Introduction to Electrodynamics · Problem 2.35

Electrostatics — David J. Griffiths

Physics · energy-snowball-assembly-sphere

Problem

Here is a fourth way of computing the energy of a uniformly charged solid sphere: Assemble it like a snowball, layer by layer, each time bringing in an infinitesimal charge dqdq from far away and smearing it uniformly over the surface, thereby increasing the radius. How much work dWdW does it take to build up the radius by an amount drdr? Integrate this to find the work necessary to create the entire sphere of radius RR and total charge qq.

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