124 12 ELECTRIC CURRENTS Electrostatics deals with relations among electric charges that are at rest, The next principal division of electromagnetism that we will consider—magnetostatics—involves forces between moving charges, A flow of electric charge is called an electric current, and, in this chapter, we want to devise useful ways of describing these currents in general. We will also discuss some aspects of a particular class of currents, those in conductors. CURRENT AND CURRENT DENSITIES Suppose that we have someone stationed at a point P observing charges passing that point; these charges may be traveling along a metal wire or may be simply a beam of Charged particles moving through space. In any event, we assume that in a time interval ‘Ar, our observer finds that a charge Aq has passed P. Then we can define the average current (I) during this interval as the average rate of flow of charge Aq Ona Later, we will be more specific about how Ag or {/) could be measured but if, for example, the current were due (0 a flow of protons, each of charge e, then the ‘measurement process could be imagined as being simply one of counting. Thus, if N protons passed by in this interval, Aq = Ne and (7) = Ne/At. As is implied by (12-1), the “direction” or sense of the current is defined as that of the flow of positive charge. If the moving charges had a negative charge, for example if they were electrons, the direction of (I) would be opposite to their direction of motion. The reason for this is quite simple. Suppose the region around a point originally were neutral, that is, had equal amounts of positive and negative charge. Then if negative charges were leaving this region, it would acquire an excess of positive charge which is the same net effect as if positive charges were coming into the region. If the flow of charge is not uniform in time, we can define an instantaneous current I as the instantaneous rate of flow of charge: aq at For some time, we will be concerned with currents that are constant in time so that = const, and (/) = J. These are called steady curremis or stationary currents and describe a uniform rate of flow of charge "AS we noted in Section 2-2, the unit of charge is actually defined in terms of the unit of current which is called an ampere, so that, according to (12-1), 1 coulomb = 1 ampere-second. The ampere itself is defined in terms of the force between currents and ‘we will give it a precise definition in the next chapter. Tes often convenient to think of the current as traveling along a geometric curve, as illustrated in Figure 12-1 where the arrow head indicates the direction of J and ds is a displacement along the line in the sense of /. This idealized situation could usefully be (24) (12-2) 20212-1 CURRENT AND CURRENT DENSITIES 203 %e Figure 12-1. A filamentary current. taken to describe the flow of charge in a very thin wire or in a beam of small cross-sectional area. Such currents are called filamentary currents. However, we will also need to consider situations in which the flow of charge is distributed throughout a volume or on a surface, and we want to have suitable descriptions of them. We can do this by introducing the current densities. ‘The first of these is the volume current density J. Its direction is that of the direction of flow of charge and its magnitude J is given by the current per unit area through an area set perpendicular to the flow, or it is charge per unit time per unit area. We can simultaneously illustrate this definition and obtain a useful relation by considering the situation of Figure 12-2. Let us find the charge Ag, which, in a time Ar, has passed through the small area Aa on the left, which is perpendicular to J. By (12-1), Ag = (yar = (J) Aa At since (J) is average current per unit area. But all of the charge that has passed through Aa is contained within the volume Ar of the cylinder of, length A/, so that, if we use (2-14), we also have Aq = pAr = pA/Aa where p is the volume charge density. Equating these two expressions for Ag, and canceling the common factor Aa, we find that (J) = p(Al/At) = pv) where (v) is the average speed of the charges. Now this relation clearly holds instantaneously, as well as on the average, and since the direction of J is defined as that of the direction of flow, which is vy, we can write =v (12-3) If the moving charges are of different types with densities p, and corresponding velocities v,, then we see that, in Av, the charge of type / that has passed through will be Aq, = pjlyj| Aa Ae. Then the total of all kinds will be Ag = E,p,|v,| At Aa, and gives us the natural generalization of (12-3) in the form 3~ Lew, (12-4) By comparing these last two results, we sce that we can still use (12-3) in the general case by taking p as the total volume charge density and y as an average velocity, weighted by the densities p,, much as in the calculation of the velocity of the center of ‘mass of a collection of mass points. Now suppose that J and an element of area da are not parallel as is shown in Figure 12-3. We can find the charge that has passed through da in a time dt in a manner similar to that we used for Figure 12-2. This time