Tutorial Electrostatics

1. Point charges 1mC and -2mC are located at (3, 2, -1) and (-1, -1, 4), respectively.
Calculate the
electric force on a 10nC charge located at (0, 3, 1) and the electric field intensity at that point.
2. Consider two line charges with linear charge densities of 𝜆 and – 𝜆 C/m respectively. The lines
are parallel to the z-axis and intersects the z=0 plane at P1 (-s, 0, 0) and P2 (s, 0, 0) respectively.
a. Obtain the equation for the field lines in z=0 plane
b. Also find the equation of the equipotential surfaces in the z=0 plane.
c. Draw the field lines and equipotential lines in the z=0 plane.
3. A coaxial cable has two concentric cylinders of radii a< b. The space between the two cylinders
is filled with materials of relative permittivities 𝜖𝑟1 for a < r < c and 𝜖𝑟2 for c < r <b. If the inner
cylinder is held at a potential V0 with respect to the outer cylinder, determine
̅ , 𝐸̅ , 𝑃̅ in the two regions.

a. 𝐷
b. The free surface charge densities on the cylinders and the boundary surface charge
density at the dielectric interface.
c. Determine the energy contained in the space between the two concentric cylinders.
4. Consider a straight line charge extending along z-axis from −∞ to +∞. If the line is charged
with unifrm charge density of 𝜆 C/m, find its electric field distribution. You can use cylindrical
coordinate system for its symmetry.
5. Consider an infinitely extended sheet of charge having uniform density of 𝜎 𝐶/𝑚2 is placed
on xy plane. find its electric field distribution.
6. Two point charges of equal magnitude 𝑞 are positioned at 𝑧 = ±𝑑/2. (a) find the electric field
distribution everywhere on z-axis. (b) find the electric field everywhere on the xy plane. (c)
also find out the potential everywhere on the xy plane.
7. A charged filament forms a circle of radius a in the xy plane with its center at the origin. The
𝜋 𝜋 𝜋
filament carries uniform charge density +𝜆 𝐶/𝑚2 from − 2 < 𝜙 < 2 and −𝜆 𝐶/𝑚2 from 2 <
3𝜋
𝜙< 2
. Find the electric field intensity at the origin.
8. Two identical uniform sheet charges with 𝜎 = 100𝑛𝐶/𝑚2 are located in free space at 𝑧 =
±2.0𝑐𝑚. what force per unit area does each sheet exert on the other?
9. A disk of radius a in xy plane carries uniform surface charge density. Find the electric field
intensity everywhere on the z axis. What does your formula give in the limit 𝑅 → ∞?
𝜎0
10. A disk of radius a in xy plane carries surface charge of density 𝜎
𝐶/𝑚2 , where 𝜎0 is a constant.
Find the electric field intensity everywhere on the z axis.
11. Find the electric field a distance z above the center of a square loop of a filament (side a)
carrying uniform line charge density 𝜆 C/m.
12. Suppose the electric field in some region is found to be 𝐸̅ = 𝑘𝑟 3 𝑟̂ , in spherical coordinates,
where k is some constant. Find the charge density 𝜌. Also find the total charge contained in a
sphere of radius R, centered at the origin.
13. Show that the electric field distribution outside a charged solid metallic sphere is same as a
point charge (with same magnitude) placed at its origin.
𝑘
14. A hollow spherical shell carries charge density 𝜌 = 2 , where k is a constant, in a region 𝑎 ≤
𝑟
𝑟 ≤ 𝑏. Find the electric field in the three regions: (i) r<a, (ii) a<r<b, (iii) r>b. Also plot E as a
function of r.
15. Check which of the following expressions is not an electric field:
a. 𝐸̅ = 𝑘[𝑥𝑦𝑥̂ + 2𝑦𝑧𝑦̂ + 3𝑥𝑧𝑧̂ ]
b. 𝐸̅ = 𝑘[𝑦 2 𝑥̂ + (2𝑥𝑦 + 𝑧 2 )𝑦̂ + 2𝑦𝑧𝑧̂ ]
Where k is some constant.
16. Consider a spherical shell of radius R, which carries a uniform surface charge. Find the
electrostatic potential inside and outside of the sphere. You will notice that although the
electric field inside the sphere is zero, the potential is constant in this region.
17. Use Gauss’s law to find the electric field inside and outside a spherical shell of radius R, which
carries a uniform surface charge density of 𝜎.
18. Find the potential at a distance s from an infinitely long straight wire that carries a uniform
line charge 𝜆. Compute the gradient of your potential and check if that results in the same
expression as Q4.
19. Three charges of – 𝑞 are situated at the corners of a square, as shown in

