Electrostatics / Skills Practice

1. Force in Electric Field

2. Electric-field
3. Electric flux and Gauss’ Low
4. Electrostatic Energy / Work
5. Electric Potential
6. Force and Torque on an Electric Dipole
7. Capacitance

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1. Force in Electric Field

1.1 Force between two point charges

Two point charges, 25 and 75 , are separated by a distance

3 . Find the magnitude and direction of the electric force (a) that
exerts on and (b) that exerts on .

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1.1 Force between two point charges

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1.2 Vector addition of electric forces on a line

Two point charges are located on the -axis of a coordinate system: 1

is at 2 and 3 is at 4 . What is the total electric force
exerted by and on a charge 5 at 0 ?

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1.2 Vector addition of electric forces on a line

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1.3 Vector addition of electric forces in a plane

Two equal positive charges 2 are located at 0 , 0.3 and

0 , 0.3 , respectively. What are the magnitude and direction of the total
electric force that and exert on a third charge 4 at 0.4 , 0 ?

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1.3 Vector addition of electric forces in a plane

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2. Electric-field

Electric-field of a point charge

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2.1 Electric-field magnitude of a point charge

What is the magnitude of the electric field vector at a field point 2m from a
point charge 4 ?

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2.1 Electric-field magnitude of a point charge

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2.2 Electric-field vector of a point charge

A point charge 8 is located at the origin of the 2D coordinate system.

Find the electric field vector at the field point 1.2 , 1.6 .

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2.2 Electric-field vector of a point charge

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 2.3 Electron in a uniform field

When the terminals of a battery are connected to two parallel conducting plates with a
small gap between them, the resulting charges on the plates produce a nearly uniform
electric field between the plates. If the plates are 1.0 cm apart and are connected to a
100-volt battery, the field is vertically upward and has magnitude 10 / .
a) If an electron (charge 1,6 · 10" # ,
mass 9.11 · 10" %& ) is released
from rest at the upper plate, what is its
acceleration?
b) What speed and kinetic energy does it
acquire while traveling 1.0 cm to the
lower plate?
c) How long does it take to travel
this distance?

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2.3 Electron in a uniform field

Review: For constant acceleration:

() ('
' , +
(* (*

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2.3 Electron in a uniform field

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2.3 Electron in a uniform field

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2.3 Electron in a uniform field

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 2.3 Electron in a uniform field
Solution via energy:
Potential energy at upper plate = kinetic energy at lower plate (distance y - displacement):
1
U - . = / = 1,6 · 10" # 10 10" = 1,6 · 10" 0 2
2
Speed at lower plate via kinetic energy:
1
. = / → . = 2// = 2(1,6 · 10" 0 )/9.11 · 10" = 5.9267 · 106 /7
2
For constant acceleration we compute time to second plate:
.8 2 2 10" "# 7
= → 8= = = 3.3746 · 10
2 . 5.9267 · 106
: ;.# 60· <= ;
And accelerations is: 9 = = = 1.7563 · 10 /7
* . 0 6· <>?

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2.4 Field of an electric dipole

Point charges = 12 and 12 are 0.1m

apart. Such pairs of point charges with equal
magnitude and opposite signs are called electric
dipoles. Compute the electric field caused by , the
field caused by , and the total field at points a, b and
c in the figure.

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2.4 Field of an electric dipole

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2.4 Field of an electric dipole

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2.4 Field of an electric dipole

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2.4 Field of an electric dipole

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2.5a Field of a charged line segment

Positive charge Q is
distributed uniformly
along the y-axis between
y = -a and y = +a. Find the
electric field at point P on
the x-axis at a distance x
from the origin.

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2.5a Field of a charged line segment

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2.5a Field of a charged line segment

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2.5a Field of a charged line segment

Symmetry =0

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2.5b Field of a charged line segment / infinite line

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2.6 Field of two oppositely charged infinite sheets

Two infinite plane sheets with uniform surface charge densities @A and
A are placed parallel to each other with separation d. Find the electric
field between the sheets, above the upper sheet, and below the lower
sheet.

