Electricity and

Magnetism
● We will first consider electric
fields and forces.
● Thus, we will be considering
charged particles and how
they move.
● This will allow us to determine
how electrical circuits work.
● We will then move on to how
charged particles move in
magnetic fields.
● At this point we will also
determine what light is.
 Charges and Forces [ch 20]
● The force between charged
objects is called the electric
force.
● Charges come in two types,
positive and negative.
– Like charges repel.
– Opposite charges attract.
● Charge is conserved.
● The electric force is a long
range force, falling off as 1/r2,
where r is the distance
between the two charges.
Coulomb's Law

Compare this with the

force of gravity

F = G m1 m2 / r2

G = 6.67300 × 10-11 N (m/kg)2

There are two important

differences
● Gravity is always

attractive
● Compared with the

force of gravity,
electrical forces are
much stronger.
 Fundamental charges
● Atoms are made up of a heavy nucleus that is
positively charged and light negative electrons
that 'orbit' the nucleus.
● The negative electrons 'cancel' or screen the
positive charges on the nucleus, so most
materials are neutral in charge.
● Materials can be broadly divided into
● Conductors, insulators and semi-conductors.
● Each of these can be charged, they differ in how easy
it is for charges to move within them.
– Conductors allow charge to move freely.
– Insulators do not allow charge to move very easily.
● Note that it is the electrons (negative) that move in the
objects.
● Charge will be measured in coulombs (C). The
charge on an electron is
e = 1.60 x 10-19 C
Consider the following 'thought experiment' between
neutral metal spheres and a plastic and metal rod.
 Electric dipoles
● Two oppositely charged particles that are
separated produce an electric dipole.
● This charge separation can be induced in
a neutral system if it is brought close to a
charge. This is called an 'induced
electric dipole'.
● Water molecules have a naturally
occurring asymmetry in their charge
distribution, resulting in a permanent
electric dipole. Thus water molecules
have a small force of attraction to each
other. This is called 'hydrogen bonding'.
● Nucleotides on one strand of DNA are
connected to the nucleotides on the
opposite strand if DNA via hydrogen
bonds.
 Calculating electric forces
● We can use Coulomb's law to calculate the
force between any two charged
objects/particles.
● Force is a vector, so if we have many objects
and wish to know the force on a charge at a
given point we
● Add the vector forces from each object in turn.


F net = 
F 1 on object  
F 2 on object 
F 3 on object .....
 Electric fields
● A gravitational field can be associated with the force of
gravity.
● We will calculate an electrical field to model electrical
forces.
● We assume that a charge alters the space around it,
and we call this alteration the electrical field.
● Later we will consider magnetic fields.
● The electric field is a vector quantity, so we can work
out the net electric field at a point by adding together
the electric field from each charge in the area.
The Electric Field of a Point Charge
Dipole and Uniform Electric Fields
Electric field lines
Conductors and Electric Fields
Forces and Torques on Charges in Electric Fields

● For an electric
dipole we define an
electric dipole
moment as a vector
pointing from the
negative to the
positive charge.
● In an E-field the

electric dipole
moment gets
aligned with the
direction of the E-
field.
 Electric Potential [ch 21]
● We will consider the energy required to move a charged particle in an
electric field.
● The work done to move the charge from far away to the point of interest is
equal to the electrical potential energy that the charge gains.
● We define a quantity called the electrical potential (V), such that the electrical
potential energy (U) on a charge q is given by

● The unit of electric potential is the Volt (V).

● The electrical potential can be worked out if one knows where the
charges are.
● A potential difference is caused by separating positive and negative
charges.
 Conservation of energy
● The total energy of a system is conserved.
● In PHYS 1500 we considered kinetic energy, spring potential energy and
gravitational potential energy.
● We can now extend this to include electric potential energy.

g e g e
U U KE i =U U KE f
i i f f

e 1 2
● Where U i =q V i and KE i = m v
2
For most purposes in this section we will ignore gravity.

● Note that the definition of Ue allows us to define a new unit of energy. The
electron volt (eV) is the energy required to move one electron through a
potential of one volt. (1 eV = 1.6x10-19 J)
 Solving conservation of energy
problems
● Since the electric force is a conservative force, it does
not matter what path an object travels, just the potential
difference of its initial and final positions.
● Thus, we solve conservation of energy problems by
● Drawing a before and after sketch
● Then listing all of the energies present on each side
● We then solve the conservation of energy equation
● Remember that there are other conserved quantities
that can also be used, such as charge or momentum.
● Later in this section we will list some potentials for
different charge distributions.
To visualize the potential due to a charge
distribution, first consider a topographic map

● The map on the right hand side has lines (called contours) that mark where the
land has the same height.
● Where the lines are close together shows where the hill has the steepest slope.
Graphical Representations of Electric Potential

