All Problems

Electric Oscillations

Problem 4.94

Due to a certain cause the free electrons in a plane copper plate shifted over a small distance \(x\) at right angles to its surface. As a result, a surface charge and a corresponding restoring force emerged, giving rise to so-called plasma oscillations. Find the angular frequency of these oscillations if the free electron concentration in copper is \(n=0.85 \cdot 10^{29} \mathrm{~m}^{-1}\).

Reveal Answer
ω=ne2/ε0m=1.651016 s1\omega=\sqrt{n e^{2} / \varepsilon_{0} m}=1.65 \cdot 10^{16} \mathrm{~s}^{-1}