Solving Boundary Conditions for Electric Field in Dielectric Media

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around solving for the electric field in two dielectric media separated by a boundary, specifically focusing on the boundary conditions that apply at the interface. Participants explore the implications of these conditions in a three-dimensional context.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a problem involving two dielectric regions with different permittivities and an electric field in one region, seeking to find the electric field in the second region.
  • Another participant asks about the boundary conditions on the electric field at the interface between the two dielectric regions.
  • A participant discusses the geometric interpretation of the boundary conditions, stating that the tangential components of the electric fields must be equal across the boundary, while the normal component may differ.
  • There is a mention of the relationship between the electric field vectors at the boundary, emphasizing that only the normal component changes when crossing the interface.
  • One participant expresses uncertainty about the problem-solving process, indicating a need for further clarification on the boundary conditions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the boundary conditions that the tangential components of the electric fields must be equal, but there is uncertainty regarding the implications of these conditions in a three-dimensional context. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the exact formulation of the electric field in the second region.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not fully resolved the mathematical steps needed to express the electric field in the second dielectric region, and there are assumptions about the nature of the boundary conditions that have not been explicitly stated.

Electro
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Greetings everyone:
I'm trying to solve a problem which requires finding the electric field. I've been pondering on this problem for a while but still no results. The book doesn't give any hints or clues on how to tackle this kind of problems so I would really appreciate some of your suggestions.

Assume that the z= 0 plane separates two lossless diaelectric regions with Epsilon(r1) = 2 and Epsilon(r2)=3. If we know that E1 in region 1 is 2y i - 3x j + (5+z) k, what is E2?
 
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What are the boundary conditions on the electric field at the interface between the two dielectric regions?
 
Thanks Siddharth, but if we draw a picture of the two media, geometrically we can conclude that E1t = E2t where E1t=E1-E1n and the same with E2t (I guess you get the picture). I don't see how this would help. Moreover we are dealing with 3-D ( I guess I might have understood it if it was 2-D).
Thanks

I'm editing the post: Thanks for your help, I understand it now.
 
Last edited:
Electro said:
Thanks Siddharth, but if we draw a picture of the two media, geometrically we can conclude that E1t = E2t where E1t=E1-E1n and the same with E2t (I guess you get the picture). I don't see how this would help. Moreover we are dealing with 3-D ( I guess I might have understood it if it was 2-D).
Thanks

I'm actually dealing with a similar problem right now. The way I understand it, is that the two boundary conditions are:

[tex]E_{1t} = E_{2t}[/tex]
[tex]\vec a _{n2} \cdot (\vec D_1 - \vec D_2) = \rho_s[/tex]

For the first one,
[itex]E_{1t} = E_{2t}[/itex] means the tangential components are the same. This tripped me up a bit... and I'm still a little uneasy doing these problems. Anyhow you have a plane that separates the media [itex]z = 0[/itex]. So what can you say about the relationship between all the vectors of [itex]\vec E_1(x,y,z=0)[/itex] and [itex]\vec E_2(x,y,z=0)[/itex].
All of those vectors are tangential to the interface. So you can conclude that only the normal component (in this case it would be [itex]E_{z2},[/itex]) is going to change when crossing the interface. Since you know that the tangential components are the same (from the relation above), you are left with:

[tex]\vec E_2 = \vec a_x E_{1x} + \vec a_y E_{1y} + \vec a_z \bar E_{2z}[/tex]

where the bar was used for emphasis on[itex]\bar E_{2z}[/itex] (the z component of the vector).
 

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