Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / Paper 1 / Section B

The method of images replaces induced charges or currents on a boundary by fictitious sources outside the physical region, chosen to satisfy that boundary's conditions. For example, a point charge $q$ a height $d$ above a grounded conducting plane has an image $-q$ at the reflected point. The sum has zero potential on the plane, and the electrostatic uniqueness theorem identifies it with the physical solution in the upper half-space. Images do not describe a second physical charge below the metal.

For the superconducting plane, use the different boundary condition $B_z=0$ at its surface: magnetic flux cannot enter the ideal bulk. Choose the real ring moment $\mathbf{m}=m\hat{z}$, where $m=I\pi R^2$, at $z=h$. Its image has moment $-m\hat{z}$ at $z=-h$. This superconducting plane image dipole makes the normal fields cancel at $z=0$, while their tangential fields add. The image is a computational continuation; the physical field inside the plane is zero. The original sketch shows the dipole-scale field, appropriate to $h\gg R$; the fine field close to the ring wire is outside that approximation.

In the vacuum region the magnetic scalar potential isAt the surface $z=0$, it reduces to $-mh/[2\pi ({\rho }^2+h^2{)}^{3/2}]$. Its tangential derivative therefore givesBoth $B_z$ and $B_{\varphi }$ vanish there; the sign is inward radially for the chosen positive moment. The expression is the leading dipole result, not an exact finite-ring formula at arbitrary $R/h$.

For the force, calculate the external image field on the axis near the real dipole:Differentiate this field with the image location held fixed, then evaluate at $z=h$. The dipole levitation force above a superconducting plane isdirected upward. Differentiating a substituted separation $2h$ while moving both dipoles in the force derivative would incorrectly double the result.

To levitate ring mass $M$, balance this force against $Mg$:A light, thin wire and the smallest practical gap reduce current. At fixed gap and wire cross-section $s$, $M=2\pi Rs{\rho }_w$ gives $I_{\mathrm{lev}}\propto h^2\sqrt{s{\rho }_w}/R^{3/2}$, favouring a larger ring until the dipole-limit constraint on $R/h$ matters. There is no unique least current without geometric and material constraints. As a geometrically consistent order-of-magnitude example, take $R=1\mathrm{mm}$, $h=10\mathrm{mm}$, wire radius $50\mu \mathrm{m}$ and an assumed metallic-scale density ${\rho }_w=6.0\times 10^3\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$. Then $M=2.96\times 10^{-7}\mathrm{kg}$ and $I_{\mathrm{lev}}\simeq 2.8\times 10^2\mathrm{A}$. The large value reflects the weak $h^{-4}$ force in the stipulated far-field geometry. Uniformly shrinking this geometrical example reduces current as size to the power $3/2$, but increases required electric current density; arbitrarily thin wire is therefore not a free optimization.

This balance estimate is not a verified superconducting design. The actual wire must carry that current without quenching, its self-field counts toward the limit, the plane must remain in its assumed flux-excluding state, and leads or supports add load. Transport critical-current measurements specify temperature, applied field and the voltage criterion rather than a material-independent limiting current.^[ref]

Faraday's law for the moving loop is $\mathcal{E}=-d{\Phi }_B/dt$, equivalently $\mathcal{E}=\oint (\mathbf{E}+\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B})\cdot d\mathbf{\ell }$ for its moving circuit. Lenz's law fixes its orientation: the induced current opposes the change in linked magnetic flux. The minus sign represents this opposition, not opposition to the existing field in every phase of motion.

Unroll the small loop's motion locally into translation to the right at speed $v\simeq b\omega$, where $b$ is the radius marked in the source figure. Take the imposed field into the page. On entry the linked into-page flux increases, so the current is counterclockwise. The leading vertical side carries current upward and feels a leftward magnetic force $iBa$. The in-field parts of the horizontal sides feel equal opposite vertical forces; the trailing side is outside the field. On exit the current is clockwise. The trailing vertical side is now the one in the field and again carries upward current, producing leftward drag; the horizontal forces reverse and still cancel. When the entire loop is within the uniform region, its flux is constant, so $i=0$ and every side force is zero under the stated negligible-self-inductance approximation.

For a loop crossing a magnetic field boundary, overlap changes at rate $av$, henceFor approximately constant speed this gives two negative rectangular force pulses of duration $a/v$, separated by a short zero-force interval while the loop is fully inside. Their time integral isThe quoted impulse is its magnitude; this impulse of magnetic braking opposes the motion. In fact its independence of speed remains exact within this locally translational sharp-boundary model even if speed changes: each crossing contributes $-(B^2{a}^2/R)\int vdt=-(B^2{a}^2/R)\int dx$ over distance $a$.

Write the system's moment of inertia as $\mathcal{I}$. Since $d{K}_{\mathrm{rot}}/dt=\tau \omega =F_{x}b\omega =F_{x}v$, the local energy balance during overlap isThus rotational energy lost is exactly resistive heat in this model. At nearly constant $v$, each pass givesFor a finite speed reduction the exact relation is the integral of $i(t{)}^{2}R$, rather than initial speed times impulse; the equality of work and heating still holds. Fringing fields, loop curvature and finite self-inductance smooth the ideal pulses. A practical user control is to vary the electromagnet current, hence $B$: braking scales as $B^2$.

