AP Physics C

Electricity & Magnetism

Unit 7: Electrostatics

Section 7.1 – Electric Charge……………………………………………………….……………4

Section 7.2 – Charge & Electric Force…………………………………………….……..………7

Section 7.3 – Electric Field……………………………………………………………….…….10

Section 7.4 – Introduction to Gauss’s Law……….………………………………………….…14

Section 7.5 – Applications of Gauss’s Law…………………………………………………….17

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AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Unit 7 - Electrostatics
7.1 Electric Charge (Chapter 23)
Focus Question: What is charge?
Electric Charge

 Charge is a fundamental property of objects, like mass.

 Units of charge: Coulombs (C).
 There are two types of charge, positive charge (due to protons) and electrons (caused by electrons).
 Protons and electrons have equal but opposite charges. The magnitude of the charge of a proton or
electron is the fundamental charge is equal to 1.60x10 −19 bC. Any net charge on an object is due to an
unequal amount of protons/electrons and the net charge is a multiple of the fundamental charge.
 Classically demonstrating that there are two types of charge:
 When rubbing a glass rod with silk, electrons are transferred from the glass rod to the silk. The glass
rod loses electrons and becomes positively charged.
 When rubbing a rubber rod with fur, the rod gains electrons and becomes negatively charge.

*Charge is always transferred by the flow of electrons. A Positive charge means an electron deficit.
Atomic Structure

 The atomic nucleus contains protons and neutrons. Protons have positive charge
while neutrons have no charge. Almost all the mass of an atom is in the nucleus.
 Protons and neutrons are held together by the strong force.
 Electrons exist far outside the nucleus of an item. They have little mass, but have a
negative charge, equal to the positive charge of protons. Electrons are scattered out over region of space
outside the nucleus (an orbital). You can’t precisely state where an electron is at a given moment, but
can state where it is likely to be found (electron locations are given by probability).

Conductors vs. Insulators

 Conductors – Materials with free electrons that can move easily. As a result,
charge is easily transferred due to the flow of electrons.
o Most metals are good conductors
o The atomic structure of metals causes electrons to move as far away
from each other as possible. Free electrons in metal are what causes conductivity from metal.
 Insulators - Material in which electrons are tightly bound to nucleus and thus charge
is not transferred.
o Glass, rubber, and plastic are examples of non-conductors (insulators)
o Electrons in insulators are tightly bound to the nucleus, so there are no free
electrons to transfer.
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The Electroscope

 The electroscope – Electroscopes are used to detect charge. An electroscope consists

of two “leaves” made of foil. When the electroscope is charged, the leaves repel each
other and diverge. When the charge has more magnitude, the leaves divege more and
more.

Charging by Conduction

 Both insulators and conductors can be charged by direct contact in a process known as conduction.
 When a charged rod touches an uncharged electroscope charge from the rod is transferred to
electroscope.
 A negatively charged rod will transfer electrons to the electroscope. A positively charged rod will cause
electrons form the electroscope to transfer to the rod.

*when the rod is remvoed, the electroscope retains a charge that is the same sign as the rod.

Charging by Induction

 In induction, conductors are charged without coming into direct contact with another charged object
 To charge an electroscope by induction:

a) Bring a charged object close to the knob of the electroscope, but do not touch it.
*When a conductor is close to a charged object, free electrons on the conductor will be attracted to the
charged object.
b) Ground the electroscope by touching it.
*In electricity, “ground” means to make an electrical connection between the earth and the object being
“grounded”. When an object is grounded, free electrons between the object and earth. Because earth is
large, it can make an object charge neutral by either absorbing or supplying an essentially limitless
amount of electrons.
c) Break the connection with ground.
*with the grond connection broken, there will be no way for electrons to be transferred.
d) Remove the charged object.
*the charge on the conductor will redistribute itself evenly on the object as soon as the charged
rod is removed leaving it with a charge opposite the rod.

