Conducting spheroid in uniform electric field

In summary, the conversation discusses the calculation of field distortion caused by a conducting spheroid in a uniform electric field using oblate spheroidal coordinates. The problem arises when trying to match the electric field and the electric potential at infinity due to a more complicated denominator. However, the answer is found by using circular and hyperbolic identities. The series expansion to find the coefficients is given, but the issue arises as nothing goes to zero at infinity and no two terms cancel each other.
  • #1
ShayanJ
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I want to calculate the field distortion caused by placing a conducting spheroid in a uniform electric field. The field direction is taken to be the z axis.
I'm using oblate spheroidal coordinates and the convention below:

[itex]
x=a \cosh\eta \sin\theta \cos\psi \\
y=a \cosh\eta \sin\theta \sin\psi \\
z=a \sinh\eta \cos\theta
[/itex]

I calculated [itex] \hat z [/itex] to be the following:

[itex]
\hat z=\frac{\cosh\eta \cos\theta \hat \eta-\sinh\eta \sin\theta \hat\theta}{\sqrt{\cosh^2\eta \cos^2\theta+\sinh^2\eta \sin^2\theta}}
[/itex]

But when I write the first few terms in the oblate spheroidal harmonics expansion as the electric potential, and take its gradient to get the electric field, as the gradient formula in oblate spheroidal coordinates dictates, there is only a [itex]
a\sqrt{\cosh^2\eta-\sin^2\theta}
[/itex] in the denominator but the initial uniform electric field is [itex] E_0 \hat z [/itex] which has a more complicated denominator and so it seems impossible to match them at infinity.
What should I do?

Thanks
 
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  • #2
Sorry...I found the answer. Those two square roots are related through circular and hyperbolic identities.
 
  • #3
There is another problem.
The series expansion that should be used for finding the answer, by finding its coefficients, is:
[itex]
\sum_0^\infty [A_n P_n(i \sinh\eta)+B_n Q_n(i\sinh\eta)][C_n P_n(\cos\theta)+D_nQ_n(\cos\theta)]
[/itex]
Where Ps and Qs are Legendre functions of first and second kind.
The problem is, nothing goes to zero at infinity and also no two of them can cancel each other at [itex] \eta \rightarrow \infty [/itex]. So I'm confused and don't know what to do!
 

What is a spheroid?

A spheroid is a three-dimensional shape that is similar to a sphere, but with two different radii. It can be thought of as an elongated or flattened sphere.

What is a uniform electric field?

A uniform electric field is a region in space where the electric field strength is the same at every point. This means that the direction and magnitude of the electric field does not change within this region.

Why is it important to study the behavior of spheroids in a uniform electric field?

Understanding how spheroids behave in a uniform electric field can provide insights into how cells and other biological structures respond to electric fields. This can have implications for various fields such as tissue engineering and drug delivery.

How is the spheroid in a uniform electric field experiment conducted?

The experiment typically involves placing a spheroid in a uniform electric field and then measuring its response, such as movement or deformation. This can be done using techniques such as microscopy and image analysis.

What are the potential applications of studying spheroids in a uniform electric field?

The findings from these experiments can have applications in various fields such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and bioelectricity. This research can also contribute to our understanding of how electric fields affect biological structures and processes.

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