Use peak phasors with time dependence $e^{-i\omega t}$, real positive electrical conductivity $\sigma$, and absolute permeability ${\mu }_a=\mu {\mu }_0$. Ampère-Maxwell equation and Faraday equations giveso ${ϵ}^{\prime }=ϵ+i\sigma /(\omega {ϵ}_0)$. The sign of the imaginary term follows from the stated time convention. For a transverse plane wave in a homogeneous conductor,In the good-conductor limit, choose the root that decays into $z>0$:The electric phasor and physical field are consequently ${\tilde{E}}_x=E_0{e}^{(i-1)z/\delta }$ and $E_x=\mathrm{Re}[E_0{e}^{i(z/\delta -\omega t)-z/\delta }]$, as required. Tangential boundary matching sets $E_0$; it need not equal the incident amplitude.

Faraday's law fixes the magnetic field, including its phase:For real $E_0$ and $\psi =z/\delta -\omega t$, this means $H_y=E_0{e}^{-z/\delta }(\cos \psi -\sin \psi )/(\omega {\mu }_a\delta )$, with other components zero. The time-averaged Poynting vector isThe energy entering a thin slab exceeds that leaving it by $-d⟨N_z⟩/dz$ per unit volume, givingDirectly, $\mathbf{J}=\sigma \mathbf{E}$ and $\mathbf{J}\cdot \mathbf{E}=J^2/\sigma$ at each time. Therefore $⟨J^2/\sigma ⟩=\sigma |{\tilde{E}}_x{|}^2/2$ is exactly this loss. The factors one half use peak rather than root mean square phasors; amplitude decays over $\delta$, while intensity decays over $\delta /2$.

For a cold collisionless unmagnetized plasma, electron inertia gives $\tilde{\sigma }=i{ϵ}_0{\omega }_p^2/\omega$ and real ${ϵ}^{\prime }=1-{\omega }_p^2/{\omega }^2$. Above the plasma frequency the wave propagates without this resistive attenuation. Below it, a semi-infinite plasma supports an evanescent field with electric and magnetic components in quadrature and zero mean inward energy flux: the incident energy is reflected, not absorbed as Joule heating. electron kinetic energy is reversibly stored, so the nondispersive dielectric field-energy formula alone is incomplete. Collisions introduce a real dissipative electrical conductivity and can produce absorption.^[ref]

For a linear nondispersive medium with real absolute permittivity ${ϵ}_a=ϵ{ϵ}_0$ and permeability ${\mu }_0$, instantaneous field energy density and energy flux arewith local balance ${\partial }_{t}u+\nabla \cdot \mathbf{N}=-\mathbf{J}\cdot \mathbf{E}$. energy stored locally and energy passing through a surface are distinct: integrating the balance relates their rates and the power given to charges.

Between the coaxial conductors, cylindrical Gauss and Ampère laws giveThe inner line charge is $\lambda =2\pi {ϵ}_{a}V/\ln (b/a)$, so the capacitance per length is $C=2\pi {ϵ}_a/\ln (b/a)$. Integrating magnetic energy over the annulus gives $\int B^2(2\pi rdr)/(2{\mu }_0)={\mu }_0{I}^2\ln (b/a)/(4\pi )=L{I}^2/2$, hence $L={\mu }_0\ln (b/a)/(2\pi )$. ThusThese are per-length parameters for ideal conductors, excluding internal magnetic penetration.

Now let the voltage and current amplitudes be $V_0,I_0$ and multiply both transverse fields by $e^{i(kz-\omega t)}$. Their divergences vanish in the annular dielectric. The two nontrivial curl equations reduce toConsequently both $k^2={\omega }^2{\mu }_0{ϵ}_a$ and $V_0=Z_0{I}_0$ are required for a forward wave. Arbitrary independent static $V$ and $I$ cannot acquire the same forward-wave factor and still satisfy Maxwell's equations. This TEM travelling-wave voltage-current relation and the dispersion constraint identify the transverse electromagnetic mode and its speed $v_p=1/\sqrt{LC}$.

For the travelling wave, $⟨N_z⟩=\mathrm{Re}(V_0{I}_0^{\ast })/[4\pi r^2\ln (b/a)]$. Integrating over the dielectric annulus yieldsThis is the familiar circuit power, carried here through the dielectric rather than through the ideal metal. In root mean square notation it is $V_{\mathrm{rms}}{I}_{\mathrm{rms}}$ for the forward lossless wave; the corresponding static fields give $VI$ without a time-average factor. The average line energy is $(C|V_0{|}^2+L|I_0{|}^2)/4=C|V_0{|}^2/2$, whose product with wave speed agrees with the power.

Finite conductor resistance requires a small longitudinal electric field to drive current. Its cross product with the azimuthal magnetic field produces a radial Poynting component into each conductor: inward radially at the inner conductor and outward radially into the outer conductor. This Poynting flux into lossy coaxial conductors explains why forward power decreases along the cable as energy becomes heat in the metal. The mode is then only approximately TEM; strictly zero longitudinal electric field would be inconsistent with resistive current.