the total charge would be that Figure 12-2. Calculation of volume current density.204 ELECTRIC CURRENTS Figure 12-3. The current Figure 12-4, Calculation of total density and element of area are rate of flow of charge through the not parallel. area S, contained in the cylinder of slant height di and volume dl cos ¥ da and would be given by dq = pal cos ¥da = pv cos ¥ da dt = py dadt = J+ da di with the use of (12-3), ‘Therefore, the rate of flow of charge through da will be (3). ws If we consider an arbitrary surface S as shown in Figure 12-4, we can find the total rate at which charge is flowing through it by adding up the contributions ofall the elements dda as given by (12-5). Thus we get a a ee 12.6 (Fanans” SP (26) which is sometimes called the flux of charge. In (12-6), S can be either an open surface or a closed surface. It, for some reason, the moving charges can be thought of as being constrained to flow on a surface, we can define a surface current density K. Its direction is that of the direction of flow of charge and its magnitude K is defined as equal to the current per tant lengch through a line lying in the surface and oriented perpendicular to the flow. ‘This definition is indicated schematically in Figure 12-54. In Figure 12-5b, we illustrate a situation where K is not at right angles to the line ds; the unit vector tis drawn at Tight angles to ds and lying on the surface, as does K, so that itis a tangential vector. By using methods analogous to those by which we obtained (12-3) and (12-5), we can show that K=ov (a2) D (4) = |K-t\ds (12-8) to where o is the surface charge density. Similarly, fora filamentary current, one obtains T=XWv (129) where A is the linear charge density of the flow. Tn subsequent discussions, we will be constantly dealing with what is known as a current element and itis convenient to introduce it here. For the filamentary current ofFoal 12:2 THE EQUATION OF CONTINUITY 205 Ley J ze o @ Figure 12-5, (a) Definition of surface current density K. (b) K is not perpendicular to the Figure 12-6, Calculation of equivalents to a current element. Figure 12-1, it is defined simply as the product ds. In order to get an equivalent to this for distributed currents, we consider Figure 12-6a in which d4 is the small cross-sectional area of the filament. Since the flow is normal to the cross section, we see from (12-5) that J = JdA so that Ids = Jd ds = J dr where dr is the volume of the element shown shaded. Since J and ds are parallel in this case, we get Ids = Jdr. Similarly, for a surface current, we get the correspondence ds = K da where da is the ‘area dlds of the element shown shaded in Figure 12-66. Thus we have the following, ‘equivalent expressions for current elements: Ids = Jdr = Kda (12-10) ‘These results also show the reasons for the names “volume” and “surface” current densities. 12:2 THE EQUATION OF CONTINUITY In the introduction to Chapter 2, we mentioned that all experiments indicate that net charge is conserved. We can express this fundamental law of conservation of charge in a convenient quantitative manner in terms of the quantities we have just introduced. Suppose that, in Figure 12-4, the surface $ is a closed stationary surface bounding a volume V. Now the total rate at which charge is flowing out through the surface S must206 ELECTRIC CURRENTS equal the rate at which the total charge within V is decreasing, since the total must be constant, Therefore, if @ is the total charge within V, we find from (12-6), (2-14), and (1-59) that 40 d a 20 fs. da= - 2 fare -f Par= a - a fh ale Sqara fy 34 (24) We were able to go from the third expression to the fourth as we did because V is a volume of constant shape and size so that any limits of integration which may be involved in the definite integral over V are independent of the time; in addition, p may be a function of position as well as of time. Combining the last two expressions in flea) = (12.12) Since charge is conserved at all points, not at just part of a given volume, the integral must hold for any arbitrary volume, including an arbitrarily small one located any- where. Thus (12-12) can be always true only if the integrand is zero everywhere so that s+ 20 2 vst ee (12.43) ‘This important result is called the equation of continuity and is a mathematical expression of the fundamental experimental result that net charge is conserved. We can note here that provesses like “pair production” and “annihilation” of, say, electrons land positrons, do not violate this result because the net charge is constant since equal amounts of positive and negative charge are “created” or “destroyed” in these phenomena. Similar results are found to hold in more complicated reactions in nuclear End high energy physics where large numbers of particles are produced; in all cases, the net charge is conserved If we now combine (12-13) with (9-6) and (9-24), we get the boundary condition satisfied by the current density at a surface of discontinuity as a0 a Physically, this condition expresses the fact that if more charge is brought up to the surface than is taken away, charge will necessarily accumulate there, and conversely. In the special