ELECTROSTATICS and

COULOMB’S LAW
Week 2 Synchronous Session
Jan 31, 2022
8:00 am │ 1:00 pm
Feb 2, 2022
10:00 am
Objectives:
• Describe using a diagram charging by rubbing and charging by
induction, explain the role of electron transfer in electrostatic
charging by rubbing.
• Describe experiments to show electrostatic charging by induction.
• Calculate the net electric force on a point charge exerted by a system
of point charges.
• Describe an electric field as a region in which an electric charge
experiences a force.
• Calculate the electric field due to a system of point charges using
Coulomb's law and the superposition principle.
• Calculate electric flux
• Use Gauss's law to infer electric field due to uniformly distributed
charges on long wires, spheres, and large plates.
• Solve problems involving charges, dipoles, forces, electric fields, and
flux in context such as, but not limited to, system of point charges,
classical models of the atom, electrical breakdown of air, charged
pendulums, control of electron and proton beams, electrostatic ink-
jet printers.
ELECTROSTATICS
A branch of Physics that deals with the study of charges at rest (static)
and their properties.
Ancient Greeks

• Thales of Miletus (624-546 BCE)

• Amber and wool experiment
• The amber effect
• Objects exhibiting the amber
effect have souls.
• ‘elektron’- Greek word for amber
18 th Century
• Charles François de Cisternay
du Fay (1698 – 1739)
➢Two Fluid Model
o Vitreous and Resinous
• Benjamin Franklin (1706 –
1790)
➢One Fluid Model
o Positive and Negative
ELECTRIC CHARGE
One of the fundamental physical properties of matter which produces
attractive and repulsive forces. Measured in SI unit Coulomb (C)
Modern Days
• Atomic Theory*
• Subatomic Particles
• Elementary Particles
What we know…

Subatomic
Matter is particles are
composed of composed of
atoms. elementary
particles.

Atoms are composed of

subatomic particles
which carries the charge.
THE SUBATOMIC PARTICLES

It is observed that this subatomic particles

exhibit the attraction and repulsion forces.
Arbitrarily we assign names and (charge) sign
as shown below:

Name Symbol Relative Absolute Relative Mass Absolute

Charge Charge (C) (amu) Mass (g)

Electron e- -1 -1.6x10-14 1/1840 9x10-28

Proton p+ or e+ +1 +1.6x10-14 1 1.6x10-24

Neutron n 0 0 1 1.6x10-24
THE RULE OF ELECTRIC CHARGE
Charges of opposite
- + signs attract each
other.

+ + Charges of same
signs repel each
other.

- -
How do objects get charged?
Unequal number of positive charge and negative charge.
Perform basic addition of positive and negative integers.

-3 + +5 = +2 -3 + -3 = -6

+5 + -5 =0
+3 + -5 = -2 +3 + +3 = +6
IONIZATION
Process in which atoms acquire a net electric charge by losing (or
gaining) electrons.

Ions – Electrically charged atoms.

 Alpha (α) Beta (β)
-
+
+
+

Gamma (γ)
CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS
Conductors permit the flow of free electrons making it easy to acquire
charge.

Insulators impede the flow of electrons making hard to gain a net

charge.
METHODS OF CHARGING
Charging by Friction
(Triboelectric Charging) Transferring of
electrons between objects by rubbing with each other.
Materials are characterized based on their electron
affinity which is the ability to attract electrons. When
neutral objects of different electron affinity are
rubbed to each other, electrons tend to move towards
the object with greater electron affinity which results
in the imbalance of the number of electrons on both
objects. The object who gained more electrons
becomes negatively charged while the object left with
lesser electrons becomes positively charged.
Triboelectric Series

