Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/paper-2/3/c/solution

For , the fundamental solution of the Laplace equation in three dimensions is
Its sign follows from the flux: on a small sphere of radius , its outward radial derivative is , with total flux one.
Let and put the image point at . The method of images gives the Dirichlet Green function inside a sphere:
The image lies outside the ball, so its potential is harmonic inside. On , the identity makes the two terms cancel. The original source retains unit strength. For a source at the centre, take the limit:

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