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Boundary conditions for Laplace's equation

 
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Feb3-11, 01:10 PM   #1
 

Boundary conditions for Laplace's equation


I don't seem to grasp the meaning of boundary conditions for Laplace's equation.

Consider the Lagendre expansion of the potential at x due to a unit charge 1/|x-x'|, where x' is the position of the unit point charge.
To do the expansion, we need to consider a volume in space where the potential satisfies the Laplace equation. I can see that the potential satisfies Laplaces equation anywhere in space except at x=x', but what are the boundary conditions? Don't we have to know the potential at x=x', which is a boundary?
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Feb4-11, 04:27 AM   #2
 
Am I too vague in my question?
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