Problem with Spherical Surface Integral

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on solving a problem related to the spherical surface integral involving vector fields and the del operator. The integral is expressed as ∫( ? × A ) • da, where A is defined as A = 4\dot{r} + 3\dot{\theta} - 2\dot{\phi}. The final result of the integral is determined to be -π r_{0}, emphasizing the necessity of transforming spherical basis vectors into Cartesian coordinates for accurate integration. The discussion also highlights the importance of correctly applying dot products among basis vectors.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of vector calculus, specifically the del operator.
  • Familiarity with spherical coordinate systems and transformations.
  • Knowledge of surface integrals and their applications in physics.
  • Proficiency in LaTeX for mathematical expressions and notation.
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the application of the del operator in vector calculus.
  • Learn about transformations between spherical and Cartesian coordinates.
  • Research surface integrals in the context of electromagnetism and fluid dynamics.
  • Practice LaTeX formatting for complex mathematical expressions.
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Mathematicians, physicists, and engineering students who are working with vector fields and surface integrals, particularly in the context of spherical coordinates.

Noone1982
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[tex]A\; =\; 4\dot{r}\; +\; 3\dot{\theta }\; -\; 2\dot{\phi }[/tex]

Now the surface integral integral is:

[tex]\int_{}^{}{\left( ?\times A \right)\; •\; da}[/tex]

(the ? mark is a del operator and the dot over a variable means a unit vector)

[tex]?\times A\; =\frac{\dot{r}}{r\sin \theta }\left[ \frac{\partial }{\partial \theta }\left( \sin \theta A_{\phi } \right)\; -\; \frac{\partial A_{\theta }}{\partial \phi } \right]\; +\; \frac{\dot{\theta }}{r}\left[ \frac{1}{\sin \theta }\frac{\partial A_{r}}{\partial \phi }\; -\; \frac{\partial }{\partial r}\left( rA_{\phi } \right) \right]\; +\; \frac{\dot{\phi }}{r}\left[ \frac{\partial }{\partial r}\left( rA_{\theta } \right)\; -\; \frac{\partial A_{r}}{\partial \theta } \right][/tex]

I get:

[tex]?\times A\; =\frac{\dot{r}}{r\sin \theta }\left[ \left( -2\cos \theta \right)\; -\; 0 \right]\; +\; \frac{\dot{\theta }}{r}\left[ \frac{1}{\sin \theta }\left( 0 \right)\; +\; 2 \right]\; +\; \frac{\dot{\phi }}{r}\left[ 3\; -0 \right][/tex]

Now I dot this to da

where da is:

[tex]da\; =\; r^{2}\sin \theta \; d\theta \; d\phi \; \dot{r}\; +\; r\sin \theta \; dr\; d\phi \; \dot{\theta }\; +\; r\; dr\; d\theta \; \dot{\phi }[/tex]

I get:

[tex]\int_{}^{}{\int_{}^{}{}}-2\cos \theta r\; d\theta \; d\phi \; \; +\; \int_{}^{}{\int_{}^{}{}}2\sin \theta \; dr\; d\phi \; +\int_{0}^{ro}{\int_{\frac{\pi }{2}}^{\frac{\pi }{2}}{}}3\; dr\; d\theta \;[/tex]

which equals:

[tex]-2\sin \theta r\phi \; +\; 2\sin \theta r\phi \; +\; \frac{3}{2}\pi r_{o}\; =\; \frac{3}{2}\pi r_{o}[/tex]

The answer should be

[tex]-\pi r_{0}[/tex]
 
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You can't integrate over the spherical basis vectors because they change with position. You need to transform the vectors into cartesian coordinates.
 
He doesn't need to change basis, he just messed up his LaTeX. There are supposed to be dot products among the basis vectors in there. So while [itex]\hat{r}[/itex] does depend on position, [itex]\hat{r}\cdot\hat{r}[/itex] does not.
 

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