We present the results of an experimental study of the implications of the Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions on the solution of two-dimensional electrostatic problems. The experimental setup is simple and low cost. The experimental results are compared with theoretical expectations using a spreadsheet program to solve Laplace’s equation with the appropriate boundary conditions. Excellent agreement is found between the experimental results and the calculations. The simplicity of the experiment and of the theoretical interpretation makes this experiment accessible to beginning students.
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© 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2002
American Association of Physics Teachers
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