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Fieldlines Lectnotes

The document discusses electric field lines and their properties. It provides examples of electric field line patterns for single positive and negative charges, electric dipoles, and continuous charge distributions like linear charge densities along a rod or ring. Some key points summarized: - Electric field lines indicate the direction of the electric field and are closer together where the field is stronger. - They extend from positive to negative charges or to infinity, with their density proportional to the magnitude of the charge. - Field patterns can be determined from symmetry, the near and far behavior of individual charges, and locations where the field is zero. - Integrating the contributions of infinitesimal charge elements dq allows calculating the electric field

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Zulhadi Iskandar Radzi
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121 views

Fieldlines Lectnotes

The document discusses electric field lines and their properties. It provides examples of electric field line patterns for single positive and negative charges, electric dipoles, and continuous charge distributions like linear charge densities along a rod or ring. Some key points summarized: - Electric field lines indicate the direction of the electric field and are closer together where the field is stronger. - They extend from positive to negative charges or to infinity, with their density proportional to the magnitude of the charge. - Field patterns can be determined from symmetry, the near and far behavior of individual charges, and locations where the field is zero. - Integrating the contributions of infinitesimal charge elements dq allows calculating the electric field

Uploaded by

Zulhadi Iskandar Radzi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

1.5.

The electric field lines

Electric field lines provide a convenient graphical


representation of the electric field in space. The field lines
for a positive and a negative charges are shown in Fig.
(1.12)

Fig.(1.12) Field lines of a single isolated a) positive


charge-radially outward b) negative charge-radially
inward.

Fig.(1.13) Field lines for an electric dipole.


For a pair of charges of equal magnitude but opposite
sign such as an electric dipole, the field lines are shown in
Fig(1.13).

Notice that nearer the charge, where the electric field is


greater (F 1/r2), the lines are closer together.

The electric field E is related to line of forces by the


following two rules:
i-

The tangent to a line of force at any point gives the

ii-

direction of E at that point.


The lines of force are drawn such that the number
of lines per unit cross-sectional area is proportional

to the magnitude

. Thus

is strong where the

lines are close and E is weak where the lines are


far apart. And the density of lines of forces
depends on the magnitude of charge.

Fig.(1.14)
The pattern of electric field lines can be obtained by
considering the following:
(1) Symmetry: For every point above the line joining the
two charges there is an equivalent point below it.
Therefore, the pattern must be symmetrical about the
line joining the two charges
3

(2) Near field: Very close to a charge, the field due to


that charge predominates. Therefore, the lines are radial
and spherically symmetric.
(3) Far field: Far from the system of charges, the pattern
should look like that of a single point charge of value
Qi
i

. Thus, the lines should be radially outward, unless

Q = 0.
(4) Null point: This is a point at which
lines should pass through it.

E=0

, and no field

The properties of electric field lines may be summarized as follows:


The direction of the electric field vector
the field lines.

at a point is tangent to

The number of lines per unit area through a surface perpendicular


to the line is devised to be proportional to the magnitude of the
electric field in a given region.
The field lines must begin on positive charges (or at infinity) and
then terminate on negative charges (or at infinity).
The number of lines that originate from a positive charge or
terminating on a negative charge must be proportional to the
magnitude of the charge.
No two field lines can cross each other; otherwise the field would
be pointing in two different directions at the same point.

