➢ Uniform electric fields ➢ Electric force between point charges (Coulumb’s Law) ➢ Electric field of a point charge ➢ Electric potential
Sivakumar Yuvarajan Thangam
Can you recall what you know about electric field from this picture? Recalling Electric charge & Field • we can consider matter to be made up of three types of particles: electrons (which have negative charge), protons (positive) and neutrons (neutral). • An uncharged object has equal numbers of protons and electrons, whose charges therefore cancel out. • When one material is rubbed against another, there is friction between them, and electrons may be rubbed off one material onto the other. • The material that has gained electrons is now negatively charged, and the other material is positively charged. Recalling Electric charge & Field • Opposite types of charge attract one another; like charges repel each other.
•A charged object may also be able to attract an uncharged one; this
is a result of electrostatic induction. Recalling Electric charge & Field • If you rub a strip of plastic so that it becomes charged and then hold it close to your hair, you feel your hair being pulled upwards. • The influence of the charged plastic spreads into the space around it; we say that there is an electric field around the charge.
Electric Filed Electric Field • A charged object experiences a force in an electric field. This is what an electric field is. • “We say that there is an electric field anywhere where an electric charge experiences a force. An electric field is a field of force.”
• electric fields – act on objects with electric charge
• magneticfields – act on magnetic materials, magnets and moving charges (including electric currents) • gravitational fields – act on objects with mass. Representing electric fields We can draw electric fields by showing field lines.
Field lines tell us
• its direction (from the direction of the lines - The arrows go from positive to negative; they tell us the direction of the force on a positive charge in the field.), • how strong it is (from the separation of the lines).
A uniform field has the same strength at all points. Example: the electric field between oppositely charged parallel plates. A radial field spreads outwards in all directions. Example: the electric field around a point charge or a charged sphere. Representing electric fields We can draw electric fields by showing field lines. Predict where the electric field will be strongest – that’s where lightning may strike. Electric field strength “The electric field /electric field strength at a point is defined as the force per unit charge exerted on a stationary positive charge at that point.”
Electric Field strength at
𝐹 the given point, 𝐸 = 𝑄 F → Force on the charge Q → Charge
Unit of E: 𝑁𝐶 −1 The strength of a uniform field
The strength of the field between them depends on two factors. The strength of a uniform field the voltage V between the plates – the higher the voltage, the stronger the field: E ∝ V Two Factors the separation d between the plates – the greater 1 their separation, the weaker the field: E ∝ 𝑑
𝑉 These factors can be combined to give an equation for E: 𝐸=− 𝑑
∆𝑉 𝐸= (1𝑁𝐶 −1 = 1𝑉𝑚 −1 ) ∆𝑑 The figure shows an arrangement of parallel plates, each at a different voltage. The electric field lines are shown in the space between the first pair. Complete the diagram to show the electric field lines in the other two spaces. Calculate the electric field strength at a point where a charge of 20 mC experiences a force vertically downwards of 150 N. Calculate the electric field strength between two parallel charged plates, separated by 40 cm and with a potential difference between them of 1000 V. The effect of a uniform electric field on the motion of charged particles: 𝐹 𝐸= or 𝐹 = 𝐸𝑄 𝑄
𝑉 But, 𝐸 = − 𝑑
𝑉𝑄 So, 𝐹 = − 𝑑 The effect of a uniform electric field on the motion of charged particles: In the figure, two parallel plates are shown, separated by 25 cm. • Draw field lines to represent the field between the plates. • What is the potential difference between points A and B? • What is the electric field strength at C, and at D? • Calculate the electric force on a charge of +5 µC placed at C. • In which direction does the force act? A particle of charge +2 µC is placed between two parallel plates, 10 cm apart and with a potential difference of 5 kV between them. Calculate the field strength between the plates, and the force exerted on the charge. The force between two point charges in free space (Coulomb’s Law). Coulomb’s law states that “any two point charges exert an electrical force on each other that is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.” The force between two point charges in free space (Coulomb’s Law). The force between two point charges in free space (Coulomb’s Law). The force between two uniformly charged spheres in free space. • If we are considering uniformly charged spheres we measure the distance from the centre of one to the centre of the other – they behave as if their charge was all concentrated at the centre. • Hence, we can apply the equation for Coulomb’s law for both point charges (e.g. protons, electrons, etc.) and uniformly charged spheres, as long as we use the centre-to-centre distance between the objects. Electric field due to a point charge, Q By Coulomb’s law the force acting on a charge q in an electric field of Q 𝑄𝑞 𝐹= 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2 But by the definition of electric field, 𝐹 𝑄 𝐸= = 2 𝑞 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟
