Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-optics-and-electrodynamics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/section-a/a3/solution
Past exam of the optics and electrodynamics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 Section A A3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
After field electron emission, let denote the plate separation of the parallel-plate capacitor, which the question does not specify. The uniform capacitor electric field has magnitude , and a nonrelativistic Electron of mass has constant acceleration magnitude . The sign of its charge affects the direction of the radiation field but not its radiated power.
In the supplied nonrelativistic Liénard-Wiechert field, . At polar angle to the acceleration, , henceThe outgoing Poynting vector has magnitude . Its radiated power per solid angle is thereforeUsing gives the Larmor formula and the requested constant power during the uniform-field part of the flight:The brackets in the given field require the acceleration at retarded time; the radiation reaches the far observer after the propagation delay. This derivation assumes that radiation reaction is a small correction to the acceleration and that the flight is nonrelativistic, for example for release from rest. Entry, emission and impact transients are not described by the uniform-field model. A result solely in terms of cannot be obtained without a plate spacing or a specified internal field.
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