Confusing aspects in the calculation of the electrostatic potential of an infinite line of charge

In this work we discuss the trick of eliminating infinite potential of reference arguing that it corresponds to a constant of integration, in the problem of determining the electrostatic potential of an infinite line of charge with uniform density, and show how the problem must be tackled properly....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean journal of physics Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 467 - 471
Main Authors Jiménez, J L, Campos, I, Roa-Neri, J A E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bristol IOP Publishing 01.05.2012
Institute of Physics Publishing
Institute of Physics
Subjects
boundary-value problems
Charge
Charge density
classical electromagnetism
College Science
Communication, education, history, and philosophy
Computation
Constants
Density
Electrostatics
Equations (Mathematics)
Exact sciences and technology
General physics
Mathematical analysis
Physics
Physics literature and publications
Poisson and Laplace equations
potential theory
Science Instruction
Students
Surveys and tutorial papers, resource letters
Undergraduate Students
Charge density
Higher education
Electrostatic potential
Physics
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Summary:In this work we discuss the trick of eliminating infinite potential of reference arguing that it corresponds to a constant of integration, in the problem of determining the electrostatic potential of an infinite line of charge with uniform density, and show how the problem must be tackled properly. The usual procedure is confusing for most students of undergraduate courses, basic or intermediate.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0143-0807
1361-6404
DOI:10.1088/0143-0807/33/3/467