Electric field due to a distributed charge over a ring

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the electric field at a point on the x-axis due to a uniformly charged ring. The user has derived the electric field components but is confused about the presence of a non-zero y-component, which they believe should cancel out. They question whether their expression for the unit vector r^ is correct, suspecting it may be contributing to the unexpected y-component. The response emphasizes that the unit vector r^ indeed has varying components that must be integrated over the ring, confirming that the y-component should be zero. The key takeaway is that the integration process needs to account for the symmetry of the charge distribution to ensure the correct electric field calculation.
henry3369
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Homework Statement


.A ring-shaped conductor with radius a = 0.025 m has a total positive charge Q = 0.125 x 10-9C uniformly distributed around it. The center of the ring is at the origin of coordinates O.

What is the electric field (magnitude and direction) at point , which is on the x-axis at x = 0.4m.

Homework Equations


dq = λ(ds)
Q = λ(2πr)
dE = ((k)(dq)/r2) * (r^)

The Attempt at a Solution


So I figured out how to solve the electric field using the equations above, but for some reason I am not getting 0 for the electric field in the y-direction. I know that it has to be zero because all the electric fields cancel out in the vertical direction so I'm assuming my value for r^ is incorrect. Is it supposed to be (0.4i^ + 0.025j^)/(r)? It seems like it should be ((0.4i^ + 0j^)/(r) in order to get 0 for the vertical direction. After solving I end up with E = (6.98i^ + 0.4364j^) and the electric field in the x-direction is correct, but I don't think there is supposed to be a field in the y-direction. So, can someone tell me if my value for r^ is correct?
 
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henry3369 said:
... so I'm assuming my value for r^ is incorrect. Is it supposed to be (0.4i^ + 0.025j^)/(r)?
By drawing a figure you should see that ##\hat{r}## will have y and z components that vary as you integrate over the ring.
 
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