Problem 1.54 Check the divergence theorem for the function
v = r2 cos θ r̂ + r2 cos φ θ̂ − r2 cos θ sin φ φ̂,
using as your volume one octant of the sphere of radius R (Fig. 1.48). Make sure you include the entire surface. [Answer: πR4 /4]
Solution
In spherical coordinates (r, φ, θ), where θ is the angle from the polar axis, the divergence of a vector function is 1 ∂ 1 ∂ 1 ∂vφ ∇ · v = 2 (r2 vr ) + (vθ sin θ) + . r ∂r r sin θ ∂θ r sin θ ∂φ For the given function, it evaluates to 1 ∂ 2 2 1 ∂ 1 ∂ ∇·v = 2 [r (r cos θ)] + [(r2 cos φ) sin θ] + (−r2 cos θ sin φ) r ∂r r sin θ ∂θ r sin θ ∂φ 1 ∂ 4 1 ∂ 2 1 ∂ = (r cos θ) + (r cos φ sin θ) + (−r2 cos θ sin φ) r2 ∂r r sin θ ∂θ r sin θ ∂φ
1 3 1 2 1 2
= 2 (4r cos θ) + (r cos φ cos θ) + (−r cos θ cos φ) r r sin θ r sin θ = 4r cos θ.
The divergence theorem (or Gauss’s theorem) relates the volume integral of ∇ · v to a closed surface integral. ˚ ‹ ∇ · v dV = v · dS D bdy D
If D is the octant shown in Fig. 1.48 and v = r2 cos θ r̂ + r2 cos φ θ̂ − r2 cos θ sin φ φ̂, then the left side becomes ˚ ˆ π/2 ˆ π/2 ˆ R ˆ π/2 ! ˆ π/2 ! ˆ R 2 3 ∇ · v dV = (4r cos θ)(r sin θ dr dφ dθ) = 2 sin 2θ dθ dφ r dr 0 0 0 0 0 0 D π R4 πR4 = 2(1) = . 2 4 4
www.stemjock.com Griffiths Electrodynamics 4e: Problem 1.54 Page 2 of 2
Labelling the boundary of D as shown above, the right side evaluates to
‹ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ v · dS = v · dS + v · dS + v · dS + v · dS bdy D S1 S2 S3 S4 ˆ π/2 ˆ π/2 = [r2 cos θ r̂ + r2 cos φ θ̂ − r2 cos θ sin φ φ̂] · (r̂R2 sin θ dφ dθ) 0 0 r=R ˆ π/2 ˆ R + [r2 cos θ r̂ + r2 cos φ θ̂ − r2 cos θ sin φ φ̂] · (−φ̂r dr dθ) 0 0 φ=0 ˆ π/2 ˆ R + [r2 cos θ r̂ + r2 cos φ θ̂ − r2 cos θ sin φ φ̂] · (φ̂r dr dθ) 0 0 φ=π/2 ˆ π/2 ˆ R + [r2 cos θ r̂ + r2 cos φ θ̂ − r2 cos θ sin φ φ̂] · (θ̂r dr dφ) 0 0 θ=π/2 ˆ π/2 ˆ π/2 = [R2 cos θ r̂ + R2 cos φ θ̂ − R2 cos θ sin φ φ̂] · (r̂R2 sin θ dφ dθ) 0 0 ˆ π/2 ˆ R + [r2 cos θ r̂ + r2 (1) θ̂ − (0) φ̂] · (−φ̂r dr dθ) 0 0 ˆ π/2 ˆ R + [r2 cos θ r̂ + (0) θ̂ − r2 cos θ(1) φ̂] · (φ̂r dr dθ) 0 0 ˆ π/2 ˆ R + [(0) r̂ + r2 cos φ θ̂ − (0) φ̂] · (θ̂r dr dφ) 0 0 ˆ π/2 ˆ π/2 ˆ π/2 ˆ R ˆ π/2 ˆ R 4 3 3 = R sin θ cos θ dφ dθ − r cos θ dr dθ +
