Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-2-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2014/8/3/solution
Past exam of the physics 2 paper of the University of Oxford 2014 8 3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
At the distances from the two centres are equal:By the electrostatic shell theorem, a uniformly charged spherical shell gives zero field inside and its point-charge field outside. For the point is inside both shells. For only the small, negatively charged shell contributes. For both contribute, soThe requested magnitude isIt jumps from zero to at , decreases to just before , jumps down to just after , and then falls as . The ideal surface charge makes the field discontinuous at each crossing, so the one-sided limits, rather than a unique value on the sheet, specify the graph. The far field is the equatorial field of an electric dipole with electric dipole moment .
Geometry and electric-field magnitude for the two offset charged shells
. The open endpoints give the one-sided limits at the two surface crossings. The field is zero inside both shells and has a dipolar far-field tail. Details. New to topics? Read the docs here!
