solve for the field.
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 Summary of the Chapter
• Electric Flux:
l

• Gauss s Law:
ll
• Gauss s Law: A method to calculate the electric field.
It is most useful in situations with a high degree of symmetry.
Gauss s Law: Applies in all situations
• So, it is more general than Coulomb s Law. As we ll see, it
also applies when charges are moving & the electric field
isn t constant, but depends on the time. As we ll see
It is one of the basic equations of Electromagnetism.
It is one of the 4 Maxwell s Equations of
Electromagnetism.
Recall the Theme of the Course!
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