FALL 2017/2018

GENERAL PHYSICS II:

ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
Faculty of Engineering and Technology at Sampoerna
University
Electric Potential Energy

An electrostatic force acts between two or more charged particles within a system of particles, assign an
electric potential energy U to the system.

If the system changes its configuration from an initial state i to a different final state f, the electrostatic
force does work W on the particles

The work done by the electrostatic force is path independent

The reference configuration of a system of charged particles to be that in which the particles are all
infinitely separated from one another
Electric Potential Energy

Suppose that several charged particles come together from initially infinite separations (state i) to form a
system of neighboring particles (state f ).

Let the initial potential energy Ui be zero, and W ∞ represent the work done by the electrostatic forces
between the particles during the move in from infinity.
Example:
Electric Potential

The potential energy per unit charge at a point in an electric field : electric potential V (or simply the potential)
at that point

The electric potential difference V between any two points i and f in an electric field is equal to the difference in
potential energy per unit charge between the two points

The potential difference between two points is thus the negative of the work done by the electrostatic
force to move a unit charge from one point to the other
If we set Ui = 0 at infinity as our reference potential energy
W ∞ = the work done by the electric field on a charged particle as
that particle moves in from infinity to point f.
Electric Potential

The SI unit for potential that follows from Eq. 24-8 is the joule per coulomb

for the electric field E

an energy unit that is a convenient one for energy measurements in the atomic and subatomic domain: One
electron-volt (eV) is the energy equal to the work required to move a single elementary charge e, such as that of
the electron or the proton, through a potential difference of exactly one
volt
Example:
 Work Done by Applied Force

Suppose we move a particle of charge q from point i to point f in an electric field by applying a force to it.

the work–kinetic energy , the change K in the kinetic energy of the particle

suppose the particle is stationary before and after the move. Then Kf and Ki are both zero then reduces to

The work done by our applied force to the change in the potential energy of the particle during the move

Work Wapp to the electric potential difference V between the initial and final locations of the particle
Equipotential Surface
Adjacent points that have the same electric potential form an equipotential surface, which can be either an
imaginary surface or a real, physical surface

No net work W is done on a charged particle by an electric field when the particle moves between two points i
and f on the same equipotential surface
Equipotential Surface
Calculating the Potential from the field
The differential work dW done on a particle by a force 𝐹 during a displacement d 𝑠 is given by the dot product of the
force and the displacement:

Total work W done on the particle by the field as the particle moves
from point i to point f

If potential Vi = 0
Example:
Potential Due to Point Charge
For the space around a charged particle, an expression for the electric potential V relative to the
zero potential at infinity

The electric field in Fig. 24-6 is directed radially outward from the fixed particle.
Thus, the differential displacement of the test particle along its path has the same
direction as .

we set Vf 0 (at ) and Vi V (at R)

Potential Due to Group Charges

the net potential at a point due to a group of point charges with the help of the superposition principle.

Example:
Potential Due to Electric Dipole
Potential Due to Continous Charge Distribution
When a charge distribution q is continuous (as on a uniformly charged thin rod or disk)

Choose a differential element of charge dq, determine the potential dV at P due to dq, and then integrate
over the entire charge distribution.

The potential dV at point P due to dq:

Here r is the distance between P and dq. To find the total potential V at P, we integrate to sum the potentials due
to all the charge elements
Potential Due to Continous Charge Distribution
Line of Charge

Final solution
Potential Due to Continous Charge Distribution
Consider a differential element consisting of a flat ring of radius R and radial width dR. Its charge has magnitude:
 a positive test charge q0 moves through a displacement from one equipotential surface to the adjacent surface

the work the electric field does on the test charge during the move is q0 dV

If we take the s axis to be, in turn, the x, y, and z axes, we find that the x, y, and z components of at any point are

For the simple situation in which the electric field is uniform

Example:
Capacitance
Capacitor : two isolated conductors of any shape
Capacitance
The plates of capacitor are conductors, they are equipotential surface; all points on a plate are at
the same electric potential

The charge q and the potential difference V for a capacitor are proportional to each other

C = capacitance of the capacitor

The capacitance is a measure of how much charge must be put on the plates to produce a certain potential
difference between them: The greater the capacitance, the more charge is required

Unit of Capacitance
Charging Capacitor

Explain how to charge a capacitor?

