Chapter 52 of 2364 min read

Conductors and dielectrics

Why this is asked: A conductor in equilibrium is an equipotential throughout, but that doesn't mean its surface charge density is uniform — charge concentrates where curvature is sharpest, which is the entire physical basis for how a lightning rod works.

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Test yourself

•The plates of a parallel plate capacitor are separated by $d$ . Two slabs of different dielectric constants $K_{1}$ and $K_{2}$ , with thicknesses $\frac{3}{8} d$ and $\frac{d}{2}$ respectively, are inserted in the capacitor. Due to this, the capacitance becomes two times larger than when there is nothing between the plates. If $K_{1} = 1.25 K_{2}$ , the value of $K_{1}$ is:
•A thin spherical shell is charged by some source. The potential difference between the two points C and P (in V) shown in the figure is: (Take $\frac{1}{4 π ε _{0}} = 9 \times 1 0^{9}$ SI units.)

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