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    2.0 Electric Fields

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    EdAn
    Electric fields are regions of space where electric charges experience force. The direction of the electric field is the direction of the force a positive test charge would experience, and the field strength is the force per unit charge. Electric fields have both magnitude and direction, making them vector quantities. A point charge creates a radial electric field, with strength proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the distance squared. Parallel plates separated by a small distance create a uniform electric field. Electric potential energy and electric potential difference are analogous to gravitational potential energy, and relate the work required to move a charge in an electric field.

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    2.0 Electric Fields

    Uploaded by

    EdAn
    29 views4 pages
    Electric fields are regions of space where electric charges experience force. The direction of the electric field is the direction of the force a positive test charge would experience, and the field strength is the force per unit charge. Electric fields have both magnitude and direction, making them vector quantities. A point charge creates a radial electric field, with strength proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the distance squared. Parallel plates separated by a small distance create a uniform electric field. Electric potential energy and electric potential difference are analogous to gravitational potential energy, and relate the work required to move a charge in an electric field.

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    Electric fields are regions of space where electric charges experience force. The direction of the electric field is the direction of the force a positive test charge would experience, and the field strength is the force per unit charge. Electric fields have both magnitude and direction, making them vector quantities. A point charge creates a radial electric field, with strength proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the distance squared. Parallel plates separated by a small distance create a uniform electric field. Electric potential energy and electric potential difference are analogous to gravitational potential energy, and relate the work required to move a charge in an electric field.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    29 views4 pages

    2.0 Electric Fields

    Uploaded by

    EdAn
    Electric fields are regions of space where electric charges experience force. The direction of the electric field is the direction of the force a positive test charge would experience, and the field strength is the force per unit charge. Electric fields have both magnitude and direction, making them vector quantities. A point charge creates a radial electric field, with strength proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the distance squared. Parallel plates separated by a small distance create a uniform electric field. Electric potential energy and electric potential difference are analogous to gravitational potential energy, and relate the work required to move a charge in an electric field.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    2.

    0 Electric Fields

    Working in the Fields


    Electric Fields
    In explaining how gravitational forces can act over enormous distance
    through the emptiness of space, we generally consider the gravitational
    field as the region of space influenced by a particular mass. In a similar
    manner we consider how electric force fields are regions in which a
    charged object may be influenced.

    In describing electric fields we consider the direction of the field to be


    the direction of the force that would act on a small positive charge.
    The strength of the field is the force per unit of charge that exists at any
    point in the field. Since the field has both a magnitude and a direction, it
    is a vector quantity.

    Note: one area that often gets confusing is that the direction of the field
    is not necessarily the direction of the force... it depends on the type of
    charge placed in the field.

    Electric Field Strength

    Field Around a Point


    Positive Charge

    Since we have an expression from Coulomb's


    Law for the force between two point charges ,
    we can rewrite this as:

    where q is the magnitude


    of the point charge.

    Note that with a little rearranging, the equation at the top


    becomes FE = qε, which looks a lot like Fg = mg
    2.0 Electric Fields

    Electric Field Between Parallel Plates


    A very special electric field can be set up using a Parallel Plate
    apparatus, which consists of two oppositely charged parallel
    plates separated by a small distance.

    Characteristics of Field Sketch of Field

    ++++++++++++++

    -------------------

    This uniform field provides an interesting environment, as it allows charges to


    experience a constant force, and hence constant acceleration. Where might
    that lead us??

    Electric Potential Energy


    In a manner similar to how we developed a formula for Gravitational Potential
    Energy in general using Calculus, we can develop a similar formula for the electric
    potential energy in a system of two point charges separated by a distance r.

    Note that, unlike gravitational


    potential energy, the energy may
    be either positive or negative.

    EE is positive when the charges are

    EE is negative when the charges are


    2.0 Electric Fields

    Electric Potential
    Although there are similarities to gravitational potential energy, an important
    difference is in the nature of what influences this energy. To make it easier to
    work with electrical potential energy, we can consider the potential energy per
    unit of charge in VOLTS, V.

     the general definition of Electric Potential. 1 V = 1 J/C

     the specific case for the Electric Potential due to Point Charge

    The electric potential at a point in a field is 1 V if 1 J of energy is


    required to move 1 C of charge from infinity to that point.

    Electric Potential Difference


    Obviously having infinity in a definition of something can cause some
    problems. To deal with this, we often refer to the Electric Potential
    Difference, which is the work required per unit of positive charge to move
    between two points in an electric field.

    A special case of the use of this is for parallel plates. Since the force is constant between the plates, we can calculate
    the change in energy as equal to the work done.
     our familiar definition of work

     which is equal to the change in energy

     Note the units: RHS J/C LHS (N/C)m = Nm/C = J/C


    2.0 Electric Fields

    One of the most important challenges facing you in working through this
    unit is to recognize thesimilarities between electric fields and
    gravitational fields. Although the quantities involved are quite different,
    the analysis is in many ways is the same. In working through practice
    problems you will gain familiarity with the quantities involved, and be
    able to extend your understanding of field analysis.

    And yes, I suppose this is a subtle way of telling you that you need some
    homework questions to help you in your work!

    Try Page 343 # 1 - 5 and Page 354 # 1 - 4

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