ELECTRIC FIELD

What is Electric Field?

• An electric field is a
region of space around
an electrically charged
particle or object in
which an electric
charge would feel force.
 ELECTRIC LINES OF FORCE

Michael Faraday
-An English scientist, who
made an important
discoveries on electricity and
magnetism, introduced the
used of electric lines of force
to map out an electric field.
PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC LINES OF FORCE
1. The electric lines of force
start from a positive
charge and ends on a
negative charge.
2. Lines of force never
intersect.
PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC LINES OF FORCE
3. The tangent to a
line of force at
any point gives
the direction of
the electric field
(E) at that point.
PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC LINES OF FORCE
4. The greater number of
lines of force, the
stronger the electric
field. The neutral point is
the point where no lines
of force pass. The
electric field is ZERO at
the neutral point.
ELECTRIC FIELD DUE TO POINT CHARGE
𝐹𝐸
E= 𝑞
=k 2
𝑞0 𝑟

Where:
E = Electric Field, N/C
𝐹𝐸 = Electric Force, N
𝑞0 = test charge
Example 1
Calculate the magnitude and direction of
the electric field 0.45 m from a +7.85 x
10 C point charge.
−9
Example 2
Two point charges are arranged on the x-
y coordinate system as follows: 𝑞1 = 3.0 x
10 C at (0,3 m) and 𝑞2 = -9.0 x 10 C at
−9 −9
(4.5 m, 0). Find the electric force at origin
(0,0).
Example 3
Two point charges 𝑞1 and 𝑞2 are
separated by a distance of 1m. Find the
neutral point if 𝑞1 = 3.0 nC and 𝑞2 = 4.0 nC.
Example 4
A tiny ball weighs 0.0055 kg and carries a
charge of 3.25 𝜇C. What electric field
(magnitude and direction) is needed for
the ball to remain suspended in air?
ELECTRIC FIELD INSIDE A CONDUCTOR
Electric field is ZERO inside
a closed conducting
surface and that an
excess charge placed on
a solid conductor resides
entirely on its surface.
THE FARADAY CAGE

A Faraday cage is an enclosure

made of a conducting material.
The fields within a conductor
cancel out with any external
fields, so the electric field within a
conductor is zero
These Faraday cages act as big
hollow conductors you can put
things in to shield them from
electrical fields. Any electrical
shocks the cage receives pass
harmlessly around the outside of
the cage.
ELECTRIC FLUX

• Electric Flux (∅) is a measure

of the number of electric
field passing through a
surface.

∅ = E·A = EA cos𝜃

• Electric Flux is scalar and has

the unit N·m²/C
FLUX OF UNIFORM ELECTRIC FIELD
FLUX OF NON-UNIFORM ELECTRIC FIELD
Example 1

A flat surface of area 1.25 m² is rotated

through a uniform horizontal electric field
of 5 N/C. What is the electric flux if the
surface is (a) parallel and (b) perpendicular
to the electric field?
Example 2
A disk of radius 0.10 m is oriented with its normal unit vector 𝑛ො
at 30° to a uniform electric field 𝐸 of magnitude 2.0 x 103 N/C.
(a) What is the electric flux through the disk?
(b) What is the flux through the disk if it is turned so that 𝑛ො is
perpendicular to 𝐸?
(c) What is the flux through the disk if 𝑛ො is
parallel to 𝐸?
Example 3
A point charge q = + 3.0 𝜇C
is surrounded by an
imaginary sphere of radius r =
0.20 m centered on the
charge as shown in the
figure. Find the resulting
electric flux through the
sphere.
GAUSS LAW
Gauss’s law states that
“ The total electric flux out of
a closed surface is equal to
the charge enclosed divided
by the permittivity. • Since a line of force starts
𝑞𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 from a positive charge to
∅𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = negative charge, the lines
𝜖
0
going out of the surface is
• The surface mentioned in considered positive, while
Gauss’s law is called the the lines going into the
Gaussian surface. surface is negative.
Example 1
Calculate the total electric flux for each of
the closed surfaces a, b, c and d as shown
in the figure. Note that 𝑞1 = +3 C, 𝑞2 = +1 C,
𝑞3 = -5 C and 𝑞4 = -9 C.
Activity
Calculate the electric flux for each of the
closed surfaces a, b, c and d.
Example 2
If a solid insulating sphere of
radius 50.0 cm carries a total
charge of 150 nC uniformly
distributed throughout its
volume, what is its (a) volume
charge density? What is the
magnitude of the electric field
at (b) 10.0 cm, and (c) 65.0 cm
from the center of the sphere?