● Note that if you are given a contour

map, then you can work out the
change in potential between any two
points quite easily.
●The lines showing the same electric

potentials are sometimes called

'equipotentials'.
●We next consider how to calculate

the potential for different charge

distributions.
 Potential of a Parallel-Plate Capacitor

● The equations for

electric potential can be
derived from V = Ue/q
● Consider a parallel

plate capacitor (i.e.

constant field E between
the plates), with a
separation of d between
the plates and area of
plates A.
● It can be shown that

the potential at x is

U elec Q
V= =E x = x
q o A
Electric Potential of a Point Charge
Electric Potential of a Charged Sphere

Outside of a sphere of charge Q the potential has the same form as for a
point charge Q:

If the sphere has radius R and the potential at its surface is V0, then the
potential a distance r from its center can also be written

R
V = V0
r
 Electric potential of many charges
● Note that to get the electric potential due to
many charges, we simply add up the potential
due to each one.
● So the total potential due to i point charges is
qi
V tot = i
4 0 r i
Connecting Potential and Field

V
E=
d
Potential and Field for Three Important Cases
A Conductor in Electrostatic Equilibrium

If this were not the case

the charges would
experience a force and
would move, changing
the potential.
● Don't be confused between the electric field
and the electric potential.
● The electric field tells you what force a charge will
experience if put in the field.
● The electric potential tells you what energy the
charge will have if put in the field.
● Thus there is no contradiction to say that the
electric field inside a conductor is zero and that
the electric potential inside the same conductor
is non-zero.
Capacitance and Capacitors
●
Two conductors with equal but
opposite charges that are separated
form a capacitor.
●
We have considered parallel-plate
capacitors, now let us consider them
to be any shape.
●
The charge ±Q on each electrode is
proportional to the potential
difference ∆VC between the
electrodes:

Capacitance (C) has units of farads (F).

Charging a Capacitor
The Capacitance of a Parallel-Plate Capacitor
 Dielectrics and Capacitors

● An insulator placed
between the plates of the
capacitor is called a
'dielectric'
● It will experience a slight

charge separation due to

the E-field (applied field)
between the plates.
● This charge separation

will make its own E-

field (induced field).
● This E-field opposes

the direction of the

applied field.
● The amount that the

applied field is reduced

depends upon the
'dielectric constant'
(Κ) of the material.

E
E '=
K
 Dielectric Constant

With a dielectric between its plates,

the capacitance of a parallel-plate
capacitor is increased by a factor
of the dielectric constant κ:

The potential energy stored in a

capacitor is

1 Q2 1 2
U c= = C VC
2 C 2
 Current and Resistance [ch 22]
● In this chapter we will consider the flow of charge
through objects.
● In metals the charge carriers are electrons and the flow is
called a current.
● There must be an electric field present in the conductor for the
charges to flow.
● We will consider what happens when the flow of charge is split
up into different paths, or passes through objects that have an
increased resistance to their flow.
● It will be useful to visualize the flow of electrons through a wire
as being similar to the flow of water through a pipe.
Definition of a Current
 Conservation of Current
●
Current cannot be created or
destroyed.
● So the current leaving a

light bulb is the same as

the current entering it.
● This also means that the

current at all points along

a single wire is the same.
● If the wire splits up into

multiple paths, then the

TOTAL current out equals
the TOTAL current in.

 I i n= I out
Batteries
●
Consider a simple circuit with a
battery connected to a wire.
●
The flow of charge goes from
the positive terminal to the
negative terminal of the battery.
●
Remember that in reality the
electrons move in the other
direction.
●
When the charges get back to
the battery, they are given
potential energy via a chemical
reaction in the battery.
●
The potential difference
between the terminals of a
battery, often called the terminal
voltage, is the battery’s emf (ε).

W chem
 V bat = =
q
 The connection between potential
and current
● A potential difference is required to 'push' the
charges around the circuit.
● Thus a current needs a potential difference and
flows in the direction of decreasing potential.
● If one keeps the potential difference in a circuit the
same, but changes the length and thickness of the
wire, one finds that the current changes.
– Think of this as similar to water flowing through a pipe
where one can change the length and thickness of the
pipe.
Resistance and current
The current is determined by the
potential difference and the
resistance of the wire:

∆Vwire
I=
R
The unit of resistance is Ohms (Ω).
Resistivity
The resistance (R) of a wire
depends on its dimensions and
the resistivity (ρ) of its material:
 Ohm’s Law
●
We can now relate the voltage, current and resistance.
● However, note that this only holds for Ohmic materials such as

metals.
● Other objects such as batteries, semiconductors and capacitors

don't follow this relationship. These are known as non-ohmic

materials.

●
While this seems like an easy set of equations, solving real
circuits can be more complicated, see the following examples.
Power in Circuits
Energy and Power in Resistors