5
Example A: Three metal spheres rest on insulating stands as shown in the diagram at
right. Sphere Y is smaller than Spheres X and Z, which are the same size. Spheres Y
and Z are initially neutral, and Sphere X is charged positively. Spheres Y and Z are
placed in contact near Sphere X, though Sphere X does not touch the other spheres.

a) Does sphere Y have a positive, negative, or neutral charge?

b) Does sphere Z have a positive, negative, or neutral charge?

c) Sphere X is moved away Spheres Y and Z are separated. Compare the magnitude of the charge on Spheres Y
and Z.

a) Y has a negative charge. X has a positive charge, so negative charge is attracted

towards it. Therefore, electrons will flow from Z to Y.

b) Z has a positive charge since it lost electrons to Y.

c) Equal and opposite charge.

Example B: A student investigates how a negatively charged ebonite rod influences an

uncharged electroscope as shown in the diagram at right.

a) Briefly describe how the ebonite rod can be given a negative charge.

b) Write a procedure of how the negatively charged ebonite rod could produce a positive
charge on the electroscope. Other materials can be used, but none can be charged, and none
can alter the charge of the ebonite rod.

c) Assume the student charges the electroscope. Describe how the negatively charged ebonite rod could be used
to test whether the electroscope is positively charged. Also explain what the student should expect to observe
and why

a) The ebonite rod can be rubbed with a fur cloth. Compared to fur, ebonite is a strong insulator, so electrons
from the fur will transfer to the ebonite, giving it excess electrons and a subsequent negative charge.

b) Bring the ebonite rod close to, but not touching, the electroscope knob. Ground the electroscope. Break the
ground connection. Move the rod away.

c) Touch the rod to the scope. If the leaves collapse, they were positively charge. If they further diverge, they
were negatively charge.

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AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Unit 7 - Electrostatics
7.2 Charge & Electric Force (Chapter 23)
Focus Question: How is the electrostatic force similar to gravity?

 If charge is evenly distributed on an object, it can thought of as being concentrated at its center, much
like the force of gravity.
 The net charge on an object is determined by the difference between the number of electrons and the
number of protons the object contains.

Calculate electrostatic force.

Coulomb’s Law

 Charges attract/repel each other by the electrostatic force.

 Electrostatic force is a vector quantity; the direction of the force depends on the sign (+/-) of the charges
exerting force on each other. The direction of the force is along the line connecting the charges.
𝒌|𝑸𝟏 𝑸𝟐 |
𝑭⃑ =
𝒓𝟐
𝑵𝒎𝟐 𝟏
𝒌 = 𝟖. 𝟗𝟗𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝒌=
𝑪𝟐 𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎
 𝜖 − permittivity of free space, measure of resistance to formation of electric field in a vacuum
𝜖 = 8.85𝑥10
 Superposition Principle: The net electrostatic force on a charge is the sum of all the forces from all the
individual charges acting on it.

Example A: Example A: Positive point charges of equal magnitude Q are located at (0,𝑎) and (0,−𝑎).
a) Find the total force the two charges exert on a charge -Q at (a,0).
b) Find the total force the two charges exert on a charge -Q at (0,2a).
c) Find the total force the two charges exert on a charge -Q at (0, a/2).

a) The y-component of the force cancels due to symmetry so only the x-

component needs to be calculated. Both forces point in the negative x-
direction and are equal in magnitude:

𝑘|𝑄||−𝑄| 𝑘𝑄 𝑎
𝐹 = −2 cos 𝜃 = −2
𝑟 √𝑎 + 𝑎 √𝑎 + 𝑎

2𝑘𝑄 √2 𝒌𝑸𝟐 √𝟐
→𝐹=− →𝑭=−
2𝑎 2 𝟐𝒂𝟐

b) Both forces act downwards in the y-direction. The negative charge is

attracted to the positive charges, both of which are below it.

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 𝑘|𝑄||−𝑄| 𝑘|𝑄||−𝑄| 𝑘𝑄 𝑘𝑄 𝑘𝑄 𝐾𝑄
𝐹=− −− =− − =− −
(2𝑎 − 𝑎) 2𝑎 − (−𝑎) 𝑎 (3𝑎) 𝑎 9𝑎

𝟏𝟎𝒌𝑸𝟐
→𝑭=−
𝟗𝒂𝟐

c) Both forces are in the y-direction. The force due to the charge at (0,a) is positive and the charge due to (0,-a)
is negative.

