Thread Closed

flux through a sphere

 
Share Thread
Dec3-06, 05:12 PM   #1
 

flux through a sphere


Here's the question:

A fluid has density 2 and velocity field .
Find the rate of flow outward through the sphere .

So far I've found n, which is
1/2x+1/2y+1/2z

and F dot n gives z^2.

I converted to spherical coordinates and z^2 is equal to 4cos^2[phi].

My integral is set up as:
4*(int[0-2pi] int[0-pi] (cos^2[phi]*sin[phi]dphi dtheta.

The first integral is -1/3cos^3[phi] from 0-pi which is 1/3 - - 1/3 = 2/3

The second integral gives 2/3*2*pi, so the entire thing is 4*2/3*2*pi.

I thought I was just supposed to multiply that by 2 (the density) but that's not the right answer. Can someone tell me what I did wrong or what I'm supposed to do with the density?

Thanks a lot.
PhysOrg.com science news on PhysOrg.com

>> New language discovery reveals linguistic insights
>> US official: Solar plane to help ground energy use (Update)
>> Four microphones, computer algorithm enough to produce 3-D model of simple, convex room
Dec3-06, 07:24 PM   #2
 
Recognitions:
Homework Helper Homework Help
One way to verify the answer is by Gauss' law (aka the divergence theorem). The divergence of the velocity field is seen to be 2, so the flux out of the sphere is 2*(4/3*pi*2^3), which is off by a factor of 4 from what you got. It seems like you forgot the r^2 factor in the surface area element. What you did with the density is correct since it's constant here.
Thread Closed

Similar discussions for: flux through a sphere
Thread Forum Replies
flux through a sphere? Calculus & Beyond Homework 8
Flux through a hole in a sphere??? Introductory Physics Homework 1
New Flux in a Sphere of moderator of Radius R Nuclear Engineering 15
Why doesn't changing the Gausssian sphere change the net flux? Introductory Physics Homework 7
Magnetic Flux & Electric Flux Classical Physics 2