Higher spots: Weak electron affinity: Tends to be positive

Lower spots: Stronger electron affinity: Tends to be negative

METHODS OF CHARGING
Charging by Conduction
It is also known as charging by
contact because it requires contact between a charged
object and a neutral object. When a charged object is
placed in contact with a neutral object, electrons will
move from one object to another in an attempt to
neutralize the charge of both objects.
METHODS OF CHARGING
Charging by Induction
Does not require contact between a charged
object and a neutral object. It happens when a
charged object is placed close enough to attract/repel
the electrons of the neutral object making it
'polarized'.
Polarization
Occurs when an electric field distorts the negative cloud of electrons around
positive atomic nuclei in a direction opposite the field. It creates a slight separation
of charge within the atom makes one side of it somewhat positive and the opposite
side somewhat negative called the dipole moment. A polarized atom has 0 net
charge which means it is electrically neutral because it does not gain or lose an
electron.
Grounding
(Earthing) When the charged object is moved away from the now polarized
object the charges redistribute themselves making the object electrically neutral
again. If we want to completely charge the object we need to remove one of the
charges and we can do it through 'grounding’. It is also known as 'earthing', is when
we permanently charge an object that is polarized due to induction by connecting
it to the ground to remove the excess charge.
LAW OF CONSERVATION OF CHARGE
States that a charge can neither be created nor destroyed but
it can be transferred from one body to another. The net quantity
of charge in an object is always conserved.
COULOMB’S LAW
Quantifies the attractive or repulsive
electrostatic force brought by interacting
charges.
Electrical force (measured in Newton N)
exerted by charges decrease inversely as the
distance squares.

Charles Augustin de Coulomb (1736 - 1806)

COULOMBS LAW

Whereas,
𝐹 = Electrical Force (𝑁)
𝑘 = Coulomb’s Constant (≈8.99 × 10⁹ N·m²/C²)
𝑞 = charge
𝑟 = distance between charges
Example:
A point charge = 3.25nC is placed 20cm from another point charge = -5.25nC. Find
the magnitude of the electric force and determine whether the force is attractive
or repulsive.
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹=𝑘 2
Given: 𝑟
𝑞1 = 3.25nC = 3.25 × 10−9 𝐶 𝑚2 (3.25 × 10−9 𝐶)(−5.25 × 10−9𝐶)
𝐹 = 8.99 × 10⁹ N
−9 𝐶2 (0.2𝑚)2
𝑞2 = -5.25nC = −5.25 × 10 𝐶
𝑟 = 20cm = 0.2𝑚 (−1.68 × 10−17 )
𝐹 = 8.99 × 10⁹ N
(0.4)
𝑘 = 8.99 × 10⁹ N·m²/C²
𝐹 = −3.80 × 10−6𝑁

𝐹 = 3.80 × 10−6𝑁, 𝐴𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒

THE SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE
If a charge experiences a force from a system of charges, we compute
for the vector sum of all electrical forces.

-
+ +
Example:
Q1=-2C is 0.02m directly above Q2=-3C which is 0.02m directly at the left of
Q3=+2C. Calculate the magnitude and direction of the net force experienced by the
point charge Q2.

Q1
-2C

.02m

Q2 Q3
-3C .02m +2C
 Q1
-2C
Solution
Step 1: Get the individual electrical force of point
charge Q2 to both Q1 and Q3 by performing .02m
Coulomb's Law.

Q2 𝐹2 Q3
-3C .02m +2C
(−2𝐶)(−3𝐶) (−2𝐶)(−3𝐶)
𝐹1 = 8.99𝑥109 𝑁𝑚2 /𝐶2 𝐹2 = 8.99𝑥109 𝑁𝑚2 /𝐶2
(0.02𝑚)2 (0.02𝑚)2 𝐹1

6 −6
𝐹1 = 8.99𝑥109 𝑁 𝐹2 = 8.99𝑥109 𝑁
4.0𝑥10−4 4.0𝑥10−4

𝐹1 = 1.34𝑥1014𝑁 𝐹2 = −1.34𝑥1014𝑁
 Q1
Step 2: Perform vector addition to the -2C
electrical forces.

In this problem, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to get

.02m
the vector sum of 𝐹1 and 𝐹2, labeled 𝐹3.

