Spherical Definition and 1000 Threads

A sphere (from Greek σφαῖρα—sphaira, "globe, ball") is a geometrical object in three-dimensional space that is the surface of a ball (viz., analogous to the circular objects in two dimensions, where a "circle" circumscribes its "disk").
Like a circle in a two-dimensional space, a sphere is defined mathematically as the set of points that are all at the same distance r from a given point in a three-dimensional space. This distance r is the radius of the ball, which is made up from all points with a distance less than (or, for a closed ball, less than or equal to) r from the given point, which is the center of the mathematical ball. These are also referred to as the radius and center of the sphere, respectively. The longest straight line segment through the ball, connecting two points of the sphere, passes through the center and its length is thus twice the radius; it is a diameter of both the sphere and its ball.
While outside mathematics the terms "sphere" and "ball" are sometimes used interchangeably, in mathematics the above distinction is made between a sphere, which is a two-dimensional closed surface embedded in a three-dimensional Euclidean space, and a ball, which is a three-dimensional shape that includes the sphere and everything inside the sphere (a closed ball), or, more often, just the points inside, but not on the sphere (an open ball). The distinction between ball and sphere has not always been maintained and especially older mathematical references talk about a sphere as a solid. This is analogous to the situation in the plane, where the terms "circle" and "disk" can also be confounded.

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  1. Z

    How Do You Determine the Ground State Energy in a Spherical Infinite Well?

    Homework Statement A particle of mass ##m## is constrained to move between two concentric hard spheres of radii ##r = a## and ##r = b##. There is no potential between the spheres. Find the ground state energy and wave function. Homework Equations $$\frac{-\hbar^2}{2m} \frac{d^2 u}{dr^2} +...
  2. moriheru

    Concerning spherical potential wells

    Can one work with spherical potential wells as square wells with an infinite amount of steppotentials of infinitly small size , thus integrating or summing the steppotentials? Would be great bunch of work, treating all the steppotentials and the different energys of the particle I mean for E>V...
  3. M

    Electric field of point charge within spherical shell.

    If there was a spherical shell with negative charge density and a positive point charge inside the shell, the electric field lines from the point charge would just be radially outward towards the shell right? What about the case where there's a positive charge density and a positive point...
  4. O

    Potential due to two oppositely charged half spherical shells

    Homework Statement Consider the spherical shell of radius R shown in the figure characterized by a hemisphere of surface charge density \sigma and total charge q in the upper half plane and a hemisphere of surface charge density -\sigma and total charge -q in the lower half plane. Find the...
  5. A

    Cross Products in Spherical Coordinates: Is A x B True?

    Is A x B = | i j k | also true for Spherical Coordinates? | r1 theta1 phi1 | | r2 theta2 phi2 | Or I have to convert them to Cartesian Coordinates and do the cross product and then...
  6. A

    Potential difference between two spherical conductors

    I'm working my way through MIT 8.02x on EdX (an archived course, so it's a bit lonely in there right now!). The problem statement: Two spherical conductors, A and B, are placed in vacuum. A has a radius rA=25 cm and B of rB=35 cm. The distance between the centers of the two spheres is d=225...
  7. S

    3DAnisotropic oscillator in Spherical Harmonic basis-States with L_z=0

    I've been trying to prove a rather simple looking concept. I have a code that calculates states of a 3D anisotropic oscillator in spherical coordinates. The spherical harmonics basis used to expand it's solutions in radial coordinate constraint the spectrum such that when the Hamiltonian is...
  8. E

    Spherical Coordinates Question

    Homework Statement I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about my interpretation of spherical coordinates and I'd appreciate it if someone could clarify things for me! In particular, I'd like to know whether or not my derivation of the coordinates is legitimate. Homework Equations Considering...
  9. T

    Thick spherical shell Question.

    Homework Statement A thick spherical shell with inner radius R and outer radius S has a uniform charge density d.(A) What is the total charge on the shell? Express your answer in terms of R, S, d, and π. (B) Express the electric field as a function of distance from the center of the sphere r...
  10. M

    Acoustic pressure & particle velocity phase - plane vs spherical waves

    Hi there. I've been looking around for a decent physical explanation of the differences in the phase relationships between acoustic pressure and particle velocity in different types of waves. Mathematical analyses abound, e.g...
  11. P

    How Is Flux Calculated Through a Spherical Surface Using Spherical Coordinates?