case of steady currents, in which everything is constant in time, ap/0t and 40/41 will both be zero, and these last two results simplify to vid=0 (12-15) fe - Jy Since all charge is conserved, p and J are clearly the total charge density and current density, respectively. Now let us consider their component parts. We begin with the bound charge whose density is p,. Now in the process of polarizing a material, the ound charges will generally be moving, as we Saw in Section 10-1, so that we can deline a bound charge current density J,. Since the process of polarization involves ‘only separation of bound charges, or reorientation of dipoles, bound charges are necessarily conserved, as shown by (10-13). Thus we must have a separate equation of continuity for bound charges, that is, (2-14) In Jay = Sin = 0 (12-16) 95 Vitara (12-17)123 123 CONDUCTION CURRENTS 207 If we write p, = ~ VP, as given by (10-10), we also have @ ap v Koga Pav (t,- a) 0 and, since this must be true everywhere, we can write ap : 4-2 (12-18) thus identifying the bound current density. This current is often called the polarization. current density and is a consequence of the process of polarization, Since total charge is conserved, according to (12-13), and bound charge also is, as shown by (12-17), the free charge must be conserved too and we can write (22.19) which will lead to -3 (12-20) in exactly the way by which we obtained (12-14). In the special case of steady currents, these become vey=0 and A (In — Jn) = 0 (12-21) y Ja — Jn Since free charges, and thus free currents, are the ones over which we have some ‘control, they are usually the ones in which we are most interested, and, consequently, we will be concentrating on them for some time. Free currents are often classified further into the two broad categories of conduction currents and convection currents, although the distinction between them is somewhat ill defined. Generally speaking, conduction currents include the motion of charges in conductors, that is, materials that already contain mobile charges because of their intrinsic nature. The most common ‘example is that of currents in metals, although we can include, in this class, currents in semiconductors and solutions of electrolytes. In the last case, positive and negative ions resulting from the formation of the solution provide the ready-made carriers. On the other hand, convection currents are usually associated with the motion of charged particles in’ physical streams through otherwise empty space such as beams of ions, electron beams in vacuum tubes, charged particles in the solar wind, and the like. This class can also be taken to include the physical motion of macroscopically charged bodies, such as we would get by moving around a piece of glass that had been positively charged by electrification by friction. The class of most importance to us, however, is that of conduction currents and we now consider that in more detail CONDUCTION CURRENTS ‘As a convenient prototype of this case, we can think of the current in a metallic wire. In (6-1), we found that E=0 in the interior of a conductor for a completely static situation. Now, with moving charges in the wire, we no longer have a static situation, although it may be steady, so that it may well be that E + 0 within the conductor. In fact, the very motion of the charges implies that there are forces on them that in turn implies a nonzero value of E. Consequently, the conductor can no longer be expected to be an equipotential volume. We find experimentally that if we apply an initial difference of potential to a conductor there will be currents in it, but if it is then left alone, the currents will208 ELECTRIC CURRENTS eventually cease to exist, and the conductor will have attained the state of electrostatic equilibrium whose properties we have discussed in Chapter 6. It is also found that we can maintain a constant current in a conductor by means of a constant potential difference only if we also continuously supply energy to the system from some external source. Thus work is somewhere being done on these moving charges as they circulate in the closed paths of the ordinary circuit. If the total work IV, is done on a charge g as it goes around a closed path, the ratio of the two is called the electromotive force &, ot simply the emf, so that, with the use of (3-1), we have Wee e-—2 F,-ds=fE-ds 12-22) fered Ge But, as we know from (5-5), the conservative electric field with which we are familiar cannot do any net work on the charge in such a case as this, so that somewhere within the circuit there must be a source or sources of a nonconservative electric field E.,<; then (12-22) can be written as oo fEn ds (12-23) (Since electric field can be measured in volts/meter, we see that the unit for emf is the volt—the same as for potential and potential difference.) Later we will discuss how some of these nonconservative electric fields can be produced, but, for now, it is sufficient to note that the most common and familiar of these sources are batteries. A battery does work on a charge that passes through it and the source of this energy is essentially due to chemical reactions