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2.6 Field of two oppositely charged infinite sheets

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3. Electric flux and Gauss’ Low
3.1 Electric flux through a disk

A disk of radius 0.1m is oriented with its normal unit vector B C at 30° to a uniform
electric field of magnitude 2 E 10 / . (a) What is the electric flux through the
C is perpendicular to
disk? (b) What is the flux through the disk if it is turned so that B
C is parallel to ?
? (c) What is the flux through the disk if B

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3.1 Electric flux through a disk

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3.2 Electric flux through a cube

An imaginary cubical surface of side L is in a region of uniform electric field . Find

the electric flux through each face of the cube and the total flux through the cube
when (a) it is oriented with two of its faces perpendicular to and (b) the cube is
turned by an angle F about a vertical axis.

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3.2 Electric flux through a cube

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3.2 Electric flux through a cube

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3.3 Electric flux through a sphere

A point charge = 3 is surrounded by an imaginary sphere of radius 0.2

centred on the charge. Find the resulting electric flux through the sphere.

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3.3 Electric flux through a sphere

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3.4 Electric flux and enclosed charge

Figure shows the field produced by two point charges +q and -q (an
electric dipole). Find the electric flux through each of the closed
surfaces A, B, C, and D.

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3.4 Electric flux and enclosed charge

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3.5 Field of a charged conducting sphere

We place a total positive charge q on a solid conducting sphere with radius

R. Find Electric Field at any point inside or outside the sphere.

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3.5 Field of a charged conducting sphere

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3.6 Field of a uniform line charge

Electric charge is distributed uniformly along an infinitely long, thin wire.

The charge per unit length is G (assumed positive). Find the electric field
by using Gauss’s law.

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3.6 Field of a uniform line charge

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3.7 Field of an infinite plane sheet of charge

Use Gauss’s law to find the electric field caused by a thin, flat, infinite
sheet with a uniform positive surface charge density A.

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3.7 Field of an infinite plane sheet of charge

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3.8 Field between oppositely charged parallel conducting plates

Two large plane parallel conducting plates are given charges of equal
magnitude and opposite sign; the surface charge densities are + A and - A.
Find the electric field in the region between the plates.

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3.8 Field between oppositely charged parallel conducting plates

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3.8 Field between oppositely charged parallel conducting plates

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3.9 Field of a uniformly charged insulating sphere

Positive electric charge Q is distributed uniformly throughout the volume of

an insulating sphere with radius R (polarization charges). Find the
magnitude of the electric field at a point P a distance r from the centre of
the sphere (inside and outside of a sphere).

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3.9 Field of a uniformly charged insulating sphere

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3.9 Field of a uniformly charged insulating sphere

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3.9 Field of a uniformly charged insulating sphere

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3.10 Charge on a hollow sphere

A thin-walled, hollow sphere of radius 0.25 m has an unknown charge

distributed uniformly over its surface. At a distance of 0.3 m from the
centre of the sphere, the electric field points radially inward and has
magnitude 1.8 · 10 / . How much charge is on the sphere?

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3.10 Charge on a hollow sphere

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3.11 A conductor with a cavity

A conductor with a cavity carries a total charge of +7 nC. Within the

cavity, insulated from the conductor, is a point charge of -5 nC. How
much charge is on each surface (inner and outer) of the conductor?

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3.11 A conductor with a cavity

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3.11 A conductor with a cavity

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 3.12 Testing Gauss’s law experimentally

Faraday's ice pail

experiment
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3.12 Testing Gauss’s law experimentally
Faraday's ice pail experiment

We mount a conducting container on an insulating stand. The container is initially

uncharged. Then we hang a charged metal ball from an insulating thread, lower it
into the container, and put the lid on. Charges are induced on the walls of the
container and now we let the ball touch the inner wall. The surface of the ball
becomes part of the cavity surface.

If Gauss’s law is correct, the net charge on the cavity surface must be zero. Thus the
ball must lose all its charge. Finally, we pull the ball out; we find that it has indeed
lost all its charge.

Additional info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday%27s_ice_pail_experiment

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3.13 Van de Graaff electrostatic generator

VC2A Gauss's Law & Electrostatics (27:14)

https://youtu.be/f_kcVyB9W0Q

The same principle behind Faraday’s icepail

experiment is used in a Van de Graaff electrostatic
generator. A charged belt continuously produces a
build-up of charge on the inside of a conducting
shell. By Gauss’s law, there can never be any
charge on the inner surface of this shell, so the
charge is immediately carried away to the outside
surface of the shell. As a result, the charge on the
shell and the electric field around it can become
very large very rapidly.
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3.14 Electrostatic Shielding / Faraday cage

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3.14 Electrostatic Shielding / Faraday cage

Suppose we have a very sensitive electronic instrument that we want to protect

from stray electric fields that might cause erroneous measurements. We surround
the instrument with a conducting box, or we line the walls, floor, and ceiling of the
room with a conducting material such as sheet copper. The external electric field
redistributes the free electrons in the conductor, leaving a net positive charge on the
outer surface in some regions and a net negative charge in others. This charge
distribution causes an additional electric field such that the total field at every point
inside the box is zero, as Gauss’s law says it must be. The charge distribution on the
box also alters the shapes of the field lines near the box. Such a setup is often called
a Faraday cage.

