A charge inside a ring, small oscillation

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the radial electric field and the frequency of small oscillations for a charge inside a ring using Gauss's Law and Newton's second law. The initial approach involved approximating the radial electric field at small displacements (denoted as δr) and calculating the frequency of oscillations. A key point of contention is whether the frequencies in the x and y directions will be equal despite the lack of symmetry in the problem. Participants emphasize the importance of maintaining sufficient terms in the approximations, specifically up to the order of (dr)², to ensure accuracy in the calculations.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Gauss's Law for electric fields
  • Familiarity with Newton's second law of motion
  • Basic knowledge of oscillatory motion and frequency calculations
  • Concept of electric potential and charge density
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the application of Gauss's Law in non-symmetric charge distributions
  • Explore the derivation of electric fields from potential functions
  • Investigate the relationship between charge density and electric field strength
  • Learn about small oscillation theory in classical mechanics
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Physicists, electrical engineers, and students studying electromagnetism and oscillatory motion, particularly those interested in the dynamics of charged particles in electric fields.

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Homework Statement
There is an insulator charged ring with linear charge density of ##\lambda =\lambda_0 \sin^2(\theta)##. There is a charge ##q## at the center of the ring. We push the charge forward at x direction ( assuming it is positive ), then we want to find the frequency of small oscillations of the charge. And we do the same thing in y dimension and we want the frequency of small oscillations in this direction too.
Relevant Equations
Gauss law
Laplace equation
Screenshot_20231217_015814_Samsung Notes.jpg

This is the picture of the problem. I attach my solution.
I first used a trick with gauss's law to calculate the radial electric field at first order of r. ( where r is small ) ( we can assume ##small r=\delta r##) I used a cylinder at the center of the ring then i calculated the ##\hat{z}## feild and with that i found the eletric field at r then I used newton second law to find the frequency of small oscillations. Now, the question is why the answer will be the same for every r?! It shouldn't be I think! Because the problem doesn't have symmetry. But my solution gives a radial electric field. Is it true that the y and x frequencies will be equal when calculating to the first order?! Or iam wrong?
 

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"insulator … with … current"?
I confess I do not understand the relevance of the ##\hat z## field. I would solve it by finding the potential at a small displacement d. In making the approximations, you will need to be careful to keep enough terms. I suggest everything up to ##(\frac dr)^2##.
 
haruspex said:
"insulator … with … current"?
I confess I do not understand the relevance of the ##\hat z## field. I would solve it by finding the potential at a small displacement d. In making the approximations, you will need to be careful to keep enough terms. I suggest everything up to ##(\frac dr)^2##.
Sorry I meant charge density.
 

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