𝑘|𝑄|| − 𝑄| 𝑘|𝑄||−𝑄| 𝑘𝑄 𝑘𝑄 𝑘𝑄 𝑘𝑄
𝐹= − = − = −
2𝑎 − −2𝑎 − 𝑎 − 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎

𝟔𝟒𝒌𝑸𝟐
→𝑭=
𝟐𝟐𝟓𝒂𝟐

Example B: Two small pith balls of mass .5 kg each are suspended by strings of length L = .3 m from a
common point. They are both negatively charged and repel each other, remaining d = 0.1 m apart at
equilibrium. Find the excess number of electrons on each pith ball.

Apply F=ma for equilibrium of one pith ball:

𝑚𝑔
𝐹 = 0 = 𝑇 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 → 𝑇 =
cos 𝜃

(0.5 𝑘𝑔)(10 )
→𝑇= = 5.08 𝑁
.
(. )
.

.
𝑚
𝐹 = 0 = 𝑇 sin 𝜃 − 𝐹 → 𝐹 = (5.08 𝑁) = 0.85 𝑁
.3 𝑚

𝑘𝑄 𝐹 𝑟
𝐹 = →𝑄= = 9.71𝑥10 𝐶
𝑟 𝑘

Charge is due to an integer number of excess electrons. To find this amount of electrons, divide the total charge
by the fundamental charge, which the charge of a single electron (1.6𝑥10 𝐶).

9.71𝑥10 𝐶
𝑛= = 𝟔. 𝟏𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟐 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒔
1.6𝑥10 𝐶

8
Example C: A charge Q is uniformly distributed from 𝑥 = −𝑎 to 𝑥 = 0. Find the force that charge distribution
exerts on a charge Q located at 𝑥 = 𝑎.

*dQ is an infinitesimally small charge, the charge is equal to 𝜆𝑑𝑥, where 𝜆 is the linear charge density of the
line of charge. The charge density is the total charge over the length so 𝜆 = .

*r, the distance between the point charge and dQ, is a variable that changes as a function of x, in this case, 𝑟 =
𝑎 − 𝑥, as x is always negative.

𝑘𝑄𝜆𝑑𝑥 𝑘𝑄 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝐹 = → 𝑑𝐹 =
𝑟 (𝑎 − 𝑥)

𝐾𝑄 𝑑𝑥 𝐾𝑄 1 0 𝑘𝑄 1 1
→𝐹= →𝐹= →𝐹= ( − )
𝑎 (𝑎 − 𝑥) 𝑎 𝑎 − 𝑥 −𝑎 𝑎 𝑎 2𝑎

𝒌𝑸𝟐
→𝑭=
𝟐𝒂𝟐

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AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Unit 7 - Electrostatics
7.3 Electric Fields (Chapter 23)
Focus Question: How is a field force different from a contact force?
We think of an electric charge as creating an electric field in the space around it. Any other charge in this space
will have an electric force exerted on it.

Physics 2 Review – Electric Field Basics

 To test electric fields, we model the behavior of how a positive test charge (of magnitude +q) would
respond to being placed in the field:
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒
𝐸=
𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒
𝑭
𝑬=
𝒒
𝒌𝑸
𝐸= /q → 𝑬=
𝒓
*units of field – N/C

 Electric field is vector quantity that measures the force per unit charge a charge would experience in the
space around a charge:
𝑭 𝟏 𝑸
𝑬= =
𝒒 𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝒓𝟐
 If 𝑟⃗ is a unit vector drawn from Q to q:
𝑭 𝟏 𝑸
𝑬⃑ = = 𝒓
𝒒 𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝒓𝟐
 By convention, the direction of electric field is in the direction a positive test charge would experience if
placed in the field.
When Q is positive, then field at q points away from Q.
When Q is negative, the field at q points towards Q.

 By the principle of superposition, the total electric field is the vector sum of the fields due to all charges
present.

Example A: The distance from q1 to q2 is 3.9 m.

a) If point X is 1.3 m from q1, then what is the magnitude

of the electric field at point X?
b) At what distance from q1 is the electric field intensity zero?

10
  Electric Field lines – drawn to indicate the direction of the force a test charge would experience.
-Drawn outward from a positive charge and inwards towards a negative charge.
-Stronger fields are drawn with more lines.

Example B: For each case of point charges below, draw the resulting electric field lines.

a) b)

Example C: Two charged, parallel plates are separated by a distance, d.