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4. Electrostatic Energy / Work
Two point charges are located on the x-axis, q1 = -e at x = 0 and q2 = +e at x = a.

a) Find the work that must be done by an external force to bring a third point
charge q3 = +e from infinity to x = 2a.

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 4. Electrostatic Energy / Work

The work done on < by the Coulomb’s force as <

moves from a to b

The work done on < by the electric field E

produced by q depends only on H and I , and
not on the details of the path.
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4. Electrostatic Energy / Work

Potential energy is always defined relative to some reference point where U = 0.

U is zero when q and < are infinitely far apart and r = ∞.

Therefore U represents the work that would be done on the test charge < by
the field of q if < moved from an initial distance r to infinity.

Work to move < from a to b: JH→I KH KI

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4. Electrostatic Energy / Work

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4. Electrostatic Energy / Work
• Suppose the electric field E in which charge < moves is
caused by several point charges , , , … at distances ,
, ,… from < . The total electric field at each point is the
vector sum of the fields due to the individual charges.
• The potential energy associated with the test charge < at
point a is the algebraic sum:

When < is at a different point b, the potential energy is given by the same expression, but
, , ,… are the distances from , , , … to point b. The work done on charge <
when it moves from a to b along any path is equal to the difference KH KI .
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4. Electrostatic Energy / Work

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4. Electrostatic Energy / Work

b) Find the total potential energy of the system of three charges.

Total potential energy = potential energy involved in assembling the charges.

If we start with charges , , , … all separated from each other by infinite
distances and then bring them together so that the distance between L and M is LM ,
the total potential energy is the sum of the potential energies of interactions of each
pair of charges.

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4. Electrostatic Energy / Work

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5. Electric Potential
Potential is potential energy per unit charge.

We define the potential V at any point in an electric field as the potential energy U
per unit charge associated with a test charge < at that point:

Work per unit charge for a displacement from point a to point b

NOP = NO NP is the potential of a with respect to b, equals the work done by the
electric force when a UNIT (1-C) charge moves from a to b.
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5. Electric Potential

QHI = QH QI is the potential (V) of a with respect to b, equals the work (J) that
must be done to move a UNIT (1-C) charge from b to a against the electric force.

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5. Electric Potential
Derived in lectures:

R =S RQ

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5.1 Electric Potential due to two Point Charges

An electric dipole consists of point charges = +12 nC and = -12 nC placed

10.0 cm apart. Compute the electric potentials at points a, b, and c.

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5.1 Electric Potential due to two Point Charges

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5.2 Electric Potential due to two Point Charges

Compute the potential energy associated with a

+4.0-nC point charge if it is placed at points a, b,
and c.

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5.2 Electric Potential due to two Point Charges

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5.3 Electric Potential from Electric Field

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 5.3 Electric Potential from Electric Field / point charge

By integrating the electric field find the potential at a distance r from a point charge q.

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5.4 Electric Potential / A Charged Conducting Sphere

A solid conducting sphere of radius R has a total charge q. Find the electric potential
everywhere, both outside and inside the sphere.

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5.5 Electric Potential of a Line of Charge

Positive electric charge Q is distributed uniformly

along a line of length 2a lying along the y-axis
between y = -a and y = +a.

Find the electric potential at a point P on the x-axis

at a distance x from the origin.

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5.5 Electric Potential of a Line of Charge

The element of charge R corresponding to an

T
element of length R on the rod is R = R .
H

The distance from R to P is @ , so the

contribution RQ that the charge element makes
to the potential at P is

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5.6 Equipotential Surfaces

Field lines and equipotential surfaces are always mutually perpendicular.

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5.6 Equipotential Surfaces

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5.7 Electric Field from Potential

V
Problem: The potential at a radial distance r from a point charge q is V = .
WXY Z
Find the vector electric field from this expression for V.