Calculating Electric Field

The relationship of the electric field between the plates of a capacitor to the charge q on
either plate

q is the charge enclosed by a Gaussian surface and ε𝑜 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 is the net electric flux through
that surface

When 𝐸 have a uniform magnitude E and the vectors 𝐸 and d𝐴 will be parallel
Calculating Potential Difference

The potential difference between the plates of a capacitor is related to the 𝐸 field by

V represent the difference Vf - Vi

The - and + remind us that our path of integration starts on the negative plate and ends on the
positive plate
A Parallel Plate Capacitor

If the plates of our parallel-plate capacitor are so large and so close together that we can neglect
the fringing of the electric field at the edges of the plates, taking to be constant throughout the
region between the plates.
Cylindrical , Spherical and Isolated Sphere Capacitors

cylindrical capacitor

length L and the two radii b and a

Spherical Capacitor
Central cross section of a capacitor that consists of two concentric spherical shells, of
radii a and b

Isolated Sphere
a single isolated spherical conductor of radius R
Capacitor in Parallel
The capacitors : directly wired together at one plate and directly wired
together at the other plate

Potential difference V is applied across the two groups of wired-together

plates

Each capacitor has the same potential difference V, which produces

charge on the capacitor

The total charge q stored on the capacitors is the sum of the charges
stored on all the capacitors

Capacitors connected in parallel can be replaced with an equivalent

capacitor that has the same total charge q and the same potential
difference V as the actual capacitors
Capacitor in Parallel

The total charge on the parallel combination of Fig. 25-8a is then

So
Capacitor in Series
Series: the capacitors are wired serially, one after the other,
a potential difference V is applied across the two ends of the series

The potential differences that then exist across the capacitors in the series produce
identical charges q on them

The sum of the potential differences across all the capacitors is equal to the applied
potential difference V.

When charge is shifted from one capacitor to another in a series of capacitors, it can
move along only one route, such as from capacitor 3 to capacitor 2

The battery directly produces charges on only the two plates to which it is
connected (the bottom plate of capacitor 3 and the top plate of capacitor 1)
Capacitor in Series

The total V (Potential):

Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Capacitor in Dielectric

the space between the plates of a capacitor with is filled a dielectric such
as mineral oil or plastic

the capacitance increased by a numerical factor 𝑘, which he called the

dielectric constant of the insulating material
Capacitor in Dielectric

The capacitance of any capacitor can be written in the form

𝓛 has the dimension of length. For example, 𝓛= A/d for a parallel-

plate capacitor.

a dielectric completely filling the space between the plates, Eq. 25-26
becomes
Capacitor in Dielectric

Electric field in Dielectric Material

The magnitude of the electric field produced by a point charge inside a dielectric is given by this modified
form

The expression for the electric field just outside an isolated conductor immersed in a dielectric

for a fixed distribution of charges, the effect of a dielectric is to weaken the electric field
Dielectric in Atomic View

Polar dielectrics

The molecules of some dielectrics, like water, have permanent electric dipole
moments. the electric dipoles tend to line up with an external electric field as in Fig.
25-14.
Dielectric : In Molecular View

Nonpolar dielectrics

Regardless of whether they have permanent electric dipole

moments, molecules acquire dipole moments by induction
when placed in an external electric field. In Section 24-8 (see
Fig. 24-11)

this occurs because the external field tends to “stretch” the

molecules, slightly separating the centers of negative and
positive charge
Dielectric and Gauss Law

Gausian Surface without Dielectric Gaussian Surface with Dielectric

Example: