A physical dipole (one with a finite separation between charges)
What G means in Ex. 3.8 is that the point charges example is one physical configuration that has a dominant dipole moment. He seems to define a "pure" dipole as a configuration that has ONLY a dipole moment, and no higher moments. As he says, that point charges model is only a "pure" dipole in the limit -->0. The sphere with with cos charge distribution is a pure dipole because its potential for r>R is pure dipole.ehrenfest said:Homework Statement
Please stop reading unless you have Griffith's E and M book.
On this page, Griffith's start talking about "pure" and "physical" dipoles. Can someone define what these terms mean?
A "pure" dipole is a type of electric dipole where the positive and negative charges are separated by a very small distance. This results in a strong electric dipole moment and a strong electric field.
A "pure" dipole differs from other types of dipoles in that the separation between the positive and negative charges is very small, resulting in a strong electric dipole moment. Other types of dipoles may have larger separations or may not have equal and opposite charges.
"Pure" dipoles are important in physics because they are used to model and understand various phenomena, such as the behavior of molecules and the effects of electric fields. They also play a role in explaining the behavior of materials and their response to external electric fields.
A "physical" dipole is a type of electric dipole where the separation between the positive and negative charges is not infinitesimally small, but still significant. This results in a weaker electric dipole moment and electric field compared to a "pure" dipole.
A "pure" dipole can be seen in the behavior of molecules, such as water, where the positive and negative charges of the atoms are very close together. A "physical" dipole can be seen in the behavior of antennas, where the positive and negative charges are separated by a certain distance to create an electric field for transmitting and receiving signals.