of one sort or another within the battery; thus, in a sense, a battery is analogous to a pump that can do work on a fluid and raise it, for example, against the conservative gravitational field, The battery is an example of a localized source of a nonconservative field so that E,, in (12-23) is different from zero only when the path of the charge is within the battery and E,. = 0 elsewhere on the Circuit. In this case, it is possible to speak of the emf of the source itself as a specific quantity, and its value will be obtained from (12-23) as, Sue =f Ene 48 (12-24) For simplicity, therefore, we restrict the rest of our discussion to those conducting regions that are free of nonconservative electric fields, so that we can write E= —V¢ and hence 7 X E = 0, as long as we stay ouside of the batteries. Since E will exert forces on the moving charges, there should exist some functional relation between J, and E, that is, we expect to be able to write J, = J(E). We will also assume for now that J,(0) = 0, thereby excluding superconductors from our considera- tions. This relation between J, and E can be quite complex and will depend on the ‘material, We dealt with a similar situation in Section 10-6 when we discussed the relation between P and E for dielectrics, and we could construct a similar classification scheme. However, we pass immediately to the case of a linear isotropic conductor, that is, we assume that we can write = 0k (12:25) where the factor of proportionality o is called the conductivity. (This is a standard notation and should not lead to any confusion; in those very few cases where we have surface charge density and conductivity in the same expression, we write the surface charge density as o,,.) Equation 12-25 is another example of a constitutive equation, as is D = E, and only experiment can decide whether it is suitable for a given material or not. In (12-25), a is to be independent of the field E, although it may still depend on12:3 CONDUCTION CURRENTS 209 position, and other variables such as temperature, The unit of o is called 1 (ohm- meter)~‘ and since J, is in amperes/(meter)® and E in volts/meter, we easily find that 1 ohm = 1 volt/ampere. When (12-25) is applicable, the boundary condition (12-21) for a steady current can be written completely in terms of E: f- (0E, ~ ,E,) = 0 (12-26) We will still have & x (E, — E,) = 0, as well, since v x E = 0 in all of the regions we will consider. Thus, we have 2 situation similar to that we found for dielectrics in Figure 10-14’ in which the lines of E are refracted as we cross a bounding surface between two media of different conductivities. If the material is homogeneous as well, then o = const., that is, independent of position. In other respects, @ is a characteristic of the material and is to be found from experiment or else caleulated from the atomic properties of matter by means of the theories used in other branches of physics; for our purposes, we take it as a given quantity. Not all materials are linear, isotropic, and homogeneous, but the assumption of (12-25) with o = const. holds very well for metals and solutions of electrolytes, for example. If we have a ih. conductor and steady currents, we can combine (12-21), (12-25), (5-3), and (1-45) to give V - J, = 0 = V+ (0B) = ov - E = —0 V%. In other words, 7 = 0 and the potential still satisfies Laplace's equation. This result provides one with an experimental method of solving Laplace’s equation by setting up the required boundary values of @ on the boundaries of a conducting region for then, by measuring the magnitude and direction of the current density J,, one can find the values of E from E-J/o. ‘The relation J, = oF for a Luh. conductor is equivalent to the macroscopic empirical relation known as Ohm's law and, in fact, is often called the microscopic form of Ohm's law. We can see how this comes about by analyzing the situation depicted in Figure 12-7. This is a portion of a uniform conductor of length / and cross-sectional area A carrying a total current J. If |Ap| is the magnitude of the potential difference between the ends, then the magnitude of E = |4p|// according to (5-3) and (1-38) since V¢ is a constant in this region of constant current and dimensions. Similarly, the current density is J,=1/A by (12-6), if we assume the current to be distributed uniformly over the Coss section, which turns out to be a very accurate approximation. Substituting these into (12-25), we get 1/A = o|A@|/l, or I= (0A /1)|A6|. Thus, we have a relation between these macroscopic quantities and we see that the current is, proportional to the potential difference, (or conversely). This is usually written in the form ed (12-27) where the proportionality factor is (2-28) Figure 12-7. Portion of a conductor carrying Rt a total current J.210 FLECTRIC CURRENTS Equation 12-27 is the empirical result discovered by Ohm and is known as Ohm's law, while the quantity R is called the resistance, and is measured in ohms (ie, volts /ampere). Thus we have shown the equivalence between (12-25) and (12-27) for a Lih. conductor and have, simultaneously, obtained (12-28) as a method of calculating the resistance, The