The electric field intensity is 200 N/C. An electron with a speed of 4.0 ×
106 m/s comes in from the left just above the negatively charged plate.
If the plates are 10 cm in length, how far has the electron moved in the y-
direction during the time it takes to travel across the plates?
The field goes from the top plate to the bottom plate. However, an electron goes against the field so it goes up in
a parabolic path due its acceleration upwards. In the x-direction, it has a constant velocity.

11
Electric Field of a Continuous Charge Distribution (Calculus)

 For a continuous charge distribution, the total electric field is the vector sum of
all infinitely small elements, ∆𝑞, in the distribution (this is another way of
stating the superposition principle):
𝒌
𝒅𝑬 = 𝟐 𝒅𝒒
𝒓
𝒅𝒒
𝑬⃑ = 𝒌
𝒓𝟐
Where 𝑑𝑞 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑥 (𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎, 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ)
𝜌 − 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑑𝑞 = 𝜌dV
𝜎 − 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦, dq= 𝜎dA
λ-𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦, dq=λdl

Example D: A Wire – Find the electric field at some distance, s, from a long straight
insulating rod of charge +Q and length L at a point P.

The electric field in y cancels due to symmetry. The rod

is broken into a bunch of dQ’s of thickness dy where
𝑑𝑄 = 𝜆𝑑𝑦 = 𝑑𝑦.

𝑘𝑑𝑄 𝑘 𝑑𝑦 𝑠 𝐾𝑄𝑠 𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝐸 = cos 𝜃 = =
𝑟 𝑠 +𝑦 𝑠 +𝑦 𝐿 (𝑠 + 𝑦 )

𝐿
𝑘𝑄𝑠 𝑑𝑦 𝑘𝑄𝑠 𝑦 −
→𝐸= →𝐸= 2 = 𝑘𝑄 ( − )
𝐿 𝐿 𝑠 𝑠 +𝑦 𝐿 𝑠𝐿
(𝑠 + 𝑦 ) − +𝑑 − +𝑑
2

𝒌𝑸
→𝑬=
𝑳𝟐
𝒔 + 𝒔𝟐
𝟒

12
Example E: A Ring of Charge – A ring shaped conductor of radius R a carries
total charge Q. Find the electric field at point P, a distance.
The ring is broken up into a bunch of dQ’s,
which are small arc’s of length 𝑅𝑑𝜙. The
variable 𝜙 is the angle a length from the
center of the ring to the arc makes with the
vertical. 𝜙 varies from 0 to 2𝜋.
𝑄
𝑑𝑄 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 ∗ 𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ → 𝑑𝑄 = 𝑅𝑑𝜙
2𝜋𝑅

Again, only the x-component is important since y-cancels to symmetry.

𝑘𝑑𝑄 𝑘𝜆𝑅𝑑𝜙 𝑥 𝑘𝑥 𝑅𝑑𝜙

𝑑𝐸 = cos 𝜃 = =
𝑟 𝑅 + 𝑥 √𝑅 + 𝑥 (𝑅 + 𝑥 )

𝑘𝑥𝑄𝑑𝜙 𝑘𝑥𝑄 𝒌𝒙𝑸

𝐸= = 𝑑𝜙 → 𝑬 = 𝟑
2𝜋(𝑅 + 𝑥 ) 2𝜋(𝑅 + 𝑥 ) (𝑹𝟐 + 𝒙𝟐 )𝟐

Example F: A Uniformly Charged Disk – Find the electric field due to a uniformly charge insulating disk of
radius R at a point P perpendicular to the disc as shown.

Example E determined the field due to a

thin ring of charge. The solid disc is
broken into a bunch of infinitely small
rings of radius r.

𝑑𝑄 = 𝜎𝑑𝐴 = 𝜎𝑑(𝜋𝑟 ) = 𝜎2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟

𝑄
𝜎=
𝜋𝑅

𝑘(2𝜋𝑟𝜎𝑑𝑟)𝑥 𝜎𝑥 2𝑟𝑑𝑟 𝜎 𝜎𝑥 𝑸 𝑸𝒙
𝐸= = = − = 𝟐
−
(𝑟 + 𝑥 ) 4𝜀 (𝑟 + 𝑥 ) 2𝜀 2𝜀 √𝑅 + 𝑥 𝟐𝜺𝟎 𝝅𝑹 𝟐𝜺𝟎 𝝅𝑹𝟐 √𝑹𝟐 + 𝒙𝟐

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AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Unit 7 - Electrostatics
7.4 Intro to Gauss’s Law (Chapter 24)
Focus Question: What is the flux?

