solid that remain after drilling a hole of radius b through the center of a sphere of radius R (b<R)

 

using multiple integrals
in Calculus Answers by

Your answer

Your name to display (optional):
Privacy: Your email address will only be used for sending these notifications.
Anti-spam verification:
To avoid this verification in future, please log in or register.

1 Answer

Consider a circle with equation x^2+y^2=R^2. Consider a circle with equation x^2+y^2=b^2. The latter represents the cross-section of the hole drilled through the centre of the cross-section of the sphere represented by the circle with the first equation. The graph looks like a view of the sphere with the drilled hole from its top, looking down the hole.

Now, consider a concentric circle with radius between b and R. That radius can be represented as a value x along the x axis, which is the radius of a cylinder concentric with the drilled hole. The circumference of the circle with radius x is 2(pi)x and the surface area of the cylinder with the same radius is 2(pi)xh where h is the length of the cylinder and the cylinder itself, and this length is perpendicular to the xy plane, "into the paper", so to speak. Now imagine a side view of the sphere and drilled hole. In this view, the circle is still represented in two dimensions by x^2+y^2=R^2 and the hole is a line segment on each side of the y axis at x=b and x=-b. The point we marked as x between b and R is now somewhere on the circumference of the side view of the sphere and its y value in this side view is h, so h=2sqrt(R^2-x^2). The reason for 2 is that h extends from x at its entry point through the x axis and to the same distance below the x axis at the exit point. If we now unfold the cylinder into rectangle with length h and width equal to the circumference of the cylinder's circular end we have a rectangle equal in area to the surface area of the cylinder. Give this an infinitesimal thickness dx and we have the volume of a very thin cylindrical shell that runs through the sphere. This volume is 2(pi)xhdx=4(pi)x*sqrt(R^2-x^2)dx. If we integrate this between the limits b and R we should end up with the volume of material remaining after drilling a hole radius b through the centre of a sphere radius R.

Let u=R^2-x^2, then du/dx=-2x or xdx=-du/2. The integrand becomes -2(pi)u^(1/2)du which when integrated becomes -2(pi)u^(3/2)*(2/3)=-4/3(pi)(R^2-x^2)^(3/2) between the limits x=b to R. This evaluates to 4/3(pi)(R^2-b^2)^(3/2).

When b=0 this is 4/3(pi)R^3, the volume of the sphere, and when b=R it's zero.

by Top Rated User (1.1m points)

Related questions

1 answer
asked Mar 10, 2014 in Word Problem Answers by khombee | 1.2k views
1 answer
2 answers
asked Apr 26, 2015 in Geometry Answers by Rod Top Rated User (1.1m points) | 637 views
1 answer
asked Apr 17, 2013 in Algebra 1 Answers by anonymous | 616 views
Welcome to MathHomeworkAnswers.org, where students, teachers and math enthusiasts can ask and answer any math question. Get help and answers to any math problem including algebra, trigonometry, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, fractions, solving expression, simplifying expressions and more. Get answers to math questions. Help is always 100% free!
87,542 questions
99,806 answers
2,417 comments
523,402 users