Electric Field/Gauss' law of cylinder and shell

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on applying Gauss' Law to solve a problem involving electric fields around a cylindrical charge distribution. The key challenge is determining the charge per unit length (λ) to calculate the electric field (E) at various points: inside the cylinder, between the cylinder and the shell, and outside the shell. The solution requires using cylindrical coordinates and understanding the relationship between the electric field and the charge density (ρ). A Gaussian cylinder with a radius of 2 cm is suggested for the analysis.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Gauss' Law and its mathematical formulation.
  • Familiarity with cylindrical coordinates in physics.
  • Knowledge of charge density (ρ) and charge per unit length (λ).
  • Ability to apply electric field concepts to cylindrical geometries.
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the derivation and application of Gauss' Law in electrostatics.
  • Learn how to calculate electric fields using cylindrical coordinates.
  • Explore the concept of charge density and its implications in electric field calculations.
  • Practice solving problems involving electric fields around cylindrical charge distributions.
USEFUL FOR

Students and educators in physics, particularly those focusing on electromagnetism, as well as anyone looking to deepen their understanding of electric fields and Gauss' Law in cylindrical systems.

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Homework Statement


http://img244.imageshack.us/my.php?image=a1physicsmt8.png


Homework Equations


Gauss' Law


The Attempt at a Solution


It may be that I'm sick with a cold and can't think straight, but I"m not seeing any way to approach this problem using Gauss' law. I tried using a few prederived formulas, but like for the first part of this 5 part problem, I need the charge/length in order to find out E. I don't have that value, and I did try using rho as lambda, and got it wrong. I also have to find the charge at values inbetween the cylinder and the shell, outside the shell, and on the inner shell.

Some help would be nice, as I can't see how to do this by hand right now.
 
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Consider a Gaussian cylinder with radius of 2 cm. This cylinder is within the green cylindrical charge distribution. Gauss's Law is

\oint_{S}\vec{E}\cdot\vec{dA}=\frac{1}{\epsilon_{0}}\int_{V}\rho dV

Use cylindrical coordinates, the given charge density, and the fact that the electric field is parallel to your Gaussian surface's normal vector to solve this.

Note that S is the surface area of your Gaussian cylinder and V is the volume within it.
 
Using a cylindrical Gaussian surface will give E in terms of charge/unit length. So, let the Gaussian surface be

2\pi\mbox{rl}

where l is a unit length. Then the charged enclosed per unit length within this surface is the volume within the surface times the charge density for r less than the radius of the inner conductor.
 

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