How Does Arise the Force on a Dielectric Slab in a Parallel Plate Capacitor?

Abstract

We address the problem of the force exerted on a dielectric slab partially introduced into a charged parallel plate capacitor. This elementary problem is usually solved calculating this force as the gradient of an energy and attributing its origin to the action of the fringing field outside the capacitor on the dipoles of the dielectric slab. By applying Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetic stresses, we show that this force acts at the interface dielectric-vacuum and originates from the action of these stresses. This approach permits to obtain the force as a volume integration of a force density, or as a surface integral of a stress tensor. This force density and the stress tensor are part of a momentum balance equation derived from Maxwell’s equations.