reciprocal of the conductivity, 1/0, is called the resistivity and is very often written as p! ‘As we see from the figure, J, is directed longitudinally along this uniform conductor, as is E since they are parallel. Thus, at the surface, E will be tangential, and since the tangential components of E are continuous by (9-21), there will be a tangential field outside the conductor which is given by E = J,/o. This is in marked contrast to the Static case where not only was E = 0 inside the conductor, but it was necessarily normal to the surface, as we saw in (6-2) and Figure 6-16. We conclude this section by using some of our results to obtain an interesting and somewhat unexpected relationship. Example Relation between resistance and capacitance. Suppose we have (wo conductors of some shape. We consider two ways in which we can put them to use. 1. As a capacitor—Iet us fill the region between these conductors with a Li.h. dielectric of permittivity « and put equal and opposite charges on them as shown in Figure 12-8a. We want to find the capacitance. From (6-38), we know that we can find the potential difference by evaluating the integral Ao = [-E-ds (12-29) over any convenient path between the plates. We can write the free charge Q on the positive plate as an integral over its surface S: fou fe ae e/e de 12.30 0 fopde= for-da=ef (22-30) with the use of (2-16), (10-56, and (6-1). Putting these into (6-38), we find that the capacitance can be written as (12-31) 2. As a resistance—now, instead of the dielectric, let us fill the region between the plates with a Li, conductor of conductivity o as shown in Figure 12-85. We also maintain the same potential difference A¢ between the plates by keeping each plate at eo o Figure 12-8, Two conductors used (a) as a capacitor and (b) as a resistance.12-4 ENERGY RELATIONS 211 the same potential as was used before. As we saw above, @ satisfies Laplace's equation under these circumstances, and since the boundary conditions are exactly the same in the two cases, we know from the uniqueness theorem of Section 11-1 that $(r) will be identical for each. In other words, the potential difference will again be given by (12-29) with exactly the same values of E at each point on the path of integration. The total current 1 passing between the plates can be expressed as a surface integral over the same upper plate with the use of (12-6) and (12-25); the result is that : I= [J,-da= [ok-da Grave fi J When we put (12-29) and (12-32) into (12-27), we find the resistance of this system to sda (12-32) be given by : oft da | Rf E-as ‘Comparing (12-31) and (12-33), we see that 1/Ro = C/e or Ro=* (12-34) showing that these two properties of the system are not independent but are in fact related in this simple way. [This relation (12-34) is reminiscent of a typical thermody- namic result as it expresses a relation between macroscopic properties of a system without giving an indication of the absolute value of either.} This very general result also can be used as a means of measuring C indirectly, since resistance measurements. are comparatively easy to perform with an ammeter and a voltmeter, while a direct electrostatic measurement of C is generally much harder to do, . 12-4 ENERGY RELATIONS In the previous section, we mentioned the experimental fact that the maintenance of a steady current in a conductor is possible only if energy is constantly being supplied to the system. But in a steady situation, where things remain constant in time, there cannot be an accumulation of electrical energy either. Consequently, what is supplied as electrical energy must be converted into another form of energy, and, in fact, it is observed that the electrical energy expended appears as heat produced within the body of the conductor. We can put this into quantitative form in the following way. We saw in (5-45) and (5-46) that the work done by the electric field on a charge Aq is AW = ~AgAq where Ag is the change in potential. Therefore the rate at which electrical work is being done on the system is AW/At = —(Aq/A1) Ag = —1¢ by (02-1) since we have a steady current. In the steady state, this must also be the rate of conversion of energy into heat. If we let w be the rate of production of heat per unit, volume, then we find by using the dimensions used in Figure 12-7, where the volume is Al, that ral P) 4 Since J, and E are parallel, we can also write this as (12-35)212 ELECTRIC CURRENTS With the use of (12-25), The quantity w is also referred to as the power “dissipation” per unit volume. Since our unit,of power is 1 watt = 1 joule/sccond, w will be measured in watts /(meter)’, ‘A MICROSCOPIC POINT OF VIEW ‘This result that we have just obtained is perfectly general since it follows directly from a combination of the macroscopic laws of conservation of energy and the meaning of current and potential difference. Nevertheless, its origin may seem obscure and one ‘may feel the need of an “explanation” in terms of the microscopic average behavior of the moving charges in the conductor. Related to this question of “why” is there a production of heat is the problem of “why” does a conductor have a resistance in the