- #1
TheSodesa
- 224
- 7
Homework Statement
In classical physics, a system's magnetic moment can be written like so: [tex]\mu = g\frac{Q}{2M}L,[/tex] where ##Q## is the total charge, ##M## is the total mass of the system and ##L## the angular momentum.
a) Show, that for a cylinder (##I = \frac{1}{2}MR^2##) spinning around its axis of symmetry, and that has an even charge distribution on its surface, the value of ##g = 2##. (Think! Don't integrate.)
correct answer: 2
b) Calculate ##g## for a sphere of radius ##R## whose charge is concentrated on it's equator.
(Again, think. Do not integrate.)
correct answer: ##\frac{5}{2}##
Homework Equations
Moment of inertia for a cylinder:
\begin{equation}
I_c = \frac{1}{2} MR^2
\end{equation}
Moment of inertia for a sphere:
\begin{equation}
I_s = \frac{2}{5} MR^2
\end{equation}
The magnectic moment:
\begin{equation}
\mu = g\frac{Q}{2M}L
\end{equation}
The Attempt at a Solution
[/B]
Alright, let's start out by solving for ##g## in ##(3)##:
\begin{equation}
g = \frac{2M\mu}{QL}
\end{equation}
For a cylinder this becomes:
\begin{equation}
g = \frac{2M\mu}{Q \frac{1}{2}MR^2} = \frac{4\mu}{QR^2}
= 2 \frac{2\mu}{QR^2},
\end{equation}
and for the sphere:
\begin{equation}
g = \frac{2M\mu}{Q \frac{2}{5}MR^2} = \frac{5}{2} \frac{2\mu}{QR^2}
\end{equation}
Now for a cylinder the surface charge can be written:
\begin{equation}
Q = \sigma A = \sigma (2\pi R h + 2\pi R^2),
\end{equation}
where ##\sigma## is the charge density, ##A## the surface area, ##R## the cylinder radius and ##h## its height.
For a sphere, whose charge is on its equator this is:
\begin{equation}
Q = \sigma C = \sigma (2\pi R).
\end{equation}
Plugging ##(7)## into ##(5)##:
\begin{equation}
g = \frac{2M\mu}{Q \frac{1}{2}MR^2} = 2\frac{2\mu}{ \sigma (2\pi R h + 2\pi R^2) R^2}
\end{equation}
Again, for the sphere ##(6)## this is:
\begin{equation}
g = \frac{5}{2} \frac{2\mu}{ \sigma (2 \pi R) R^2}
\end{equation}
This is where I'm stuck. It looks like, looking at the correct answers, that once we solve for ##g##, we should end up with the inverses of the coefficients in ##(1)## and ##(2)##, meaning
\begin{equation}
\frac{2\mu}{QR^2} = 1
\end{equation}
in both cases.
For a single particle rotating in a circle, ##\mu = \frac{q}{2m}L = \frac{q}{2m} mR^2 \omega = \frac{q \omega}{2} R^2 = \frac{qmRv}{2}##, but surely I can't use that to cancel out any ##R##s, since in ##(3)##, ##\mu## is the magnetic moment of the entire system. Also, ##\sigma## isn't going anywhere even if I do manage to cancel out the areas/circumferences.
In short, what am I missing here?
Last edited: