All Problems

Conductors and Dielectrics in an Electric Field

Problem 3.70

When an uncharged conducting ball of radius \(R\) is placed in an external uniform electric field, a surface charge density \(\sigma\) \(=\sigma_{0} \cos \theta\) is induced on the ball's surface (here \(\sigma_{0}\) is a constant, \(\theta\) is a polar angle). Find the magnitude of the resultant electric force acting on an induced charge of the same sign.

Reveal Answer
F=1/4πR2σ02/ε0F=1 / 4 \pi R^{2} \sigma_{0}^{2} / \varepsilon_{0}