MODULE 3 Electric Potential

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MODULE 3

Electric Potential

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:


 Relate the electric potential with work, potential energy, and electric field
 Evaluate the potential at any point in a region containing point charges
 Determine the electric potential function at any point due to highly symmetric
continuous- charge distributions
 Infer the direction and strength of electric field vector, nature of the electric field
sources, and electrostatic potential surfaces given the equipotential lines
 Infer the distribution of charges at the surface of an arbitrarily shaped conductor
 Calculate the electric field in the region given a mathematical function describing its
potential in a region of space
ACTIVITY
Why?
In one type of welding, electric charge flows between the welding tool and the
metal pieces that are to be joined together. This produces a glowing arc
whose high temperature fuses the pieces together. Why must the tool be held
close to the pieces being welded?

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DISCUSSION
This chapter is about energy associated with electrical interactions. Every time you
turn on a light, listen to an MP3 player, or talk on a mobile phone, you are using electrical
energy, an indispensable ingredient of our technological society.
When a charged particle moves in an electric field, the field exerts a force that can
do work on the particle. This work can always be expressed in terms of electric potential
energy. Just as gravitational potential energy depends on the height of a mass above the
earth’s surface, electric potential energy depends on the position of the charged particle
in the electric field. We will describe electric potential energy using a new concept called
electric potential, or simply potential. In circuits, a difference in potential from one point
to another is often called voltage. The concepts of potential and voltage are crucial to
understanding how electric circuits work and have equally important applications to
electron beams used in cancer radiotherapy, high-energy particle accelerators, and many
other devices.
Electrical potential energy

The concepts of work, potential energy, and conservation of energy proved to be


extremely useful in our study of mechanics. In this section we’ll show that these concepts
are just as useful for understanding and analyzing electrical interactions.

Mechanical energy is conserved as long as friction and radiation are not present.
As with gravitational and elastic potential energy, electrical potential energy can be
included in the expression for mechanical energy. If a gravitational force, an elastic force,
and an electric force are all acting on an object, the mechanical energy can be written as
follows:
ME = KE + PE grav + PE elastic + PE electric

To account for the forces (except friction) that may also be present in a problem,
the appropriate potential-energy terms associated with each force are added to the
expression for mechanical energy.

Recall from your study of work and energy that any time a force is used to move
an object; work is done on that object. This statement is also true for charges moved by
an electric force. Whenever a charge moves—because of the electric field produced by
another charge or group of charges—work is done on that charge.

Electrical potential energy in a Uniform Field

Consider a positive charge in a uniform electric field.


(A uniform field is a field that has the same value and
direction at all points.) Assume the charge is displaced at
a constant velocity in the same direction as the electric
field, as shown in Figure 2. There is a change in the
electrical potential energy associated with the charge’s
new position in the electric field. The change in the
electrical potential energy depends on the charge, q, as
well as the strength of the electric field, E, and the
displacement, d. It can be written as follows:
Figure: A positive charge moves from
∆PE electric = −qEd point A to point B in a uniform electric
field, and the potential energy changes
as a result.
Where:

PE electric = electrical potential energy


q = charge
E= electric field strength
d = displacement from the reference
point in the direction of the field
The negative sign indicates that the electrical potential energy will increase if the
charge is negative and decrease if the charge is positive. As with other forms of potential
energy, it is the difference in electrical potential energy that is physically important. If the
displacement in the expression above is chosen so that it is the distance in the direction
of the field from the reference point, or zero level, then the initial electrical potential energy
is zero and the expression can be rewritten as shown below. As with other forms of
energy, the SI unit for electrical potential energy is the joule (J).

The equation is valid only for a uniform electric field, such as that between two
oppositely charged parallel plates. In contrast, the electric field lines for a point charge
are farther apart as the distance from the charge increases. Thus, the electric field of a
point charge is an example of a nonuniform electric field.

Electrical potential energy is similar to gravitational potential energy

When electrical potential energy is calculated, d is the magnitude of the


displacement’s component in the direction of the electric field. The electric field does work
on a positive charge by moving the charge in the direction of E (just as Earth’s
gravitational field does work on a mass by moving the mass toward Earth). After such a
movement, the system’s final potential energy is less than its initial potential energy. A
negative charge behaves in the opposite manner, because a negative charge undergoes
a force in the opposite direction. Moving a charge in a direction that is perpendicular to E
is analogous to moving an object horizontally in a gravitational field: no work is done, and
the potential energy of the system remains constant.

Figure: (a) In an elevated position, the ram has gravitational potential energy. When
released, this energy is transferred to the pile below and (b) similar energy transfer occurs
for electric charges.

Potential Difference

The concept of electrical potential energy is useful in solving problems, particularly


those involving charged particles. But at any point in an electric field, as the magnitude of
the charge increases, the magnitude of the associated electrical potential energy
increases. It is more convenient to express the potential in a manner independent of
the charge at that point, a concept called electric potential.

The electric potential at some point is defined as the electrical potential energy
associated with a charged particle in an electric field divided by the charge of the particle.

𝑃𝐸𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐
𝑉=
𝑞

The potential at a point is the result of the fields due to all other charges near
enough and large enough to contribute force on a charge at that point. In other words,
the electric potential at a point is independent of the charge at that point. The force that a
test charge at the point in question experiences is proportional to the magnitude of the
charge.

