Spherical Capacitor half filled with dielectric.

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the capacitance and electric field of a spherical capacitor partially filled with a dielectric. The capacitance is derived using the formula C = 4πε(r1r2/(r2 - r1)), with separate calculations for the upper and lower halves of the capacitor. The electric field E is expressed as E_upper = Q/(4πε₀r²) for the upper half and E_lower = Q/(4πkε₀r²) for the lower half. The surface charge densities and bound charge densities are also explored, emphasizing the relationship between free charge density and total charge density.

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  • Understanding of spherical capacitors and their configurations
  • Familiarity with dielectric materials and their properties
  • Knowledge of electric field calculations in electrostatics
  • Proficiency in using Gauss's Law for charge density calculations
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  • Study the derivation of capacitance for spherical capacitors with dielectrics
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  • Explore the concept of bound charge density in dielectric materials
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If anyone can help with this problem it would be greatly appreciated. I think I know what I'm doing, but am not sure of a couple things.
An isolated spherical capacitor has charge +Q on its inner conductor of radius r1 and charge -Q on its outer conductor of radius r2. half of the volume between the two conductors is then filled with a liquid dielectric of constant K.
a) find the capacitance of the capacitor.
b) find the magnitude of (electric field) E in the volume between the two conductors as a function of the distance r from the center of the capacitor. give answers for both the upper and lower halves of this volume.
c) find the surface density of free charge on the upper and lower halves of the inner and outer conductors.
d) what is the surface density of bound charge on the inner and outer surfaces of the dielectric.

So far I have attempted to calculate the capacitance using
C = 4*pi*epsilon*(r1*r2/r2 - r1)
for both the upper and lower halve of the sphere. This gives
c(upper) = 4*pi*epsilon_0*(r1*r2/r2 - r1)
c(lower) = 4*pi*k*(r1*r2/r2 - r1)
However I am not sure how to combine these.

for b) E_upper = Q/(4*pi*epsilon_0*r-sub-b^2)
E_lower = Q/(4*pi*k*epsilon_0*r-sub-b^2)

for c) D = epsilon_0*E
and this can be used to find surface density of free charge, but not sure how exactly.

for d) total charge density = Q/area
Can I take free charge density from total charge density to get bound charge density?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
 
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The potential difference V between the two conductors is the same for both the top and bottom halves, so think of the two halves as being two capacitors in parallel.
 

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