 Electric Flux – Electric flux (Φ) is a measure of the amount of electric field that penetrates a
surface.

 Flux is a scalar quantity that is the dot product of electric field

and the surface area the field passes through.

*only the perpendicular component of the surface area will have flux going through it.
Calculate flux for a non-uniform electric field.

 For a non-uniform field, break the surface up into tiny elements, each of area dA:

 For a closed, surface, the direction of dA is perpendicular outward.

Example A: E is uniform (constant) from left to right, and our surface is a cube
with face area A. What's the total flux through the (closed) cube shown?

o Flux due to A1: 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 = 𝐸𝐴 cos 180 = −𝐸𝐴

o Flux due to A2: 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 = 𝐸𝐴 cos 180 = 𝐸𝐴
o Flux due to A3: 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 = 𝐸𝐴 cos 90 = 0 *E is perpendicular to dA (the
field does not pass through the surface.
o Flux due to A4: 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 = 𝐸𝐴 cos 270 = 0
The net flux is 0.
Net flux will always be zero through a close surface if the field source is from outside of the surface
since the field will enter one face of the surface and exit another.
*If a closed surface has no net charge, then the net flux through it is zero.

14
Gauss’s Law
Example B: Derivation of Gauss’s Law – Consider a point charge +Q inside a spherical shell of radius R.
Determine the flux through the sphere.

*Every point on the sphere has E radially outward. dA is radially outward by

definition, so 𝜃 = 0 everywhere.

𝑑𝜙 = 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 cos 𝜃 → 𝑑𝜙 = 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 cos 0 = 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴

𝜙=𝐸 𝑑𝐴

*Every point on the sphere is the same distance from the charge, so the field on the
sphere is equal at all points to 𝐸 = . ∫ 𝑑𝐴 is simply the surface area of the shell.

𝑘𝑄 1 1 𝑄
𝜙= (4𝜋𝑟 ) → 𝑘 = →𝜙= (4𝜋𝑟 )
𝑟 4𝜋𝜀 4𝜋𝜀 𝑟

𝑸
→𝝓=
𝜺𝟎

 Gauss’s Law - The total of the electric flux out of a closed surface is equal to the charge enclosed
divided by the permittivity:
𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅
∅= 𝑬⃑ ∙ 𝒅𝑨⃑ 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 =
𝝐𝟎
*The 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 can be removed if the angle between the field vector and dA is constant.

Gauss’s Law is used to find the electric field due to various types charge distributions. When using Gauss’s
Law, an imaginary surface is drawn in the region you want to find the electric field. As long as the Gaussian
surface has appropriate symmetry in regard to the field, properties of the flux through that surface can be used
to calculate the field.

Example C: Thin Hollow Shell – a) Find the electric field inside and outside a hollow shell of uniform charge
+Q and b) sketch a graph of electric field from distance of the center of the shell.

Inside the Shell: The electric field is to be found inside the shell, so a Gaussian surface is drawn as shown inside
the sphere. The Gaussian surface needs to be symmetric with respect to the sphere, so a Gaussian sphere of
variable radius r, where r<R is used.

𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄
∅= 𝑬⃑ ∙ 𝒅𝑨⃑ 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 =
𝝐𝟎

*𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄 is the charge enclosed by the Gaussian surface. All the charge is outside of
the surface (>r), so the charge enclosed is zero, making the field zero as well.

→𝐸=0
15
Outside the Shell: The electric field is to be found outside the shell, so a Gaussian surface is drawn as shown
outside the sphere. The Gaussian surface needs radially outward (spherical) symmetry, so a Gaussian sphere of
variable radius R, where r>R is used. *the Gaussian surface will always be a sphere for a sphere of charge.

𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄
∅= 𝑬⃑ ∙ 𝒅𝑨⃑ =
𝝐𝟎

∗The angle between E and dA is always zero, and E is constant along the
Gaussian surface, so ∮ 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ cos 𝜃 is simply EA here, where A is the surface are
of the Gaussian surface. (∮ 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ cos 𝜃 will usually be EA or zero when using
Gauss’s law in Physics C).