𝑐 = 𝑎2 + 𝑏 2
𝐹3 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2 Q2 𝐹2 Q3
-3C .02m +2C
Note that we will only use the absolute values of electrical
forces (simply drop the negative sign) since we are only
𝐹1 𝐹3
solving for the magnitude of 𝐹3.

𝐹3 = (1.34𝑥1014𝑁)2 +(1.34𝑥1014 𝑁)2 𝐹3 is a resultant vector of 𝐹1 and 𝐹2, we

can get its direction by algebraic or
𝐹3 = 1.79𝑥1028 𝑁 + 1.79𝑥1028 𝑁 graphical method of vector addition

𝐹3 = 1.89𝑥1014𝑁
 Answer

Q2 experiences a net electric force of: Q1

-2C

.02m
𝐹3 = 1.89𝑥1014 𝑁 Southeast

Q2 𝐹2 Q3
-3C .02m +2C

𝐹1 𝐹3
Note that the magnitude of net electric force in this problem is
extremely huge that it is equivalent to more than 22 Million jetliners!
We only use this problem for conceptual understanding.
ELECTRIC FIELD
Region (of influence) around an electrically
charged particle wherein other electrically
charged particles experience an electrical
force (attraction or repulsion).
Electric force per unit of charge and is
expressed in N/C.

Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867)

ELECTRIC FIELD

Whereas,
𝐸= Electric Field (𝑁/𝐶)
𝑞
𝐹= Electric Force 𝐸=𝑘 2
𝑟
𝑞 = charge
Example:
Test charge q = 0.2𝜇𝐶 is placed near point charge Q. The test charge experienced a
force of 𝐹 = 5 × 10−5𝑁 due to point charge Q. Find the magnitude of electric field
produced by point charge Q.
Given:
q = 0.2𝜇𝐶 = 2 × 10−7 𝐶
𝐹 = 5 × 10−5𝑁
???

0.2𝜇𝐶

𝐸 = 250 𝑁/𝐶
Example:
What is the electric field due to a point charge of 𝑞 = 20𝜇𝐶 at 1m away from it?

Given:
𝑞 = 20𝜇𝐶 = 20 × 10−6𝐶
𝑑 = 1m ???

𝑞
𝐸=𝑘 2
𝑟
20 × 10−6 𝐶
𝐸 = 8.99 × 10⁹ N·m²/C²
(1𝑚)2

𝐸 = 1.8 × 105 𝑁/𝐶

Remember:
• Direction of the electric field of positive charge points radially outward.
• Direction of electric field of negative charge points radially inward.
• Electric field lines never intersect.
• Electric field line density indicates the strength of the electric field. The closer
to the charge means greater the density, thus greater electric field strength.
• Electric field follows the superposition principle. ( 𝐸𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝐸1 + 𝐸2 + 𝐸3 + ⋯ 𝐹𝑛)
ELECTRIC FLUX
Measure of electric field passing through a
given surface area.

Φ = 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃

Whereas,
Φ= Electric Flux (𝑁 ∙ 𝑚 2/𝐶2 )
𝐸= Electric Field
𝐴= Surface Area
𝜃= Angle between 𝐸 and the normal line of the surface.
Remember:
• The surface is perpendicular to the direction of the electric field. The normal line
is parallel to the direction of the electric field thus 0° angle. Electric flux is at
maximum
• The surface is tilted at an angle to the direction of the electric field. The normal
line is tilted at an angle θ with the electric field.
• The surface is parallel to the direction of the electric field. The normal line is
perpendicular to the electric field thus 90° angle. Electric Flux is 0
Example:
A uniform electric field E = 8000 N/C passes perpendicular through the surface of a flat
square with an area of A=10m2. Determine the electric flux.

Given:
E = 8000 N/C
A=10m2 Φ = 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝜃= 0°
Φ = (8000𝑁/𝐶)(10𝑚2 ) cos(0°)
Φ = (8000𝑁/𝐶)(10𝑚2) (1)

Φ = 8 × 104𝑁𝑚 2/𝐶
GAUSS’S LAW
Electric Flux through a closed surface.
It states that the electric flux out of a closed
surface is equal to the charge enclosed
divided by the permittivity of free space.

