Equipotential, can someone check my work?

In summary, a solid sphere with a temperature of +20C and a radius of 1m is surrounded by a conducting spherical shell with a temperature of -30C and radii of 2m and 3m, respectively. The inner surface charge of the conducting shell is -20C and the outer surface charge is -10C. When graphing V vs r, the regions with V values are: region 1 (r<1) with a V of 30k-10r^2, region 2 (1<r<2) with a V of 20k/r, region 3 (2<r<3) with a V of 0, and region 4 (r>3) with
  • #1
pyroknife
613
3
A solid sphere of +20C with radius a=1m. A conducting spherical shell of -30C with radius b=2m and c=3m is concentric with the solid sphere.

1. Find the inner and outer surface charge of the conducting spherical shell.

My attempt: I just eyeballed it and said -20C is on the inner shell b/c the +20C is attracting it and the rest -10C is on the outer shell.

2. Graph V vs r(the radius from the center).

My attempt: I calculated V at each of the regions.
region 1: r<1 the V due to a solid sphere is (kQ/2R)(3-r^2/R^2)=30k-10r^2
region 2: 1<r<2 V=kQ/r=20k/r
region 3: 2<r<3 r=0
region 4: r>3 V=-10k/r

I attached my graph which i drew on paint.
you can't see 0 between 2&3 but it's there.
 
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  • #2
Woops I forgot part 3.
Question 3 was to draw the electric field lines. I just drew 4 lines from the solid sphere to the inner radius of the spherical shell with the arrows pointing towards the shell. I drew another 4 lines approaching the outer spherical shell. There is no lines going thru in between the inner&outer radius b/c E=0 inside a conductor.
 
  • #3
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1. What is an equipotential?

An equipotential is a hypothetical surface in a physical field where all points have the same potential energy. This means that any point on an equipotential surface will experience the same amount of work to move a unit charge from that point to another point on the surface.

2. How are equipotential surfaces represented?

Equipotential surfaces are typically represented using contour lines on a graph or diagram. These lines connect points of equal potential energy and are usually spaced evenly to represent a constant potential gradient.

3. What is the significance of equipotential surfaces?

Equipotential surfaces are important because they help us understand the behavior of electric and gravitational fields. They also allow us to calculate the potential energy at different points within a field and determine the direction of the field's force on a charged particle.

4. How are equipotential surfaces related to electric fields?

Equipotential surfaces are always perpendicular to electric field lines. This means that if you draw a tangent line at any point on an equipotential surface, it will be parallel to the direction of the electric field at that point.

5. Can you give an example of an equipotential surface?

An example of an equipotential surface is the surface of a lake or pond. At any point on the surface of the water, the potential energy is the same, meaning that a floating object will experience the same amount of work to move from one point to another on the surface. This is because the force of gravity is acting equally on all points on the surface, creating an equipotential surface.

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