Wednesday, October 14, 2009

A Compare & Contrast Exercise at 2 AM

Scenario 1:

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance."

His disciples answered, "But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?"

"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked.
"Seven," they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Mark 8: 1-8


Scenario 2:
Consider a ring charge. Suppose the the charge q is not distributed uniformly over the ring but that the charge q1 is distributed uniformly over half the circumference and charge q2 uniformly over the other half. Let q=q1+q2. Find the component of the electric field at any point on the axis perpendicular to the axis and compare to the uniform case. (Problem 26-3b, Physics (5e), Halliday, Resnick, Krane)


I'm tired, frustrated and slightly biased but #1 seems easier to replicate than solving #2.

Bonus object lesson: Don't put off your E/M assignments until the last minute. You're welcome.

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