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The Expression F

The document explains the derivation of the electric field from Coulomb's law, detailing the relationship between electric force and point charges. It further elaborates on calculating the electric field due to a uniformly charged circular loop, using superposition and integration of contributions from infinitesimal charge elements. The final expression for the electric field along the axis of the loop is provided as E_z = (1 / (4 π ϵ_0 (R^2 + z^2)^(3/2))) * Qz.

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13 views3 pages

The Expression F

The document explains the derivation of the electric field from Coulomb's law, detailing the relationship between electric force and point charges. It further elaborates on calculating the electric field due to a uniformly charged circular loop, using superposition and integration of contributions from infinitesimal charge elements. The final expression for the electric field along the axis of the loop is provided as E_z = (1 / (4 π ϵ_0 (R^2 + z^2)^(3/2))) * Qz.

Uploaded by

excellab101
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The expression for the electric field, E , is derived from Coulomb's law, which states that the

force F between two point charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.
1. Coulomb's Law:

The electric force F between two point charges q 1 and q 2 separated by


a distance r is given by:
q1 q2
F=k e 2
r^
r
where:
1
o k e= is Coulomb's constant,
4π ϵ0
o r^ is the unit vector in the direction of the force,
o ϵ 0 is the permittivity of free space.
2. Electric Field Definition:

The electric field E due to a point charge q at a distance r is defined as


the force per unit charge experienced by a small positive test charge q 0
:
F
E=
q0

Substituting the expression for the force from Coulomb's law:

E=
1
q0( q q0
k e 2 r^
r )
Simplifying:
q
E=k e 2
r^
r
This gives the electric field due to a point charge q .

3. General Electric Field Expression:

If there is a continuous distribution of charge (for example, on a line,


surface, or volume), the electric field at a point in space can be found
by integrating the contributions from all infinitesimal charge elements:
1 dq
E=∫ r^
4 π ϵ0 r2
where d q is the infinitesimal charge element, r is the distance from d q
to the point where the field is being calculated, and r^ is the unit vector
pointing from the charge element to the point of interest.

This is the basic form of the expression for the electric field. For specific charge distributions,
such as a line of charge, a charged sphere, or a plane of charge, the integrals can be carried out to
find the corresponding electric fields.
To derive the expression for the electric field along the axis of a uniformly charged circular loop,
we’ll use the concept of superposition of infinitesimal contributions to the electric field from
each charge element on the loop.

Setup and Assumptions:


1. Consider a uniformly charged circular loop with radius R , carrying a total charge Q .
2. The loop is centered at the origin and lies in the x y -plane. The point where the electric
field is being calculated is along the axis of the loop, which is along the z -axis at a
distance z from the center of the loop (on the z -axis).
3. We assume the charge distribution is symmetric, so we’ll calculate the electric field at a
point along the axis of symmetry (on the z -axis) of the loop.
Derivation:
1. Element of Charge: Consider a small element of charge d q on the
loop. This element will generate an infinitesimal electric field at the
point P, which is located a distance z along the axis of the loop.

The loop's total charge is Q , and because the charge is uniformly


distributed, the linear charge density λ is:
Q
λ=
2π R
Therefore, the infinitesimal charge d q on a small element of the loop at
an angle θ (in polar coordinates) can be written as:
Q
d q=λ R d θ= dθ
2π
2. Electric Field from an Element: The electric field produced by the
infinitesimal charge d q at the point P on the z -axis is given by
Coulomb’s law:
1 dq
d E= r^
4 π ϵ0 r 2

Here, r is the distance between the charge element d q and the point P,
and r^ is the unit vector pointing from d q to P.

The total distance r from the charge element d q to the point on the
axis is given by:
r = √ R 2+ z 2
The vector r^ points from the charge element on the loop to the point P.
Since we are considering the field along the axis, the electric field has
components in the z -direction only. The radial symmetry of the
problem ensures that the horizontal (in the x y -plane) components of
the electric field will cancel out, and only the vertical (along the z -axis)
components will add up.

3. Contribution to the Electric Field in the z -Direction: The


infinitesimal electric field along the z -axis, d E z, due to the charge
element d q , is given by:
1 dq z
d E z=d E cos θ=
4 π ϵ 0 r2 r

Substituting for d q and r :


1 z Q
d E z= ⋅ dθ
4 π ϵ0 (R +z )
2 2 3/ 2
2π

4. Integrating Over the Loop: To find the total electric field E z along
the axis, integrate the expression for d E z over the entire loop (from
θ=0 to θ=2 π ):
2π
1 z Q
E z=∫ 3 /2
⋅ dθ
0 4 π ϵ0 (R +z )
2 2 2π

Since the integrand does not depend on θ , the integral is


straightforward:
1 Qz
E z= ⋅2 π
4 π ϵ 0 2 π ( R 2+ z 2 )3 /2

Simplifying:
1 Qz
E z=
4 π ϵ 0 ( R2 + z 2 )3 /2

Final Expression:
Thus, the electric field along the axis of a uniformly charged circular loop at a distance z from
the center is:
1 Qz
E z=
4 π ϵ 0 ( R + z 2 )3 /2
2

This is the electric field at a point along the axis of a circular loop with charge Q and radius R .

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