Fig.(1.15)

1.5.3
Field

Force on a Charged Particle in an Electric


5

Consider a charge +q moving between two parallel plates


of opposite charges, as shown in Fig.(1.16)

Fig. (1.16) Charge moving in a constant electric


field.
Let the electric field between the plates be

E=E ^j

with E

> 0. (Note that the electric field in the region between


two infinitely large plates of charges is uniform).
The charge will experience a downward Coulomb force

Fc =q
E

According to Newtons second law, a net force will cause


the charge to accelerate with an acceleration of
a =

Fc q
E qE ^
=
=
j
m m
m

Suppose the particle is at rest ( v0 = 0) when it is first


released from the positive plate. The final speed v of the
particle as it strikes the negative plate is
6

= 2 ay =

2 yqE
m

where y is the distance between the two plates. The


kinetic energy of the particle when it strikes the plate is
1
K= m 2=qEy
2

1.5.4

Charge Density

The electric field due to a small number of charged


particles can readily be computed using the superposition
principle. But what happens if we have a very large
number of charges distributed in some region in space?
Lets consider the system shown in Fig.(1.17)

Fig.(1.17) Electric field due to a small charge element


qi.
1.5.4.1 Line charge density

If the charge is distributed over a line of length l , then


the linear charge density, is
( r )=

dq
dl

where the dimension of is charge/unit length (C/m) .


The total charge is now an integral over the entire length:

Q= ( r ) dl
line

If charges are uniformly distributed throughout the


region, the densities ( , or ) then become uniform.
1.5.4.1
area

Surface charge density, : (x,y) = charge/unit

For a surface dQ= (x,y) dA and


Q= dQ = ( x , y ) dA

If (x,y) = is constant then dQ = dA and Q= A,


where A is the area.
1.5.4.2 Volume charge density, : (x,y,Z) = charge/unit
volume
8

For a volume dQ = (x,y,Z) dV and


Q= dQ= ( x , y , z ) dV

If (x,y,Z) = is constant then dQ=dV and Q=V where


V is the volume.

1.5.4

Electric Fields due to Continuous Charge Distributions

The electric field at a point P due to each charge element


dQ is given by Coulombs law:
9

The electric field from a continuous distribution of charge


is the superposition (i.e integral) of all (infinite)
contribution from each infinitesimal dQ as follows:

Charge distributions:
(a)
Linear charge density, :
(x) = charge/unit length

For a straight line dQ = (x) dx and


Q= dQ= ( x ) dx

If (x) = is constant
then
10

and
length.

dQ = dx
Q = L where L is the

Example 1.5.1 : Electric field on the axis of a rod


A non-conducting rod of length with a uniform
positive charge density and a total charge Q is lying
along the x -axis, as illustrated in Fig.(1.18)

Fig.(1.18) Electric field of a wire along the axis of


the wire
Calculate the electric field at a point P located along the
axis of the rod and a distance Xo from one end.

Solution:
11

The linear charge density is uniform and is given by = Q


/ l . The amount of charge contained in a small segment
of length dx is
dq = dx
Since the source carries a positive charge Q, the field at P
points in the negative x direction, and the unit vector that
points from the source to P is

r^ =i^

. The contribution to

the electric field due to dq is


d
E =

dq ^
d ' ( ^ )
Qdx ' ^
r
=
i =
i
2
'2
2
r
x
lx'

Integrating over the entire length leads to


Q
d
E = d
E =
l

x o+l

xo

d x' ^
i
'2
x

Q 1
1 ^
Q

i=
i^
l x o x o +l
x o ( l+ x o )

Notice that when P is very far away from the rod, Xo >> l,
then the above expression becomes
Q

E= 2 i^
xo

The result is to be expected since at sufficiently far


distance away, the distinction between a continuous
charge distribution and a point charge diminishes.
12

Ex.1.5.2: electric field on the axis of a ring


A non-conducting ring of radius R with a uniform charge
density and a total charge Q is lying in the xy- plane, as
shown in below . Compute the electric field at a point P,
located at a distance z from the center of the ring along
its axis of symmetry.

Electric field at P due to the charge element dq.

Solution:
Consider a small length element dl on the ring. The
amount of charge contained within this element is dq =
dl = Rd . Its contribution to the electric field at P is

13

Using the symmetry argument illustrated in fig above we


see that the electric field at P must point in the +z
direction.

Integrating over the entire ring, we obtain

Where the total charge is Q=(2R).


14

15

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