Finding center of mass of surface of sphere contained within cone.

s3a
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Homework Statement


Problem (also attached as TheProblem.jpg):
Find the center of mass of the surface of the sphere x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = a^2 contained within the cone z tanγ = sqrt(x^2 + y^2), 0 < γ < π/2 a constant, if the density is proportional to the distance from the z axis.

Hint: R_cm = ∫∫_S δR dS / ∫∫_S δ dS, where δ is the density.

Solution:
The solution is attached as TheSolution.jpg.

Homework Equations


Spherical coordinates:
x = p sinϕ cosθ, y = p sinϕ sinθ, z = pcosθ
∫∫_E∫ f(x,y,z) dV = ∫∫_E∫ f(p sinϕ cosθ, p sinϕ sinθ, p cosθ) p^2 sinϕ dp dθ dϕ

The Attempt at a Solution


The first thing I'm stuck on is knowing what δ and dS are. How do I determine what those are (without “cheating” and looking at the solution)?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
 

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s3a said:

Homework Statement


Problem (also attached as TheProblem.jpg):
Find the center of mass of the surface of the sphere x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = a^2 contained within the cone z tanγ = sqrt(x^2 + y^2), 0 < γ < π/2 a constant, if the density is proportional to the distance from the z axis.

Hint: R_cm = ∫∫_S δR dS / ∫∫_S δ dS, where δ is the density.

Solution:
The solution is attached as TheSolution.jpg.

Homework Equations


Spherical coordinates:
x = p sinϕ cosθ, y = p sinϕ sinθ, z = pcosθ
∫∫_E∫ f(x,y,z) dV = ∫∫_E∫ f(p sinϕ cosθ, p sinϕ sinθ, p cosθ) p^2 sinϕ dp dθ dϕ

That isn't a relevant equation. Surface integrals are double integrals, not triple integrals. The radius of the sphere given as ##a##.

The Attempt at a Solution


The first thing I'm stuck on is knowing what δ and dS are. How do I determine what those are (without “cheating” and looking at the solution)?

Surely your text gives ##dS## for spherical coordinates. As for ##\delta##, what is the point on the ##z## axis nearest to ##(x,y,z)##? What is the distance from that point to ##(x,y,z)##? You could answer that in rectangular coordinates and change it to spherical, or write it directly from the figure in spherical coordinates as the solution does.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...

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