first place. Although we leave a more comprehensive discussion of these questions to Appendix B, we can easily enough get a semiquantitative answer to both of these questions from a microscopic picture. First of all, if the electric field produced the only force on the mobile free charges, they would have a constant acceleration given by a = F,/m = gE/m where m is the mass of the charge carrier. But a constant acceleration’ will result in an indefinitely increasing velocity, which is not observed. A steady current means, according to (12-3), a constant velocity and hence zero acceleration, that is, a zero net force. Therefore, the electrical force, which is in the direction of motion of the charges, must be balanced, at Teast on the average, by another force directed opposite to the motion. In order to get an idea of the origin of this force, let us consider the specific case of a metal where the free charge carriers are electrons cach of charge —e. They move about, not in completely empty space, but among the ions of the metal that are arranged in the regular array of the crystal. The electrons can certainly collide with these ions (as well as with each other), and, when they do, their velocity will be changed. Between collisions, they will be accelerated by the electric field, but on collision, the result of this process will be abruptly changed. Thus, it is the collisions that are the origin of the other force, and it is the average effect in which we are interested. By analogy with similar effects involving “friction” in mechanics, we shall try to describe the overall effect of collisions as their giving rise to a force proportional to the velocity and ‘opposite to it; thus we write the mechanical force as F, = —€¥ where € is an appropriate proportionality factor. The net force will then be the sum of the electrical and mechanical forces, or F, = ma= eB ~év (12-36) We sec that this equation of motion allows a situation in which the acceleration a = 0; then the velocity will be a constant, v,, which is found from (12-36) to be eE e € This velocity is commonly called the drift velocity; in mechanics it is usually known as the terminal velocity, as, for example, in the case of an object falling near the earth and also subject to the viscous (resistive) drag of the air. If » is the number of electrons per unit volume, the free charge density will be py = n(—e), and if we substitute this, along with (12-37), into (12-3), we find the value of the steady free current to be sou (=). (12-38) (1237) But this is exactly of the form of Ohm’s law given by (12-25) and, by comp:12:6 THE ATTAINMENT OF ELECTROSTATIC EQUILIBRIUM — 213 see that not only have we accounted for its general form from this simplified microscopic view, but we also have obtained an expression for the conductivity: = (12-39) Qualitatively, this result has reasonable properties. It is proportional to the number density of carriers, and inversely proportional to the “frictional” term g, so that the smaller the effect of collisions, the larger will be the current for a given E and vice versa. We also note that it is proportional to the square of the charge so that it is actually independent of the sign of the charge of the carriers. We cannot go any further in trying to calculate 6 until we can calculate £. This, however, involves the detailed theories of solid state physics and the analysis of collisions that we cannot pursue further here. On the other hand, one can use measured values of 0 to evaluate the factor £ We have just seen how the overall effect of collisions can account for the observed ‘finite value of the current. We can also see how the existence of collisions can account {qualitatively for the conversion of electrical energy into heat described by (12-35). Not only does a collision change the electron velocity in direction, but by changing its magnitude, also changes the kinetic energy of both the electron and the struck ion. Thus there is a transfer of energy from the ordered motion of the electron produced by the field to the disordered random vibrations of the ions constituting the crystal. As we know from thermodynamics, this type of process is an irreversible one, so that the net effect of the collisions will be to increase the disordered energy of the metal crystal. But it is just this increase in disordered motion that is associated with the production of heat. As we mentioned, this is exactly what is observed, and we can see now that it too is a necessary consequence of the same microscopic processes that result in a finite conductivity. 12-6 THE ATTAINMENT OF ELECTROSTATIC EQUILIBRIUM ‘As we know from Chapter 6, if we put some free charge on or within a conductor, the system will not generally be in equilibrium and it will have to readjust itself by means of currents until the final electrostatic equilibrium state is attained for which all the charge is on the surface and the conductor is an equipotential volume. We do not, however, know any of the details of this process, nor do we know how long it will take in a typical case. We can use some of the results we have just obtained to give us an idea of the nature of this process; it will involve a nonsteady situation since the currents involved will eventually become zero. We consider a Lih. conducting dielectric for which we can write Jy= 0K and D = cE, Since the free charge density can be changing in time, we use (12°19) and the above relations, along with (10-41), to get an equation involving , only: ay oD ~ (2). 