Introduction to Electrodynamics · Problem 8.15

Electromagnetic Waves — David J. Griffiths

Physics · electromagnetic-momentum

Problem

A point charge qq is located at the center of a toroidal coil of rectangular cross section, inner radius aa, outer radius a+wa + w, and height hh, which carries a total of NN tightly-wound turns and current II. (a) Find the electromagnetic momentum p\mathbf{p} of this configuration, assuming that ww and hh are both much less than aa (so you can ignore the variation of the fields over the cross section). (b) Now the current in the toroid is turned off, quickly enough that the point charge does not move appreciably as the magnetic field drops to zero. Show that the impulse imparted to qq is equal to the momentum originally stored in the electromagnetic fields. [Hint: You might want to refer to Prob. 7.19.]

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