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Lesson 5 - Electric Field

This document provides an overview of electric fields, including: 1. It introduces the electric field model, which describes how charges interact through altering the space around them to create electric fields. 2. It defines the electric field E as the electric force F exerted by a source charge Q on a test charge q0, divided by the test charge. 3. It explains that once the electric field is known at a point, the force on any other charge placed at that point can be calculated as F=qE, where q is the other charge.

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Gino Cruz
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123 views19 pages

Lesson 5 - Electric Field

This document provides an overview of electric fields, including: 1. It introduces the electric field model, which describes how charges interact through altering the space around them to create electric fields. 2. It defines the electric field E as the electric force F exerted by a source charge Q on a test charge q0, divided by the test charge. 3. It explains that once the electric field is known at a point, the force on any other charge placed at that point can be calculated as F=qE, where q is the other charge.

Uploaded by

Gino Cruz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COE0015

Lesson 5
Electric Field
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the student is expected to be able to:


1. State the general properties of electric fields
2. Interpret electric fields using electric field lines
3. Describe the motion of charges in electric fields
ELECTRIC FIELD

Coulomb’s law tells us how to calculate the magnitude and direction of the
force, but it doesn’t tell us how the force is transmitted through empty space
from one charge to the other.

To answer this question, we will introduce the field model, first introduced by
Michael Faraday, a British investigator of electricity and magnetism.
ELECTRIC FIELD

The figure on the right shows a surface of


a shallow pan of oil with tiny grass seeds
floating on it.

When charged wires, one positive and one


negative, touch the surface of the oil, the
grass seeds line up to form a regular
pattern.

The pattern suggests that some kind of


electric influence from the charges fills the
space around the charges.
ELECTRIC FIELD
FIELD MODEL AND FORCE MODEL
Consider the attractive force between a
positive charge A and a negative charge B.
Force model
In the force model, A exerts a force directly on
B.

In the field model, A alters the space around


it, and then particle B responds to the altered
space. Hence, in the field model, it is the
electric field that exerts an electric force on
Field model
any other charged object within the field.
ELECTRIC FIELD
FIELD MODEL AND FORCE MODEL

This alteration of space is what we call a


field.

The field model applies to many branches


of physics.
• Electric field – space around a
Field model
charge
• Gravitational field – space around
a mass
• Magnetic field – space around a
magnet
ELECTRIC FIELD

We begin our investigation of electric fields by


postulating a field model that describes how
charges interact:

1. A group of charges, which we will call the


source charges (Q), alter the space around
them by creating an electric field E.

2. If another charge which we may call “test”


charge (qo) is then placed in this electric field,
it experiences a force F exerted by the field.
ELECTRIC FIELD

The electric field E produced by a charge Q at


the location of a small “test” charge q0 is
defined as the electric force F exerted by Q
on q0 divided by the test charge q0:

𝐹
𝐸=
𝑞0

SI Unit: Newton per coulomb (N/C)


ELECTRIC FIELD

When a positive test charge is used,


the electric field always has the same
direction as the electric force on the
test charge.
ELECTRIC FIELD

Once the electric field due to a given arrangement of charges is known at


some point, the force on any particle with charge q placed at that point can
be calculated from a rearrangement of the previous equation:

𝐹= 𝑞𝐸

Here q0 has been replaced by q, which need not be a mere test charge.
ELECTRIC FIELD

Consider a point charge q located a


distance r from a test charge q0.
According to Coulomb’s law, the
magnitude of the electric force of the
charge q on the test charge is

𝑞 𝑞0
𝐹 = 𝑘𝑒
𝑟2
ELECTRIC FIELD

Because the magnitude of the electric field


at the position of the test charge is defined
𝐹
as 𝐸 = 𝑞 , we see that the magnitude of
0
the electric field due to the charge q at the
position of q0 is

𝑞
𝐸 = 𝑘𝑒 2
𝑟
ELECTRIC FIELD

The principle of superposition holds when the electric field due to a group of
point charges is calculated.

We first use the previous equation to calculate the electric field produced by
each charge individually at a point and then add the electric fields together
as vectors.
Sample Problem 1
Charge 𝑞1 = 7.00 𝜇𝐶 is at the origin, and charge 𝑞2 = −5.00 𝜇𝐶 is on the x-
axis, 0.300 from the origin.

a) Find the magnitude and direction of the electric field at point P,


which has coordinates (0, 0.400) m.
b) Find the force on a charge of 2.00𝑥10−8 C placed at P.
SOLUTION:
E1
a)
P
𝑞1 9
7𝑥10−6 E2
𝐸1 = 𝑘𝑒 = 9.0𝑥10 = 393, 750 𝑁/𝐶
𝑟2 0.42
𝐸1𝑥 = 𝐸1 𝑐𝑜𝑠90 = 0
0.4 m

𝐸1𝑦 = 𝐸1 𝑠𝑖𝑛90 = 393,750 𝑁/𝐶

+ -
𝑞2 −5𝑥10−6 0.3 m
𝐸2 = 𝑘𝑒 2 = 9.0𝑥109 = 180,000 𝑁/𝐶 𝑞1 = +7𝜇𝐶 𝑞2 = −5𝜇𝐶
𝑟 0.52
𝐸2𝑥 = 𝐸2 𝑐𝑜𝑠53.13 = 108,000 𝑁/𝐶
𝐸2𝑦 = −𝐸2 𝑠𝑖𝑛53.13 = −144,000 𝑁/𝐶
SOLUTION:

Adding the x-components and y-components of the electric field:


𝐸𝑥 = 𝐸1𝑥 + 𝐸2𝑥 = 0 + 108,000 = 108,000 𝑁/𝐶

𝐸𝑦 = 𝐸1𝑦 + 𝐸2𝑦 = 393,750 − 144,000 = 249,750 𝑁/𝐶

Solving for the magnitude of the electric field:

2 2
𝐸= 𝐸𝑥 + 𝐸𝑦 = 108,0002 + 249,7502 = 𝟐𝟕𝟐, 𝟏𝟎𝟏. 𝟐𝟎 𝑵/𝑪

Solving for the direction of the electric field:

−1
𝐸𝑦 249,750
𝜃 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 = 𝟔𝟔. 𝟔𝟏°
𝐸𝑥 108,000
SOLUTION:
b)

𝐹= 𝑞𝐸
= 2.00𝑥10−8 (272,101.20)
= 𝟓. 𝟒𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟑 𝑵

Since the charge is positive, the direction of the electric force is


the same as that of the electric field.
Seatwork

Three charges are at the corners of an 𝑞3 =


equilateral triangle, as shown in the figure.

a) Calculate the electric field at a


point midway between the two
charges on the x-axis.
b) Calculate the electric force
on a charge of −2.00 𝜇𝐶 placed at
that point. 𝑞1 = 𝑞2 =
REFERENCES

Knight, R. D., Jones, B., & Field, S. (2014). College physics: A strategic approach
(3rd ed.). Boston: Addison-Wesley.

Serway, R., & Vuille, C. (2011). College physics (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.

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