The mathematical parallels between electrostatics and laminar fluid flow are exploited to develop a set of exercises that allow introductory physics students to discover Gauss's Law.
creator
Schneider, Mark B. (Faculty/Staff)
Title
Discovery-based Gauss's law
supporting host
Grinnell College. Physics
Index Date
2004
Date Issued
13-Sep-2004
Date (Other)
2004-10
Publisher
Grinnell College
Genre
Essays
Digital Origin
born digital
Extent
13 pages
Media Type
application/pdf
description
The mathematical parallels between electrostatics and laminar fluid flow are exploited to develop a set of exercises that allow introductory physics students to discover GaussG??s Law. The primary fluid experiment involves investigating the continuity equation in two dimensions by examining the flow between two closely spaced plates. Extrapolation of the resulting two-dimensional velocity field to three dimensions reveals a radial dependence to the velocity field that is analogous to Coulomb's Law. This analogy allows the student to predict an electric version of the continuity equation that is Gauss's Law.
citation/reference
Schneider, Mark B. (2004) "Discovery-based Gauss's law". American Journal of Physics, 72, 1272. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.1773174
Language
English
Topic
Electrostatics
Topic
Fluid dynamics
Topic
Fluids
Topic
Laminar flow
Topic
Numerical analysis
Topic
Physics
Topic
Study and teaching
Classification
QC
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Curricular Materials
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Faculty Scholarship
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Scholarship at Grinnell
Related Item
Digital Grinnell
Identifier (hdl)
http://hdl.handle.net/11084/223
Identifier (local)
grinnell:223
Access Condition
Copyright to this work is held by the author(s), in accordance with United States copyright law (USC 17). Readers of this work have certain rights as defined by the law, including but not limited to fair use (17 USC 107 et seq.).
