Calculate Surface Integral F.ndS on Sphere at Origin

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the surface integral of the vector field F over a sphere centered at the origin. The vector field is defined as F = a * x^3 * i + b * y^3 * j + c * z^3 * k, where a, b, and c are constants. The user initially attempts to convert the integral into polar coordinates but struggles with the complexity of the expressions. The suggestion is made to perform the dot product in Euclidean coordinates, simplifying the integration process by converting the resulting scalar into polar coordinates.

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mmh37
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I am really struggling with this one:

Calculate [tex]\Int F.ndS[/tex], where

[tex]F = a * x^3 * i + b*y^3*j + c*z^3*k[/tex]

where a,b and c are constants,

over the surface of a sphere of radius a, centred at the origin.

note that F and n are vectors (sorry, tried to type them in bold...but it doesn't work)

___________________________________________________________

So, this is my attempt:

convert everything in polar coordinates and integrate it

where

dS = r^2*sinx*cosz (

for only a hemisphere though...I would multiply it by 2 afterwards to make it a sphere)

the final integral is then:

[tex]dS = \Int {a*dS} = \Int {r^3 (a*sin^3x*sin^3z + b*sin^3x*sin^3z + c*cos^3x) * r^2*sinx*cosz}[/tex]

And this is just a mess. What is wrong here?
 
Last edited:
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Try doing the dot product in Euclidean coordinates, but then still write the integral in polar coordiantes. The result of a dot product is a scalar, and the scalar will therefore be simpler to convert into polar coordinates than those nasty vectors.

Carl
 
Last edited:

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