figure. How much work does it take to bring in another charge +𝑞 from
far away and place it in the fourth corner? What is the total amount of
work done to assemble all these charges?
20. Find the capacitance of two concentric spherical metal shells, with radii a
and b.
21. Find the capacitance per unit length of two coaxial metal
cylinder tubes, of radius a and b.
22. In figure, ̅̅̅

𝑝1 and ̅̅̅
𝑝2 are dipoles a distance r apart. What is the
torque on ̅̅̅
𝑝1 due to ̅̅̅?
𝑝2 Calculate the torque on the dipole about
its own center.
23. Consider an electric field intensity in free space that has the following expression:
𝜎0 𝑎 −𝑟2 /𝑎2
𝐸̅ = 𝑒 𝑟̂
𝜖0
Where 𝜎0 and a are some constants. Assume that the field exists everywhere.
a) What charge density would produce this field?
b) What total charge is present?
c) What is the potential at the origin?
d) What is the net stored energy in the field?
24. A dipole for which 𝑝̅ = 10𝜀0 𝑧̂ 𝐶. 𝑚 is located at the origin. What is the equation of the surface
on which ̅̅̅
𝐸𝑧 = 0 but 𝐸̅ ≠ 0?
25. A copper sphere of radius 4 cm carries a uniformly distributed total charge of 5𝜇𝐶 in free
space.
̅ external to the sphere.

a) Use Gauss’s law to find 𝐷
b) Calculate the total energy stored in the electrostatic field.
26. A slab of Teflon is located in the region 0 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑎, and assume free space everywhere else.
̅ , 𝐸̅ , 𝑃̅ inside
Outside the Taflon there is a uniform field 𝐸𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝐸0 𝑥̂ 𝑉/𝑚. Find the values of 𝐷
and outside the Taflon slab. Consider Teflon’s dielectric constant to be 2.1.
27. Given 𝐽 ̅ = −10−4 [𝑦𝑥̂ + 𝑥𝑦̂] 𝐴/𝑚2 , find the current crossing the 𝑦 = 0 plane in the –𝑦̂
direction between 𝑧 = 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 1, and 𝑥 = 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 2.
28. Consider a parallel plate capacitor with two different dielectrics as shown in figure. Find the
total capacitance.
29. Consider a coaxial cable with a cross section shown in figure. The coaxial cable is filled with a
dielectric of dielectric constant 𝜀1 . Find the capacitance per unit length.

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1. Point charges 1mC and -2mC are located at (3, 2, -1) and (-1, -1, 4), respectively.

a. Obtain the equation for the field lines in z=0 plane

̅ , 𝐸̅ , 𝑃̅ in the two regions.

15. Check which of the following expressions is not an electric field:

a. 𝐸̅ = 𝑘[𝑥𝑦𝑥̂ + 2𝑦𝑧𝑦̂ + 3𝑥𝑧𝑧̂ ]

b. 𝐸̅ = 𝑘[𝑦 2 𝑥̂ + (2𝑥𝑦 + 𝑧 2 )𝑦̂ + 2𝑦𝑧𝑧̂ ]

Where k is some constant.

19. Three charges of – 𝑞 are situated at the corners of a square, as shown in

22. In figure, ̅̅̅

a) What charge density would produce this field?

b) What total charge is present?

c) What is the potential at the origin?

d) What is the net stored energy in the field?

̅ external to the sphere.

b) Calculate the total energy stored in the electrostatic field.

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