    Homework Statement What is the flux of r(vector) though a spherical surface of radius a? Homework Equations to solve this use spherical coordinates. The Attempt at a Solution ∫a . ds
  12. T

    Heat diffusion in a spherical shell

    Hey guys, I have a problem that is giving me trouble. Homework Statement I have to solve time dependent diffusion equation ##D\nabla^2 T(r,t)=\frac{\partial T}{\partial t}## (##D## is diffusion constant and ##T(r,t)## is temperature function) for a spherical shell of radii ##r_1## and ##r_2##...
  13. A

    Anamorphic and Spherical Lens Focusing

    New to the forum but stumbled upon this and thought it might be beneficial to query more scientifically minded individuals. I am a filmmaker and use a variety of lenses to acquire certain looks. One of which is anamorphic cinematography. (http://www.red.com/learn/red-101/anamorphic-lenses)...
  14. A

    Curvilinear basis in spherical polar coordinates

    Homework Statement As a part of my self study I am trying to find the covariant basis vectors in the spherical polar coordinates. Since I have never done anything like this before I would appreciate if someone could tell me whether I am on the rigth track. Homework Equations...
  15. N

    Does this spherical triangle exist?

    I am trying to solve the 'ant and honey problem on a spherical bowl' to find the shortest route between two points on a sphere when the path is constrained by not being allowed to pass higher than a certain latitude (so interrupting some great circles connecting the two points). I intuitively...
  16. N

    The ant and honey problem on a spherical bowl - shortest paths?

    In considering the shortest paths between two points on a sphere I came across the following interesting problem: An ant sits on the outside of a glass bowl of spherical curvature (radius R), at a distance d from the lip of the bowl. It sees a drop of honey on the inside of the bowl directly...
  17. C

    Optics: Spherical Interface -- Real and Virtual Images

    Homework Statement If you have a spherical interface between two different "media" (like air and water), and an object is placed in the one with the lower index of refraction, with the interface being convex toward the object, how can you tell if the image will be real or virtual? Here's a...
  18. F

    MHB Spherical co-ordinates conversion

    Consider the region above the $z=-\sqrt{2-x^2-y^2}$ and below $z=-\sqrt{x^2+y^2}$. Let $x=r\sin\phi\cos\theta$, $y=r\sin\phi\sin\theta$, $z=r\cos\phi$ I want the range of the variables. I get $0\leq r\leq\sqrt{2}$. How do I work out the range of $\phi$ and $\theta$ ?
  19. D

    Formula of refraction at spherical surface

    Homework Statement i am confused which eqaution to use for formula of refraction at spherical surface , do i need to put a modulus for n2-n1 ? some book gives modulus , while the other book not . which one is correct? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution
  20. D

    Refraction at spherical surface

    Homework Statement A semi-circle shaped cylindrical glass block has a radius of curvature of 10.0cm. and a refractive index of 1.50 as shown. A pin is placed at the centre of curvature O . How far from the surface do the pin appear to be when it is viewed along the axis of the spherical...
  21. G

    Helmholtz in spherical co-ordinates - Boundary Conditions

    Hello, I was just after an explanation of how people get to this conclusion: Say you are looking at the Helmholtz equation in spherical co-ordinates. You use separation of variables, you solve for the polar and azimuthal components. Now you solve for the radial, you will find that...
  22. schrodingerscat11

    Charge distribution of point charges in spherical coordinates

    Homework Statement Hi! This is not really a problem. I'm just confused on how to express the charge distribution of a set of point charges in spherical coordinates. From our discussion, ρ(\vec{r})=\sum\limits_{i=1}^N q_i δ(\vec{r}-\vec{r}') where \vec{r} is the position of the point where...
  23. M

    Why is the range of ø in spherical coordinates limited to 0 to π?

    Homework Statement In spherical coordinates (ρ,θ,ø); I understood the ranges of ρ, and θ. But ø, still eludes my understanding. Why is ø only from 0 to π, why not 0 to 2π??
  24. A

    What is the experimental basis for Einstein's conclusion on the Helium atom?

    Hello, As a science writer, I've tasked myself with acquiring a thorough theoretical and historical understanding of Quantum Mechanics. It would be interesting to know if there has ever been any experimental verification of Laplace's spherical harmonics, relating to the quantum mechanical...
  25. T

    Are subatomic particles spherical?

