What are the Boundary Conditions for Solving Poisson's Equation?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on determining the appropriate boundary conditions for solving Poisson's equation, specifically in the context of electrostatics where the potential \( V \) and local charge density \( \rho \) are involved. The equation is expressed as \( \nabla^2\phi = \frac{\rho_{free}}{\epsilon_0} \), indicating its dependence on the charge distribution. The method for solving this partial differential equation (PDE) hinges on the specific form of \( p(x,y,z) \) and the values of \( V \) along a closed surface, which defines \( V \) throughout the interior region.

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DivergentSpectrum
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As i understand, the purpose of laplaces/poissons equation is to recast the question from a geometrical one to a differential equation.
im trying to figure out what are the appropriate boundary conditions for poissons equation:
http://www.sciweavers.org/upload/Tex2Img_1418842096/render.png
where v is potential and p is the local charge density

Also, what method do i use to solve this equation? I can't remember a thing about pde's but i have some knowledge of ODE's. It appears linear Because V doesn't show up anywhere, and P is a function of x,y,z but I don't really know where to begin with this though.
 
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The boundary conditions will be v(x,y,z) and it's partials for some specific points.
The exact method to solve, and the best boundary conditions for that matter, will depend on the exact form of p(x,y,z).

Note: we'd normally write: $$\nabla^2\phi = \frac{\rho_{free}}{\epsilon_0}$$ ... since this does not assume a specific coordinate system.
 
So if i know V at all values along some closed surface then V is defined everywhere inside right?
 

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