Statement
14.3.11.
How many times will the potential difference and capacitance of a long cylin-drical capacitor change when it moves at a speed βc along the axis?
Solution
Reference frame and geometry
S': system at rest with respect to the capacitor.
S: laboratory system, in which the capacitor moves with velocity v along the z-axis (axis of the cylinder).
The capacitor consists of two coaxial cylinders of radii a and b (b > a) and proper length L' (very large compared to the radii). In S' the electric field is purely radial and there is no magnetic field.
For a boost along z, the components of the fields transform according to:
In our case, in S' (at rest):
is radial (perpendicular to z), therefore
In S
using the inverse transformation (changing v \to -v) :
The radial electric field in S is:
Potential difference between the cylinders
The potential difference in S' is
In S:
The transverse distances (a and b) do not change because the motion is parallel to the axis.
The potential difference increases by a factor of
Capacitance
The total charge Q on the plates is a relativistic invariant (scalar). In S' the capacitance is
In S:
The capacitance decreases by a factor of \gamma (it is multiplied by