If a charge is not enclosed in a closed surface

or if there is no electric charge inside a closed
surface, then there will be 0 electric flux.
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855)
GAUSS’S LAW

Whereas,
Φ= Electric Flux (𝑁 ∙ 𝑚 2/𝐶2 )
𝑞 = Charge enclosed
𝜀0 = Permittivity of free space/electric constant
8.85 × 10−12𝐶2 /𝑁 ∙ 𝑚 2
Height Difference
Potential Difference
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL ENERGY
Describes how much stored energy a charge has considering the
distance from the field source.
Gravitational Potential Energy
U = 𝑞𝐸𝑑 U = 𝑚𝑔ℎ
Whereas,
U= Electric potential energy (𝑁 ∙ 𝑚 = 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐽)
𝑞 = Charge
𝐸= Electric field
𝑑= Distance of separation
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
Work done per charge in order to move it between two points in an
electric field and is measured in volts.

Whereas,
V= Electric Potential (Joules/Coulom𝑏 = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠)
U= Electric potential energy
𝑞= Charge
---

---

+++
POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE
As the charge moves closer or farther from the source of the electric
field, the electric potential changes which result in a potential
difference which is also known as and measured in Voltage.

Whereas,
∆V= Change in electric potential (𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠)
𝑉𝑓 = Electric Potential (final position)
𝑉𝑖 = Electric Potential (initial position)
VOLTAGE
• The difference in electric potential between two points creates an
unequal pressure.
• The difference in pressure is what pushes the charge to move in one
direction.

High
Pressure
Low
Pressure
Example: (Electric Potential Energy)
A test charge 𝑞 = 4.0 × 10−6𝐶 is placed 𝑑 = 0.2𝑚 from a point charge that creates a
uniform electric field 𝐸 = 2.3 × 104𝑁/𝐶. Find the electric potential energy of the test
charge.
Given:
𝑞 = 4.0 × 10−6𝐶
𝐸 = 2.3 × 104𝑁/𝐶
𝑑 = 0.2𝑚 U = 𝑞𝐸𝑑

U = (4.0 × 10−6𝐶)(2.3 × 104 𝑁/𝐶) (0.2𝑚)

U = 1.8 × 10−2𝐽
Example: (Electric Potential)
A test charge 𝑞 = 4.0 × 10−6𝐶 is placed 𝑑 = 0.2𝑚 from a point charge that creates a
uniform electric field 𝐸 = 2.3 × 104𝑁/𝐶. Solve for the electric potential.

Given:
𝑞 = 4.0 × 10−6𝐶
U = 1.8 × 10−2𝐽

1.8 × 10−2 𝐽
V=
4.0 × 10−6𝐶

V = 4500𝑉
Example: (Potential Difference)
A test charge 𝑞 = 4.0 × 10−6𝐶 is moved from 𝑑1 = 0.2𝑚 to 𝑑2 = 0.5𝑚 from a point
charge that creates a uniform electric field 𝐸 = 2.3 × 104𝑁/𝐶. Solve for the potential
difference.
Given: U = 𝑞𝐸𝑑
𝑈1 = 1.8 × 10−2𝐽
𝑉𝑖 = 4500𝑉 𝑈2 = (4.0 × 10−6𝐶)(2.3 × 104 𝑁/𝐶) (0.5𝑚) 4.6 × 10−2 𝐽
𝑉𝑓 =
4.0 × 10−6𝐶
𝑞 = 4.0 × 10−6𝐶 𝑈2 = 4.6 × 10−2𝐽
𝐸 = 2.3 × 104𝑁/𝐶 𝑉𝑓 = 11500𝑉
𝑑2 = 0.5𝑚
∆V = 𝑉𝑓 − 𝑉𝑖

∆V = 11500𝑉 − 4500𝑉

∆𝑉 = 11500𝑉