- #1
Albereo
- 16
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Problem Statement: I'm having some trouble understanding how to write charge densities using delta functions, particularly when they involve geometries other than Cartesian. So I have a disk moving with velocity v (along the z-axis) that has total charge Q, and I'm trying to write ρ(x,t) so that I can calculate the electric field (and eventually the Cherenkov radiation emitted by the disk).
Attempt at a Solution So I think I'd write something like this: ρ(x,t)=Q/(pi*R^2)delta(z-vt). So I've got a uniform charge density over the disk, and it's zero except at the z-coordinate of the disk. But I don't know if I'm missing some factors out front, since I'm in cylindrical coordinates.
If I'm not going about this the right way at all please enlighten me.
Attempt at a Solution So I think I'd write something like this: ρ(x,t)=Q/(pi*R^2)delta(z-vt). So I've got a uniform charge density over the disk, and it's zero except at the z-coordinate of the disk. But I don't know if I'm missing some factors out front, since I'm in cylindrical coordinates.
If I'm not going about this the right way at all please enlighten me.