A parallel plate capacitor made of circular plates is being charged such that the surface charge density on its plates is increasing at a constant rate with time. The magnetic field arising due to displacement current is:
Correct Answer :
non-zero everywhere with maximum at the imaginary cylindrical surface connecting peripheries of the plates.
Solution :
The correct answer is: non-zero everywhere with maximum at the imaginary cylindrical surface connecting peripheries of the plates.
Let us analyze the magnetic field inside and outside a charging parallel plate capacitor with circular plates of radius .
Let the surface charge density on the plates at any time be . We are given that is increasing at a constant rate, so:
(where is a constant).
The electric field between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor is uniform (neglecting fringing effects near the edges) and is given by:
Since varies with time, the electric field between the plates also varies with time:
According to Maxwell's Ampere Law, a changing electric field creates a displacement current. The displacement current density is given by:
This displacement current acts as a source of magnetic field. Let us find the magnetic field at a distance from the central axis of the circular plates using Ampere's Law:
Case 1: Inside the plates ()
The displacement current enclosed by a loop of radius is:
Applying Ampere's Law:
Thus, inside the plates, the magnetic field increases linearly with ().
Case 2: Outside the plates ()
The total displacement current is confined within the plates of radius . Therefore, for any loop of radius , the enclosed displacement current is constant and equal to:
Applying Ampere's Law:
Thus, outside the plates, the magnetic field decreases inversely with ().
Conclusion:
The magnetic field is non-zero everywhere (except at the exact center axis ). It increases linearly inside the capacitor, reaches its maximum value at the periphery of the plates where (which forms an imaginary cylindrical surface connecting the peripheries of the plates), and then decreases as outside the plates.
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