UPES B.Tech Admissions 2025
ApplyRanked #42 among Engineering colleges in India by NIRF | Highest CTC 50 LPA , 100% Placements
Electric potential due to continuous charge distribution(II) is considered one the most difficult concept.
39 Questions around this concept.
A thin spherical shell of radius R has charge Q spread uniformly over its surface. Which of the following graphs most closely represents the electric field produced by the shell in the range where is the distance from the centre of the shell?
A thin spherical conducting shell of radius R has a charge . Another charge is placed at the centre of the shell. The electrostatic potential at a point P at a distance from the centre of the shell is:
Electric Potential due to Hollow conducting, Hollow non conducting, Solid conducting Sphere-
In the case of Hollow conducting, Hollow non conducting, Solid conducting Spheres charges always resides on the surface of the sphere.
If the charge on a conducting sphere of radius R is Q. And we want to find V at point P at distance r from the center of the sphere.
Outside the sphere (P lies outside the sphere. I.e r>R)
$
\begin{aligned}
& E_{\text {out }}=\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{r^2}=\frac{\sigma R^2}{\epsilon_0 r^2} \\
& V(r)=-\int_{r=\infty}^{r=r} \vec{E} \cdot d \vec{r}=\frac{1}{4 \pi \varepsilon_0} \frac{\vec{Q}}{r}
\end{aligned}
$
- Inside the sphere (P lies inside the sphere. I.e $\mathrm{r}<\mathrm{R}$ )
$
E_{\text {in }}=0
$
$V_{\text {in }}=$ constant $\quad$ and it is given as
$
\begin{aligned}
\boldsymbol{V}(\boldsymbol{r}) & =-\int_{r=\infty}^{r=r} \overrightarrow{\boldsymbol{E}} \cdot d \vec{r}=-\int_{\infty}^R \boldsymbol{E}_r(d \boldsymbol{r})-\int_R^r \boldsymbol{E}_r(\boldsymbol{d} \boldsymbol{r})=\frac{1}{4 \pi \boldsymbol{\varepsilon}_0} * \frac{\boldsymbol{q}}{\boldsymbol{R}}+0 \\
\Rightarrow V(r) & =\frac{1}{4 \pi \varepsilon_0} * \frac{\boldsymbol{q}}{\boldsymbol{R}}
\end{aligned}
$
- At the surface of Sphere (I.e at $r=R$ )
$
\begin{aligned}
& E_s=\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{R^2}=\frac{\sigma}{\epsilon_0} \\
& V_s=\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{R}=\frac{\sigma R}{\epsilon_0}
\end{aligned}
$
Electric Potential due to Uniformly charged Non conducting sphere-
Suppose charge Q is uniformly distributed in the volume of a non-conducting sphere of Radius R.
And we want to find V at point P at distance r from the center of the sphere.
Outside the sphere (P lies outside the sphere. I.e r>R)
$
\begin{aligned}
E_{\text {out }} & =\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{r^2} & V_{\text {out }} & =\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{r} \\
E_{\text {out }} & =\frac{\rho R^3}{3 \epsilon_0 r^2} & V_{\text {out }} & =\frac{\rho R^3}{3 \epsilon_0 r}
\end{aligned}
$
- Inside the sphere (P lies inside the sphere. I.e r<R)
$
\begin{aligned}
& E_{\text {in }}=\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q r}{R^3} \quad V_{\text {in }}=\frac{Q}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} * \frac{3 R^2-r^2}{2 R^3} \\
& E_{\text {in }}=\frac{\rho r}{3 \epsilon_0} \quad V_{i n}=\frac{\rho\left(3 R^2-r^2\right)}{6 \epsilon_0}
\end{aligned}
$
- At the surface of Sphere (I.e at $\mathrm{r}=\mathrm{R}$ )
$
\begin{aligned}
E_s=\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{R^2} & V_s=\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{R} \\
E_s=\frac{\rho R}{3 \epsilon_0} & V_s=\frac{\rho R^2}{3 \epsilon_0}
\end{aligned}
$
Note - If P lies at the centre of the uniformly charged non-conducting sphere (l.e at $\mathrm{r}=0$ )
$
V_{\text {centre }}=\frac{3}{2} \times \frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \frac{Q}{R}=\frac{3}{2} V_s
$
i.e $\quad V_c>V_s$
"Stay in the loop. Receive exam news, study resources, and expert advice!"