0-29 - (0B (34 — so that p, satisfies the differential equation Oye = -2y, 12-40) ae (12-40) which has the solution elt) = pyfO)e-*/* = py (Oe (2-41)24 eLecTRIC CURRENTS ¢/o and p,(0) is the initial value. This result says that the free charge density ina Li, material can only decrease! (One can make it increase, of course, but only by means other than conduction processes described by J,~= oE such as, for example, injecting a pulse of electrons that come to rest within the body of the material However, after the termination of the pulse, the charge density that was produced will then decay exponentially as described by (12-41),] “Thus, as long as conduction processes are the only mechanism by which equilibrium (9; = 0)is produced, we see that the approach to equilibrium will be one of exponential decay. The charge density will decrease by a factor of 1/e in time 1 ~ ¢/o. This particular behavior is often given the name of relaxation; hence + is called the relaxation time, and its value gives us an estimate of the time required for attainment of ‘equilibrium. ‘Actually, the simple result we have obtained is only applicable to a poorly conduct, ing dielectric, For a very good conductor such as a metal the situation turns out to be much more complicated.’ In this case, the fields change so rapidly in time that one has to include magnetic effects as well and some of the phenomena that will not be discussed until Chapters 17, 21, and 26. One finds that the shape and size of the conductor affect the time taken {0 attain final equilibrium and that this time is generally much longer than simply r. We can get a rough intimation as to why this can be the ‘case by estimating the value of 7 for a typical metal. For most metals, ¢ = €o, and for copper 0 ~ 58 X 107/ohm-meter, so that 1 = ¢/o = (885 X 10° '7)/(5.8 x 10") = 10- second. This is @ very short time, but it is also much smaller than the average time between collisions, which is about 10~'* second, as can be deduced from experiment and a more detailed form of (12-39). Since we have assumed collisions to be the physical origin of a finite conductivity, it is unreasonable that effects depending on conductivity can occur on such a much shorter time scale, and hence that a simple expression like (12-41) can really describe the situation in metals. If the bound charges in a dielectric do not have the equilibrium distribution described by all of the results of Chapter 10, they too will relax in some manner toward equilibrium. Here, however, conduction is not generally available as a mechanism, or is negligible, and the primary processes of relaxation usually involve thermal agitation in fone way or another. This is a separate and large field of study all by itself and we are ‘no position here to consider its details, and must simply content ourselves with the observation that these phenomena exist. EXERCISES 12-1 At a given instant, a certain system has a current density given by J = AGO + yf + 2'2) where A is @ positive constant. (a) In what units will Abe measured? (b) At this instant, what is the rate of change of the charge density at the point (2, 1,4) meter? (@) Consider the total charge Q contained within a sphere of radivs @ centered at the origin. At this instant, what is the rate at which Q is changing in time? Is Q increas ing or decreasing? 122 Verify (12-7), (128), and (129). 12.3 A total charge Q is distributed uniformly throughout a sphere of radius a. The sphere is VHC, Ohanian, Am. J. Phos then rotated with constant angular speed w about ‘a diameter. Assume that the charge distribution is unaffected by the rotation, and find J everywhere within the sphere, (Express it in spherical coordi rates with the polar axis coinciding with the axis of rotation.) Find the total current passing through ‘a semicircle of radius a fixed in space with its base on the axis of rotation. 12-4 A diclectrie sphere of radius a is uniformly polarized. It is rotated with constant angular speed ‘e about the diameter parallel to P. Assume that P is unaffected by the rotation and find the cur- rents, Plot your result as a function of the ap- 51, 1020-1022 (1983)M pxERCISES 215, r mm r r r >—w— wv BH |3 ” a Mv » Figure 12-9, (a) Resistors in series. (b) Resistors in parallel propriate coordinate(s). Find the total current passing through a semicircle of radius @ fixed in space with its base on the axis of rotation. 12.5 A sphere of radius a centered at the origin {is made of a 1i/h. conducting material. The poten- tial on the surface is maintained at the values given in spherical coordinates by $y cos @ where 4 = const, Find the free current density J, every- where inside. 