Solution:

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6. Force and Torque on an Electric Dipole

Figure shows an electric dipole in a uniform electric field of magnitude 5 · 10; /

that is directed parallel to the plane of the figure. The charges are [1.6 · 10" # ;
both lie in the plane and are separated by 0.125 0.125 · 10"# . Find:
a) the net force exerted by the field on the dipole;
b) the magnitude and direction of the electric dipole moment;
c) the magnitude and direction of the torque;
d) the potential energy of the system in the position shown.

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6. Force and Torque on an Electric Dipole

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6. Force and Torque on an Electric Dipole

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 7. Capacitance
7.1 Size of a 1-F Capacitor
The parallel plates of a 1.0-F capacitor are 1.0 mm apart. What is their area?

Recap:

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7.1 Size of a 1-F Capacitor

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7.2 Properties of a Parallel-Plate Capacitor

The plates of a parallel-plate capacitor in vacuum are 5.00 mm apart and 2 in area.
A 10kV potential difference is applied across the capacitor. Compute:

a) the capacitance;
b) the charge on each plate; and
c) the magnitude of the electric field between the plates.

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7.2 Properties of a Parallel-Plate Capacitor

(a)

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7.3 A Spherical Capacitor
Two concentric spherical conducting shells are separated by vacuum. The inner shell has
total charge +Q and outer radius H , and the outer shell has charge -Q and inner radius I .
Find the capacitance of this spherical capacitor.

Hint: first find QHI , and then

find the capacitance = /QHI

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7.3 A Spherical Capacitor

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7.4 An Infinite Line Charge or Charged Conducting Cylinder

Find the potential at a distance r from a very long line of charge with linear charge
density (charge per unit length) G.

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7.4 An Infinite Line Charge or Charged Conducting Cylinder

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7.5 A Cylindrical Capacitor

Two long, coaxial cylindrical conductors are separated by vacuum. The inner cylinder
has radius H and linear charge density @G. The outer cylinder has inner radius I
and linear charge density G. Find the capacitance per unit length for this capacitor.

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7.5 A Cylindrical Capacitor

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 7.6 Capacitors in Series and in Parallel

Let = 6 - and 3 - , and QHI 18Q. Find the equivalent capacitance and the
charge, and potential difference for each capacitor when the capacitors are connected
(a) in series and (b) in parallel.

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7.6 Capacitors in Series and in Parallel

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7.6 Capacitors in Series and in Parallel

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7.6 Capacitors in Series and in Parallel

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7.7 A Capacitor Network

Find the equivalent capacitance of the five-capacitor network.

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7.7 A Capacitor Network

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7.8 Transferring Charge and Energy Between Capacitors
We connect a capacitor = 8 - to a power supply, charge it to a potential difference
Q< 120Q , and disconnect the power supply. Switch S is open.
a) What is the charge < on ?
b) What is the energy stored in ?
c) Capacitor 4 - is initially uncharged. We close switch S. After charge no
longer flows, what is the potential difference across each capacitor, and what is the
charge on each capacitor?
d) What is the final energy of the system?

Recap:

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7.8 Transferring Charge and Energy Between Capacitors

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7.8 Transferring Charge and Energy Between Capacitors

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7.8 Transferring Charge and Energy Between Capacitors

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7.9 A Capacitor With and Without a Dielectric

Suppose the parallel plates each have an area of 2000 and are 1 cm apart. We
connect the capacitor to a power supply, charge it to a potential difference Q< = 3%Q ,
and disconnect the power supply. We then insert a sheet of insulating plastic material
between the plates, completely filling the space between them. We find that the
potential difference decreases to 1 kV while the charge on each capacitor plate remains
constant. Find:
a) the original capacitance < ;
b) the magnitude of charge Q on each plate;
c) the capacitance C after the dielectric is inserted;
d) the dielectric constant K of the dielectric;
e) the permittivity \ of the dielectric;
f) the magnitude of the induced charge L on each face of the dielectric;
g) the original electric field < between the plates; and
h) the electric field E after the dielectric is inserted.
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7.9 A Capacitor With and Without a Dielectric Also called relative
permittivity ]Z

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7.9 A Capacitor With and Without a Dielectric

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7.9 A Capacitor With and Without a Dielectric

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7.9 A Capacitor With and Without a Dielectric

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7.9 A Capacitor With and Without a Dielectric

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