The electric field components in the figure are $E_{x}=\alpha x^{1 / 2}, E_{y}=E_{z}=0,$ in which $\alpha=800 \; N/C \cdot m^{1/2}.$ Calculate
$(a)$ the flux through the cube,and
$(b)$ the charge within the cube. Assume that $a=0.1 \; m$.

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) Since the electric field has only an $x$ component,for faces perpendicular to the $x$ direction,the angle between $E$ and $\Delta S$ is $\pm \pi/2$. Therefore,the flux $\phi = E \cdot \Delta S$ is zero for each face of the cube except the two shaded ones.
The magnitude of the electric field at the left face is $E_{L} = \alpha x^{1/2} = \alpha a^{1/2}$ (at $x=a$).
The magnitude of the electric field at the right face is $E_{R} = \alpha x^{1/2} = \alpha (2a)^{1/2}$ (at $x=2a$).
The corresponding fluxes are:
$\phi_{L} = E_{L} \cdot \Delta S = E_{L} \Delta S \cos(180^{\circ}) = -E_{L} a^{2} = -\alpha a^{1/2} a^{2} = -\alpha a^{5/2}$.
$\phi_{R} = E_{R} \cdot \Delta S = E_{R} \Delta S \cos(0^{\circ}) = E_{R} a^{2} = \alpha (2a)^{1/2} a^{2} = \alpha \sqrt{2} a^{5/2}$.
Net flux through the cube $\phi = \phi_{R} + \phi_{L} = \alpha a^{5/2} (\sqrt{2} - 1)$.
Substituting the values: $\phi = 800 \times (0.1)^{5/2} \times (1.414 - 1) = 800 \times 0.003162 \times 0.414 \approx 1.05 \; N \cdot m^{2} \cdot C^{-1}$.
$(b)$ Using Gauss's law,the total charge $q$ inside the cube is $q = \phi \varepsilon_{0}$.
$q = 1.05 \times 8.854 \times 10^{-12} \; C \approx 9.27 \times 10^{-12} \; C$.

Explore More

Similar Questions

The given figure shows two parallel plates $A$ and $B$ with charge densities $+\sigma$ and $-\sigma$ respectively. The electric intensity will be zero in which region?

$A$ charge $q$ is placed at one corner of a cube. The electric flux through any of the three faces adjacent to the charge is zero. The flux through any one of the other three faces is

Obtain Coulomb's law from Gauss's law.

Difficult
View Solution

The figure shows a hollow hemisphere of radius $R$ in which two charges $3q$ and $5q$ are placed symmetrically about the centre $O$ on the planar surface. The electric flux over the curved surface is

Two infinitely long parallel wires having linear charge densities $\lambda_1$ and $\lambda_2$ respectively are placed at a distance of $R$ meters. The force per unit length on either wire will be $(K = \frac{1}{4\pi\varepsilon_0})$.

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo