FusionJim
- 56
- 11
This is the description of the thought experiment. There are two plates forming a parallel plate capacitor. Both plates are rectangular but one is large and long and the other is much smaller. Both are "charged up", the difference is that the smaller plate has surface charge across it's full surface area, meanwhile the larger plate only has surface charge within an area directly underneath the smaller plate.
The smaller plate is now moved across the larger plate , but plate separation distance is always kept the same.
My questions now are these.
1) Electron drift velocity in metals is very slow, what happens to the free electrons that form the surface charge on the lower larger plate if I move the smaller upper plate in a linear trajectory at a speed that greatly exceeds electron drift velocity in metals? Are the surface charges (electrons for example) moving along with the same speed?
2) When I move the smaller upper plate , the charge on the lower plate follows, this is called charge redistribution , does this effect is similar to a current that flows on the lower plate while the upper plate is moved?
3) Suppose I have multiple small plates in a row being moved over the much larger lower rectangular plate along the length axis of the plate, the charge on the lower plate follows the upper plates, what would I observe if I was an electron on the lower plate forming the surface charge?
If the upper plates moved with relativistic velocity would I as an electron on the lower plate observe stationary objects and charges adjacent to the stationary lower plate length contracted?
4) Can this same effect with physically moving plates against a stationary plate be simulated with a bunch of segmented plates being switched in sequence? In other words if I changed the moving upper plates with a bunch of stationary plates and switched them in sequence electronically , would it produce the same surface charge and current effects on the lower plate as with the physically moving plate?
And does the current in the lower plate resemble a current in a conductor from a stationary frame (also the frame for the lower plate is stationary)?
Thanks
The smaller plate is now moved across the larger plate , but plate separation distance is always kept the same.
My questions now are these.
1) Electron drift velocity in metals is very slow, what happens to the free electrons that form the surface charge on the lower larger plate if I move the smaller upper plate in a linear trajectory at a speed that greatly exceeds electron drift velocity in metals? Are the surface charges (electrons for example) moving along with the same speed?
2) When I move the smaller upper plate , the charge on the lower plate follows, this is called charge redistribution , does this effect is similar to a current that flows on the lower plate while the upper plate is moved?
3) Suppose I have multiple small plates in a row being moved over the much larger lower rectangular plate along the length axis of the plate, the charge on the lower plate follows the upper plates, what would I observe if I was an electron on the lower plate forming the surface charge?
If the upper plates moved with relativistic velocity would I as an electron on the lower plate observe stationary objects and charges adjacent to the stationary lower plate length contracted?
4) Can this same effect with physically moving plates against a stationary plate be simulated with a bunch of segmented plates being switched in sequence? In other words if I changed the moving upper plates with a bunch of stationary plates and switched them in sequence electronically , would it produce the same surface charge and current effects on the lower plate as with the physically moving plate?
And does the current in the lower plate resemble a current in a conductor from a stationary frame (also the frame for the lower plate is stationary)?
Thanks