For this problem, the Gaussian surface encloses all the charge, so 𝑄 = 𝑄.

𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
𝜙=𝐸 𝑑𝐴 = → 𝐸(4𝜋𝑟 ) = → 𝐸 =
𝜀 𝜀 4𝜋𝜀 𝑟

𝑲𝑸
→𝑬=
𝒓𝟐

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AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism Unit 7 - Electrostatics
7.5 Applications of Gauss’s Law (Chapter 24)
Focus Question: What is Gauss’s Law?

 To use Gauss’s Law, a surface called a Gaussian surface must be selected (pretty much always a
cylinder or sphere). It is not necessarily a surface of the object being analyzed.
 The symmetry of the closed surface makes it possible to evaluate ∮ 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴, often without scary calculus.
 If E is perpendicular to the Gaussian surface, and of constant magnitude, then ∮ 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 = 𝐸𝐴.
 If E is parallel to the Gaussian surface, then ∮ 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 = 0.
 The following problems look at various charge distributions. Charge can be distributed along any
conducting surface (this is not a Gaussian surface, which is something we make up to solve problems).

Example A: Infinite Sheet – An infinite plane has uniform charge density of 𝜎. Find the electric field due to
the plane.
A large plane of charge has field going outwards on both sides, so the
chosen Gaussian surface needs to have symmetry going out from two
ends. A cylinder will be used here since there the dA symmetry of the caps
matches the field. The flux is then:
𝜙=𝜙 +𝜙 +𝜙
For the side, dA is perpendicular to E, so there is no flux. For the two
caps, E and dA are in the same direction so ∫ 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 cos 𝜃 = 𝐸𝐴 for both.
𝑄
𝜙 = 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 + 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 =
𝜀
The charge enclosed for both is the charge density, 𝜎, multiple by the cap area, A.

𝜎𝐴 𝝈
𝜙 = 𝐸𝐴 + 𝐸𝐴 = →𝑬=
𝜀 𝟐𝜺𝟎

*The field lines of the sheet are straight, parallel, uniformly spaced and perpendicular to the sheet. The
calculation assumes an infinitely large sheet, but the results are a reasonable approximation for a large sheet.

When a conducting plate is given a charge, the charge distributes itself uniformly over the entire surface of the
plate. The electric field is directed away from the plate.

Example B: Parallel plates of equal charge – Find the electric field a) outside the plates
and b) inside the plates.

Both plates are conductors, so charge gathers on the surface, in this

case the charge gathers on the outside surface as they repel. Both
𝝈
plates have fields of as found in Example A.
𝟐𝜺𝟎

a) Outside the plates, in either regions A or C, the fields point

𝝈 𝝈 𝝈
in the same direction: 𝐸 = 𝐸 + 𝐸 = + =
𝟐𝜺𝟎 𝟐𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎

b) In the region inside the plates, E1 and E2 are in opposite directions:

𝝈 𝝈
𝐸 =𝐸 +𝐸 = − =𝟎
𝟐𝜺𝟎 𝟐𝜺𝟎

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  When parallel plates are given equal and opposite charges, the field is nearly uniform in the space
between the plates. Most of the charge is in the inner surface of the plates, which very little charge on
the outside of the plates.
 The electric field is the resultant of the fields due to the two sheets of charge.

In the region between the plates, both fields point from the
positive plate to the negative plates, so the contributions from
each plate adds:
𝝈 𝝈 𝝈
𝐸 =𝐸 +𝐸 = + =
𝟐𝜺𝟎 𝟐𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎

 Using Gauss’s Law

A Gaussian cylinder is drawn that goes through the surface of one of the
plates: 𝜙 = 𝜙 +𝜙 +𝜙

The side has no flux since E is perpendicular to dA of the lateral side of the
cylinder. The left cap has no field through it. For the right cap, E and dA
are in the same direction so ∫ 𝐸 ∙ 𝑑𝐴 cos 𝜃 = 𝐸𝐴.

