Question
Find the capacitance of the Earth. (Suggestion: The outer conductor of the "spherical capacitor" may be considered as a conducting sphere at infinity where $V$ approaches zero.)
Step 1
We are asked to find the capacitance of the Earth, considering it as a spherical capacitor. The Earth is the inner sphere, and the outer sphere is at infinity where the potential \( V \) approaches zero. Show more…
Show all steps
Your feedback will help us improve your experience
Mayukh Banik and 93 other Physics 102 Electricity and Magnetism educators are ready to help you.
Ask a new question
Labs
Want to see this concept in action?
Explore this concept interactively to see how it behaves as you change inputs.
Key Concepts
Recommended Videos
Find the capacitance of the Earth. (Hint: The outer conductor of the "spherical capacitor" may be considered as a conducting sphere at infinity where $V$ approaches zero.)
Determine the capacitance of the Earth, assuming it to be a spherical conductor.
Capacitance of the Earth. Consider a spherical capacitor with one conductor being a solid conducting sphere of radius $R$ and the other conductor being at infinity. (a) Use Eq. (24.1) and what you know about the potential at the surface of a conducting sphere with charge $Q$ to derive an expression for the capacitance of the charged sphere. (b) Use your result in part (a) to calculate the capacitance of the earth. The earth is a good conductor and has a radius of 6380 $\mathrm{km} .$ Compare your results to the capacitance of typical capacitors used in electronic circuits, which ranges from 10 $\mathrm{pF}$ to 100 $\mathrm{pF} .$
Transcript
Watch the video solution with this free unlock.
EMAIL
PASSWORD