Potential at all points due to uniformly charged infinite cylinder

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the electric potential around an infinitely long cylinder with uniform charge density ρ. The key equation used is V(a) - V(b) = -∫ba E(r')°dr'ê, where the challenge arises from the divergence of the potential at infinity. The participant suggests using an arbitrary reference point instead of infinity due to the non-zero potential at that location. This approach is validated, but it is recommended to show detailed calculations for clarity.

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Homework Statement


Infinitely long cylinder of radius R with uniform charge ρ. Calculate the electric potential at all points in space.


Homework Equations



V(a)-V(b)=-∫ba[itex]\vec{E}[/itex]([itex]\vec{r}[/itex]')°dr'[itex]\hat{r}[/itex]

The Attempt at a Solution



Generally potential is calculated with a reference point at r=∞ but in the case of an infinite cylinder I believe the integral above would diverge because the potential at ∞ (V(∞)) would not necessarily equal zero. What I did then is simply provide an arbitrary r' vector as the reference point and went through the problem as one would normally do so with a non-infinite charged object. Is this okay? Do I have to do something extra because of the non-zero reference point?

Thank you!
 
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