Knoll (knob/bump) on the plate of the capacitor

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves analyzing the electric field around a flat charged capacitor plate that has a small hemispherical knoll on its inner surface. The original poster seeks to apply the principle of superposition to determine the electric field at both the top and the base of the knoll, given that the electric field away from the knoll is equal to E₀.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster considers modeling the knoll as either a plate with a hole and an inserted sphere or as a plate with a hemisphere lying on it. Some participants question the implications of the knoll's shape on the electric field, particularly noting that if the knoll protrudes, the electric field at its base may be zero due to its connection to the metalization.

Discussion Status

The discussion includes various interpretations of the problem setup, with participants exploring different models and assumptions. While one participant claims to have found a solution involving dipole moments and superposition, there is no explicit consensus on the approach or the correctness of the interpretations presented.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note the need for a visual representation to clarify the problem, indicating that the current descriptions may lack sufficient detail for accurate analysis.

sergiokapone
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Homework Statement


The inner surface of one of the plates
flat charged capacitor has a small hemispherical knoll.
Away from it the electric field in the capacitor is equal to ## E_0 ##. Using the principle of superposition find the field at the top and at the base of the knoll.

Homework Equations


Field near metall surface ##E = \frac{\sigma}{\epsilon_0}## (SI units)

The Attempt at a Solution


The idea is to represent plate with knoll as two different things. May be as a plate with hole with the inserted in it sphere, or as a plate with hemisphere lying thereon. Need some help.
 
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Is this your problem?
 
need picture.
if the knoll protrudes from the plate then the bottom is part of the metalization and the E field there = 0.
 
I found solution. Let's start with the model:
403a07446e9060338a7f7a080574c4c4.png


Dipole momentum of the sphere

\begin{equation}
p = \frac{3}{4\pi}VE_0 = r^3 E_0\label{p}.
\end{equation}

Field of the dipole in general
\begin{equation}
\vec E = \frac{3(\vec p\vec r)}{r^5}\vec r - \frac{\vec p}{r^3}. \label{dipE}
\end{equation}

Field of the dipole at the top
\begin{equation}
\vec E_\text{dip} = \frac{2\vec p}{r^3} = 2\vec E_0. \label{dipEup}
\end{equation}

Due to supperposition principle
\begin{equation}
\vec E = \vec E_0 + \vec E_\text{dip} = 3\vec E_0.
\end{equation}

Field of the dipole at the base
\begin{equation}
\vec E = - \frac{\vec p}{r^3}. \label{dipEbase} = - \vec E_0
\end{equation}

Due to supperposition principle
\begin{equation}
\vec E = \vec E_0 + \vec E_\text{dip} = 0.
\end{equation}
 

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