12.6 Two “resistors” of resistances R, and Ry are connected by conductors of negligible resis- tance to each other and to terminals T and 7’ as shown in Figure 12-9a, that is, they are connected in “series.” If a potential difference Ag is now applied across the terminals, show that this com- bination is equivalent to a single resistor of resis- tance R, = Ry + R3. Similarly, show that the equivalent resistance of the “parallel” combina- tion shown in (b) can be found from 1/R, ZR) + AR). 12-7 A long straight wire carries a steady cur- rent I. The current is distributed uniformly over the circular cross section of radius a, Consider a length of the wire that has a resistance R. Find the electric field in the vacuum region just outside the wire and express it in terms of the quantities given. (Overall, this portion of the wire is neutral.) 12-8 Consider a material with a nonzero con- ductivity. Assume the material to be linear and isotropic in both its dielectric and conducting properties. Assume steady free currents. (a) If the material is inhomogeneous, show that there will bbe a volume density of free charge in the material siven by 9-4-9(5) (12-42) (b) Show that, at a surface of discontinuity be- tween two materials, there will be a free surface charge density given by jut -*) 2-4 (12-43) (Since all complete circuits will have interfaces between different materials, such as connections between wires and battery terminals, there will be accumulations of charge within the system that will be constant in time. Thus, the above results show us that it is these distributions of electric charge which are the sources of the electric field in systems carrying steady currents.) 12-9 Two large parallel plane conducting plates ‘are a distance d apart. The region between them is filled with two Li.h, materials whose surface of separation is a plane parallel to the plates. The first material (with properties 6, and ) is of thickness x, while the second material (o., ¢:) has thickness d— x. There is a steady current between the plates that are kept at constant potentials of @ and ¢;. Find the potential at the surface of separation of the two media, and the free surface charge density there. 12-10 The region between the coaxial cylinders of Figure 6-12 is filled with a Lib. conducting ‘material, If a potential difference 4¢ is applied between the cylinders, find the current between the cylinders for a length L of the system. 12-11 Consider an infinite slab of conducting dielectric of thickness d and with plane parallel faces. Two metal cylinders, each of radius 4, have their axes parallel and a distance D apart. These cylinders pass through the dielectric with their axes normal to the plane surfaces. If a potential difference Ag is applied between these metal “electrodes,” find the current J that will pass from one to the other. 12-12 A very long wire of radius a is suspended near the bottom of a very deep lake. Assume the lake to have a plane bottom that is a very good conductor. The wire is parallel to the bottom and fat a height A above it. If the conductivity of the water is @, find the resistance between the wire land the bottom for a length 1 of the system. 12-13 Show that when (12-35) is integrated over the total volume of a uniform conductor, the total rate of production of heat can be written as 7R216 FLecTRIC CURRENTS 12-14 Show that, when a complete circuit in- cludes a localized source of emf &, the steady state current J will be given by I = 6/R where R is the total resistance of the whole circuit, (See previous exercise.) 12-45 Show by direct integration that when a capacitor is charged by a battery of emf é, the amount of heat developed in the circuit is equal to the final electrostatic energy of the capacitor. 12-16 Two square metal plates each 0.1 meter ‘on a side are parallel to each other and separated by a distance of 10"? meters. The region between the plates is filled with water of conductivity 10-" (ohm-meter)”!. If a potential difference of 150 volts is maintained between the plates, find the rate of change of temperature of the water. (Ne- lect end effects and heat losses to regions outside the water) 12-17 A copper wire 2.5 millimeters in diameter is carrying a current of 10 amperes. Assume one free electron per copper atom and find the magni tude of the drift velocity. (Copper has a density of 8.92 grams/(centimeter)', an atomic weight of 635 grams/mole, and Avogadro's number is 6.02 10°"/mole,] 12-18 In Section 12-5, we discussed a micro- scopic picture that associated the existence of resistance in a metal with collisions between the ‘mobile electrons and the metal ions. Based on this viewpoint, what do you think will be the effect on the resistance if the temperature of the conductor is increased? 12.49 Verify that ¢/o has the dimensions of time 12-20 Find the relaxation time for a glass with a resistivity of 10" ohm-meter and a relative per: mittivity of 40. 12-21 The region between the plates of a capaci- tor is filled with a material of finite conductivity with resultant total resistance R Show that the charge on the places will decrease to 1/e of its initial value in'a time RC where C is the eapaci- tance. [Note the similarity between this result and (12-34) and (2-41). But, of course, different processes are being described—or ate they the same?]