    We are very used to see diagrams of atoms as being composed by little spheres each one with their own characteristics, such as mass, electrical charge, etc. I have also read and heard in many different scientific divulgation media about the scale of the nucleus’ dimension and the size of...
  26. T

    MATLAB Is MATLAB's Implementation of Spherical Harmonics Incorrect?

    Hey guys, This is my first post here, so I will apologize in advance in case I'm posting this in the wrong section. I wrote a very simple function to calculate spherical harmonics in matla, and I used this function during 3 years. Yesterday I found that the function was actually wrong, and...
  27. J

    How Do You Set Up a Triple Integral in Spherical Coordinates for a Unit Ball?

    Homework Statement ##\iiint_W (x^2+y^2+z^2)^{5/2}## W is the ball ##x^2+y^2+z^2 \le 1## The Attempt at a Solution changing to spherical ##0 \le \theta \le 2\pi ; 0 \le \phi \le \pi ; 0 \le \rho \le 1## ##(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)^{5/2} \Rightarrow ((\rho \sin \phi \cos...
  28. B

    How Is the Surface Area of Spherical Cap Slices Calculated?

    from wiki: Suppose we have a hemisphere of radius 10 r10 (a) and cut it in ten horizontal slices (1 is on the top), does that mean that all slices have the same surface ? even slice 1 has surface 62.8 (2\pi *10*1)? and its a (r1) =4.36? so, the area of slice 4 (like all others) is...
  29. P

    Setting up the Lagrangian Multipliers method for spherical coords

    This isn't really a homework question, but may be similar to a typical example problem so I posted it here. Homework Statement I want to find the max and min dot product of a 3d vector and all points in a sphere constrained by angles in spherical coordinates. Homework Equations A point...
  30. V

    Uncharged spherical conducting shell

    An uncharged spherical conducting shell surrounds charge -q at the center of the shell. Then a charge+ +3q is placed on the outside of the shell. When static equilibrium is reached, the charges on the inner and outer surfaces of the she are respecteively... +q,-q is the answer. Does the +3q...
  31. Mr-R

    Is the Metric in Spherical Coordinates Truly Flat?

    Dear all, As I was reading my book. It said that the line element of a particular coordinate system (spherical) in R^{3} is so and so. Then it said that the metric is flat. I don't get how the metric is flat in spherical coordinate. Could someone shed some light on this please? Thanks
  32. T

    What is the use of spherical trigonometry and the pre recs to learn it

    What is the use of spherical trigonometry besides in navigation. My math background consist of having n completed a course in calculus 1. Would I ever need to learn and understand spherical trigonometry for further math or physics? What do I gain learning it besides saying I know spherical...
  33. S

    Cristoffel Symbol of spherical coordinates

    I just derived the 3-D Cristoffel symbol of the 2nd kind for spherical coordinates. I don't think I made any careless mistakes, but once again, I just want to verify that I am correct and I can't find any place on line that will give me the components of the symbol so I can check myself. Here...
  34. schrodingerscat11

    Electric field due to a spherical charged shell (direct integration)

    Homework Statement Find the electric field a distance z from the center of a spherical surface of radius R which carries a uniform density σ. Treat the case z<R (inside) as well as z>R (outside). Express the answers in terms of the total charge q on the sphere. Homework Equations E = \int...
  35. S

    Metric Tensor in Spherical Coordinates

    I recently derived a matrix which I believe to be the metric tensor in spherical polar coordinates in 3-D. Here were the components of the tensor that I derived. I will show my work afterwards: g11 = sin2(ø) + cos2(θ) g12 = -rsin(θ)cos(θ) g13 = rsin(ø)cos(ø) g21 = -rsin(θ)cos(θ)...
  36. K

    A spherical raindrops evaporates at rate proportional to surface area?

    i want to find V(t) At first i found this problem was very simple but when i try to write differential equations i ended up with these V' = kA that's for sure then i confined the problem only to spherical shape and no other shapes of raindrops involved as i can't express A in term of V alone(...
  37. G

    Moment of Inertia of spherical masses

    Homework Statement Three small spherical masses are located in a plane at the positions shown below. The masses are Q=0.700 kg, R=0.400 kg, and S=0.800 kg. Calculate the moment of inertia (of the 3 masses) with respect to an axis perpendicular to the xy plane and passing through x=0 and y=-3...
  38. M

