[Maple] Calculating the potential produced by a charge

In summary, the speaker has been using Maple and Mathematica for physics calculations and has found that Maple's document interface is more user-friendly. They have also encountered difficulties with plotting and using indices in Mathematica. However, they have recently discovered an interesting example involving calculating the potential of a charge outside of a grounded conducting sphere, which is fully worked out in Jackson's textbook. The speaker then provides a numerical example and discusses how different software programs (Maple, Mathematica, and PocketCas) evaluate the potential at a specific point on the sphere's surface. They are seeking help and asking if anyone has encountered a similar problem.
  • #1
Mauro Silva
1
0
I have been using Maple for sometime as its document interface feels nicer and more friendly than mathematica's . I have never been able to plot arrows in Mathematica or use indices efficiently. I am more of a curious self teaching physics person. But I just found something interesting when calculating the potential produced by a charge placed outside of a conducting grounded sphere. This example is fully worked out by Jackson - Section 2.2 - Eqs 2.1 to 2.5.
In my numerical example the charge q= 1 Coulomb is placed at the coordinates <0.2 m, 0.2 m, 0.3 m> . The sphere has radius 0.1 m.
It happens that on the sphere, say at <0 m, 0 m, 0.1 m>, the potential should be zero but Maple evaluates it to 10/Pi ~ 3.18 and Mathematica evaluates it to 0.0000114441. On the other hand PocketCas for IOS 10 is giving me exactly zero!
Has anyone seen this kind of problem? Would I making any dumb mistakes ?
 
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  • #2
Unless you show the code you are using, there is not much anyone can do to help.
 
  • #3
In the example, the potential is understood to be 0 at the sphere's surface. Are you trying to calculate the potential of the charge & image charge system (without the conductor), and use that result to represent the potential of the charge & conductor system for points outside of the conductor?
 

1. How do I use Maple to calculate the potential produced by a charge?

To calculate the potential produced by a charge using Maple, you will need to define the charge and its location, as well as any other relevant parameters. Then, you can use the built-in functions such as "coulombpotential" or "electricpotential" to obtain the numerical or symbolic solution.

2. What is the equation for calculating the potential produced by a charge?

The equation for calculating the potential produced by a charge is V = k*q/r, where V is the potential, k is the Coulomb's constant, q is the charge, and r is the distance from the charge.

3. Can Maple calculate the potential produced by multiple charges?

Yes, Maple is capable of calculating the potential produced by multiple charges. You will need to define each charge and its location, and then use the appropriate functions such as "multipolepotential" or "sum" to obtain the total potential.

4. How do I plot the potential produced by a charge using Maple?

To plot the potential, you can use the "plot" function in Maple and specify the range of values for the independent variable, as well as the function for the potential. You can also add any necessary labels and titles to the plot.

5. Is there a specific unit for the potential produced by a charge?

The unit for potential produced by a charge is Joules per Coulomb (J/C) or Volts (V). Maple will provide the solution in the appropriate units based on the input parameters and the desired output.

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