The field strength E is not a constant; it decreases as the distance r
increases. The field strength obeys an inverse square law with distance– just like the gravitational field strength for a point mass. A metal sphere of radius 20 cm carries a positive charge of +2.0 µC. What is the electric field strength at a distance of 25 cm from the centre of the sphere? An identical metal sphere carrying a negative charge of −1.0 µC is placed next to the first sphere. There is a gap of 10 cm between them. Calculate the electric force that each sphere exerts on the other. Remember to calculate the centre-to-centre distance between the two spheres. Determine the electric field strength midway along a line joining the centres of the spheres. Electric potential
Electric potential energy
Electric potential Energy changes in a uniform field
We can calculate the change in
potential energy of a charge Q as it is moved from the negative plate to the positive plate very simply.
Potential difference is defined as
the energy change (joules) per unit charge (coulombs) between two points. Electric potential Electric potential at a point
To define electric potential at a point, we must define the zero of
potential (this is the point where we consider a charge to have zero potential energy). we say that a charge has zero potential energy when it is at infinity (some place where it is beyond the influence of any other charges)
“The electric potential at a point is equal to the work done per
unit charge in bringing unit positive charge from infinity to that point.” Electric potential Electric potential at a point “The electric potential at a point is equal to the work done per unit charge in bringing unit positive charge from infinity to that point.” • Electric potential is a scalar. • At infinity, the electric potential is zero. • Elsewhere, the electric potential due to positive charge is positive. Similarly, the electric potential due to a negative charge is negative. • Work done in moving a charge q 𝑊 between two points is called the 𝑉= potential difference (PD) between 𝑞 the points. Electric field & electric potential Electric field is the negative potential gradient.
In the above equations, the minus sign indicates
that E is in the direction of decreasing potential. Electric potential due to a point charge
𝐹 𝑄 𝐸= = 𝑞 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2
∆𝑉 𝐸= ∆𝑑 𝑄 𝑉= 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 Electric Field & potential due to a (radial field)
• The charge is on the surface of the conductor.
• Outside the conductor, the electric field is the same as if all the charge were concentrated at the centre, and the above equation applies. • • Inside the charged conductor, all points are at the same potential, so the potential gradient (see bottom panel) is zero. From this it follows that E is also zero, so there is no electric field inside the conductor. • The concentric circles in the diagram equipotential lines. Each equipotential line is a line joining points of equal potential. Potential well (negative charge) & Potential hill (positive charge) 𝑄 𝑉= 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟
field strength = −potential gradient
∆𝑉 𝐸=− ∆𝑑 Electric potential energy “Electric potential energy at a point is defined as the workdone to move a positive charge from infinity to that point.”
The electric potential at a point due to a
point charge Q is 𝑄 𝑉= 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 So, the work done to move charge q from infinity to that point is, W=Vq 𝑄𝑞 𝑊= = 𝐸𝑝 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 • What is the electrical potential energy of a charge of +1 C placed at each of the points A, B, C, D between the charged, parallel plates shown in the figure? • What would be the potential energy of a +2 C charge at each of these points? (C is halfway between A and B, D is halfway between C and B.) • How much work is done in moving a +1 C charge along the following paths shown in the figure: from E to H; from E to F; from F to G; from H to E? • How do your answers differ for a: −1 C charge? +2 C charge? Gravitational & Electric Fields Gravitational & Electric Fields Gravitational & Electric Fields
