- #1
TubbaBlubba
Homework Statement
I need to solve a bit of a simple "reverse" problem that I'm unable to find treated in any detail, probably because it's actually reasonably straightforward. What I need to do is to "compute the charge and current distribution that give rise to [the following] field."
Homework Equations
F[/B] = 2yey when r < 1
F = 0 when r > 1.
The Attempt at a Solution
Obviously, this gives us a potential function φ = -y2 (for r < 1).
Now, we want to determine all the point charges, line charges, surface charges, volume charges, line currents, surface currents, and volume currents. Surface charges and currents, and volume charges and currents, are simple - they can just be computed from the field using the dot and cross product of the normal with the field difference, and the divergence and curl of the field respectively. I won't be typing them all out, but .e.g for the volume charge ρ we have
∇⋅F = 2 = ρ for r < 1,
(and ρ = 0 for r > 1.)
But when it comes to point charges, and line charges/currents, I'm just told that, e.g. for a point charge q we have
φ = q(4πr)-1.
Um, so presumably we don't have q = -y24πr, because that's, well, nonsense in this context.
Instead, I reason that there is no part of my potential of this form, and therefore we have no point charge; q = 0 (which I know is the correct answer; it is also clear from the form of the field). What I wonder is the following: is this reasoning adequate, or is there some handy calculation (presumably some integral using the Dirac delta function) I could go through to show that there is indeed no point charge (and similarly for the other two)?
Thank you in advance; I hope this isn't too general or diffuse a question.