Potential difference is a change in electric potential

The Potential difference between two points can be expressed as follows:

∆𝑃𝐸𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐
∆𝑉 =
𝑞

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦


𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒

Potential difference is a measure of the difference in the electrical potential energy


between two positions in space divided by the charge. The SI unit for potential difference
(and for electric potential) is the volt, V, and is equivalent to one joule per coulomb. As a
1 C charge moves through a potential difference of 1 V, the charge gains 1 J of energy.
Because the reference point for measuring electrical potential energy is arbitrary,
the reference point for measuring electric potential is also arbitrary. Thus, only changes
in electric potential are significant.
Remember that electrical potential energy is a quantity of energy, with units in
joules. However, electric potential and potential difference are both measures of energy
per unit charge (measured in units of volts), and potential difference describes a change
in energy per unit charge.

The potential difference in a uniform field varies with the displacement from
a reference point

The expression for potential difference can be combined with the expressions for
electrical potential energy. The resulting equations are often simpler to apply in certain
situations. For example, consider the electrical potential energy of a charge in a uniform
electric field.
𝑃𝐸𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 = −𝑞𝐸𝑑

This expression can be substituted into the equation for potential difference.

∆(−𝑞𝐸𝑑)
∆𝑉 =
𝑞

As the charge moves in a uniform electric field, the quantity in the parentheses does not
change from the reference point. Thus, the potential difference in this case can be
rewritten as follows:

∆𝑉 = −𝐸𝑑

Where:

∆𝑽 is the potential difference


E is the magnitude of the electric field
d is the displacement

Keep in mind that d is the displacement parallel to the field and that motion perpendicular
to the field does not change the electrical potential energy.

The reference point for potential difference near a point charge is often at
infinity

To determine the potential difference between two points in the


Figure: The electric potential at point
field of a point charge, first calculate the electric potential A depends on the charge at point B and
associated with each point. Imagine a point charge q 2 at point the distance r.
A in the electric field of a point charge q at point B some
distance, r, away as shown in Figure 4. The electric potential at
point A due to q 1 can be expressed as follows:

𝑃𝐸𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑞1 𝑞2 𝑞1
𝑉𝐴 = =𝑘 =𝑘
𝑞2 𝑟𝑞2 𝑟

Do not confuse the two charges in this example. The charge q1


is responsible for the electric potential at point A. Therefore, an
electric potential exists at some point in an electric field
regardless of whether there is a charge at that point. In this case, the electric potential at
a point depends on only two quantities: the charge responsible for the electric potential
(q1) and the distance r from this charge to the point in question.
To determine the potential difference between any two points near the point charge
q1, first note that the electric potential at each point depends only on the distance from
each point to the charge q1. If the two distances are r1 and r2 , then the potential difference
between these two points can be written as follows:

𝑞1 𝑞1 1 1
𝑉=𝑘 − 𝑘 = 𝑘𝑞1 ( − )
𝑟1 𝑟1 𝑟1 𝑟2

Potential difference between a point at infinity and A point near a point charge.
𝑞
∆𝑉 = 𝑘
𝑟

Where

V = potential difference
k = Coulomb constant
q = value of the point charge
r = distance to the point charge

This result for the potential difference associated with a point charge appears
identical to the electric potential associated with a point charge. The two expressions look
the same only because we have chosen a special reference point from which to measure
the potential difference.

The superposition principle can be used to calculate the electric potential for
a group of charges

The electric potential at a point near two or more charges is obtained by applying
a rule called the superposition principle. This rule states that the total electric potential at
some point near several point charges is the algebraic sum of the electric potentials
resulting from each of the individual charges. While this is similar to the method used
previously to find the resultant electric field at a point in space, here the summation is
much easier to evaluate because the electric potentials are scalar quantities, not vector
quantities. There are no vector components to consider.
To evaluate the electric potential at a point near a group of point charges, you
simply take the algebraic sum of the potentials resulting from all charges. Remember, you
must keep track of signs. The electric potential at some point near a positive charge is
positive, and the potential near a negative charge is negative.
Sample Problem no.
A charge moves a distance of 2.0 cm in the direction of a uniform electric
field whose magnitude is 215 N/C. As the charge moves, its electrical potential
energy decreases by 6.9 x 10–19 J. Find the charge on the moving particle.
What is the potential difference between the two locations?
Given Required Equation
∆PE electric =−6.9 × 10 −19J (a) q = ? (a) ∆PE electric =−qEd
d = 0.020 m
E = 215 N/C (b) ∆V = ? (b) ∆V =−Ed

Solution
Derive ∆PE electric =−qEd to solve for q, and substitute values.

∆PE electric (−6.9 x 10−19 𝐽)


𝑞=− =− = 1.9 x 10−19 𝐶
𝐸𝑑 𝑁
(215 ) (0.020 𝑚)
𝐶

The potential difference is the magnitude of E times the displacement.


𝑁
𝑉 = −𝐸𝑑 = − (215 ) (0.020 𝑚) = −4.30 𝑉
𝐶

SYNTHESIS
The students will answer the following questions orally:
A. What happen to the change of EPE when the charge
moves from point a to b?
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B. What happen to the electric potential difference


when the charge moves from a to b?
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C. What happen to the change of EPE when the charge moves from point b to a?
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D. What happen to the electric potential difference when the charge moves from b to
a?
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OUTPUT

Direction: Answer the following questions with complete solutions.

A proton is released from rest at x = -2.00 cm in a constant electric field with magnitude
1.50 X 10^3 N/C, pointing in the positive x-direction.
(a) Calculate the change in the electric potential energy associated with the
proton when it reaches x = 5.00 cm.
(b) An electron is now fired in the same direction from the same position. What is
the change in electric potential energy associated with the electron if it
reaches x = 12.0 cm?
(c) If the direction of the electric field is reversed and an electron is released from
rest at x = 3.00 cm, by how much has the electric potential energy changed
when the electron reaches x = 7.00 cm?

VALUES
Relate the pressure and stress they have experiencing as a positive charge
moving from lower potential (low pressure) to higher potential (high pressure) which
results to electric potential difference.

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