    Thick walled spherical vessel under external pressure

    Homework Statement Hello.:smile: I need help to design a spherical vessel submarine with minimum mass which can withstand water pressure at depth of 8000 meter. It must satisfy this conditions: 1. vessel shall have minimum interval volume of 10m^3 2. outer diameter must less than 5m...
  39. B

    Implicit multivariable derivative of a spherical cap

    Homework Statement Consider a spherical cap, for which the surface area and volume is A(a,h) = \pi(a^2 +h^2) V(a,h) = \frac{\pi h}{6}(3a^2 +h^2) What would the aspect ratio dA/dV be? The Attempt at a Solution Clearly we would have dA = 2\pi a da + 2\pi h dh dV = \pi ha da +...
  40. N

    Spherical Surface Problem: Sqrt(x^2+y^2)<=z<=x^2+y^2+z^2

    Homework Statement Sqrt(x^2+y^2)<=z<=x^2+y^2+z^2 With this problem I run into a few questions The first of which arises at the statement 1/2<=cos^2a Here I go about writing -1/sqrt(2)<=cosa<=1/sqrt(2) But when dealing with trigs it doesn't make any sense to write 3pi/4<=a<=pi/4 So...
  41. C

    Does spherical symmetry imply spherical submanifolds?

    In Carroll's "spacetime and geometry" he defines a spherical symmetrical spacetime as a spacetime ##(M,g)## for which there exists a Lie algebra homomorphism between the Lie algebra of the killing vectors of ##g## and the Lie algebra of ##SO(3)##. Now, this does imply by Frobenius theorem...
  42. Hardik Batra

    Electric Field inside the spherical shell

    As we know there are charge on spherical shell then electrical field inside the shell will be zero. 1) If there is no charge on the spherical shell, but has charge inside the shell then what is the electric field inside and outside the shell? 2) If there is charge on the spherical shell...
  43. B

    MHB Triple Integrals in Spherical Coordinates

    Hi all, I'm not sure how to get the boundaries in terms of both the spherical and cylindrical coordinates for this question. Here are the boundaries we were given in the solution. How was \frac{\pi}{4} for φ and \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} for r obtained? Thanks!
  44. J

    Reflection at a spherical surface

    Homework Statement An object 0.6cm tall is placed 16.5cm to the left of the vertex of a concave spherical mirror having a radius of curvature of 22.0cm. Determine the position, size, orientation and nature of the image. Homework Equations \frac {1}{S} + \frac {1}{S'} = \frac {1}{f} =...
  45. N

    Spherical harmonics of Hydrogen-like atoms

    Hi. http://www.nt.ntnu.no/users/jensoa/E-FY1006-31mai2012.pdf Please open the link and go to page 11, problem 3. It appears, after all, I understand nothing when it comes to the wave function of Hydrogen like atoms. So I kindly ask you to answer some questions I got: 1) "A selection of these...
  46. L

    Field in between two charged plates in a semi spherical arrangement

    Homework Statement We have two half-spherical electrodes, arranged so that they produce a spherically symmetric electric field. What is the magnitude of the electrical force on an electron between the two electrods? Specifications: Distance between electrodes: d=0.04 m Radius for first...
  47. U

    Find potential inside spherical shell

    Homework Statement A conducting sphere of radius R has a charge Q. A particle carrying a charge q is placed a distance 2R from the sphere. Find the potential at point A located a distance R/2 from the center of the sphere on the line connecting the center of the sphere and particle q. Note...
  48. T

    A spherical conducting shell in an electric field field

    If a spherical conducting shell is kept in an electric field (say, from a point charge kept at some distance outside the shell), will any charge be induced in the internal surface of the shell? Also what will the field be like inside the shell? Thanks.
  49. Digitalism

    Cone with spherical top triple integration

    Homework Statement Homework Equations ∫∫∫dV The Attempt at a Solution Ok so I started by setting my bounds equal to √(200-x^2-y^2) ≥ z ≥ √(x^2+y^2), √(100-x^2) ≥ y ≥ -√(100-x^2), 10 ≥ x ≥ -10 which I got from solving z^2 = (200-x^2-y^2) = x^2+y^2 => x^2+y^2 = 100 but it...
  50. M

    Divergence of curl in spherical coordinates

    Hey pf! I was thinking about how div(curl(f)) = 0 for any vector field f. However, is this true for div and curl in spherical coordinates? It doesn't seem to be. If not, what needs to happen for this to be true in spherical coordinates?? Thanks all!
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