The charge enclosed by the Gaussian cylinder is the charge density of the
plate times the area of the cap of the cylinder passing through the plate:
𝝈
∅ = ∮ 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ = → 𝐸𝐴 = →𝑬=
𝜺𝟎

Example C: Infinite Line Charge – Determine the electric field a distance R from an infinitely long
conducting wire with a uniform charge density of 𝜆.

The line of charge has field going radially outward

along the line. The lateral ends of a cylinder have
symmetry to match this, so a Gaussian cylinder will
be used. Field does not go through the caps of the
cylinder, so only the lateral edge will be used:
𝑄
∅= 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ =
𝜺𝟎

∫ 𝑑𝐴 is the lateral surface area since that is the surface with flux through it. The charge of the line inside the
cylinder is the linear charge density, 𝜆, multiplied by the length of the cylinder, L.

𝜆𝐿 𝜆𝐿 𝝀
𝜙=𝐸 𝑑𝐴 = → 𝐸(2𝜋𝑟𝐿) = →𝑬=
𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝜺𝟎

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Example D: A sphere of radius R is surrounded by a concentric spherical shell of
inner radius 2R and outer radius 3R, as shown The inner sphere is an insulator
containing a net charge +Q distributed uniformly throughout its volume. The
spherical shell is a conductor containing a net charge +2Q. Use Gauss's law to
determine the electric field for the following values of r, the distance from the center
of the insulator.

a) 0 < r < R
b) R < r < 2R
c) 2R < r < 3R
d) r > 3R

Spheres obviously have spherically symmetry, so Gaussian spheres will be used for all regions.
a) A charge insulator has its charge uniformly distributed throughout. The charge
enclosed by the Gaussian surface is the charge density of the entire region multiplied
by the volume enclosed by the Gaussian surface.
𝑄 𝜌𝑉
∅ = 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ = → 𝐸 𝑑𝐴 =
𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎

∫ 𝑑𝐴 is the surface area of the Gaussian surface.

𝜋𝑟
𝑸𝒓
𝐸(4𝜋𝑟 ) = →𝑬=
𝜀 𝟒𝝅𝜺𝟎 𝑹𝟑

b) The charge enclosed is total charge of the insular, +Q.

𝑄 𝑄
∅= 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ = → 𝐸(4𝜋𝑟 ) =
𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎
𝑸
→𝑬=
𝟒𝝅𝒓𝟐 𝜺𝟎

c) The outer shell is a conductor, so all charge gathers on the outer and inner surfaces.
A charge of -Q gathers on the inner surface as it’s attracted to the insular. The excess
charge, +3Q, gathers on the outer shell. The charge enclosed by the Gaussian surface is
zero.
𝑄
∅ = 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ = →𝑄 =0 →𝑬=𝟎
𝜺𝟎

d) The total charge enclosed in this case if +3Q.

𝑄 3𝑄 𝟑𝑸
∅= 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ = → 𝐸(4𝜋𝑟 ) = →𝑬=
𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎 𝟒𝝅𝒓𝟐 𝜺𝟎

19
Example F: A very long, solid, non-conducting cylinder of radius R has a positive charge of uniform volume
density 𝜌. A section of the cylinder far from its ends is shown below. Let 𝑟 represent the radial distance from
the axis of the cylinder.

a) Derive an expression for the magnitude of the electric field at a radius 𝑟 < 𝑅.
b) Derive an expression for the magnitude of the electric field at a radius 𝑟 > 𝑅.

A Gaussian cylinder will be used for both cases as the radially linear symmetry of a cylinder obviously matches
the field produced by a cylinder.

a) The cylinder is a conductor, so all charge is on

the outer surface, so there is no charge enclosed
by the Gaussian cylinder:
𝑄
∅ = 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ = →𝑄 =0 →𝑬=𝟎
𝜺𝟎

b) ∅ = ∮ 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝑑𝐴⃑ =
𝜺𝟎
𝜌𝑉
𝜙 = 𝐸 𝑑𝐴 =
𝜺𝟎
Since the charge is only contained in the actual cylinder of
radius R, the volume of the cylinder of radius R will be used
when finding the charge enclosed:
𝜌𝜋𝑅 𝐿
→ 𝐸(2𝜋𝑟𝐿) =
𝜺𝟎
𝟐
𝝆𝑹
→𝑬=
𝟐𝒓𝜺𝟎

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