Q. 25. What Is the Electric Field of a Dipole?

Ans. A dipole is a separation of opposite electrical charges and it is

quantified by an electric dipole moment. The electric dipole moment associated
with two equal charges of opposite polarity separated by a distance, d is
defined as the vector quantity having a magnitude equal to the product of
the charge and the distance between the charges and having a direction
from the negative to the positive charge along the line between the charges.
It is a useful concept in dielectrics and other applic:ations in solid and
liquid materials. These applications involve the energy of a dipole and the
electric field of a dipole.
Q. 26. How to Calculate Electric Field
ofa Dipole?
Ans. Consider an electric dipole with charges + q and-q.separated by a
distance d.
E+

E- E+
P

We shall for tlhe sake of simplicity only

calculatethe fields along symmetry
axes, i.e. a point P along
r from the mid-point the perpendicular bisector of thedipole at a distance
of the dipole and a point Q along the axis of the dipole
at a distance r from the mid-point of the dipole.
Along the Perpendicular Bisector (Point P)
The electric fields due to the positive
law):
and negative charges (Coulomb's

1
E, = 9
4ne0 2

4TE0
 Similarly,

The vertical components of the electric field cancel out as P is equidistant

from both charges.
E E, cos + E_ coso

1
COs+
4TE0 2

1 2q
E cos
4T80
2
1 2q
4Te0 cos0

Now, COs0 22 2

Substiuting this value we get,

d
E 2q 2
4nE0 qd
4TE0
 Dipole moment
ppxd
r
When >>d, we can negiect the d/2 term, Thus, we have,

Epi
1
E=
The diople moment direction is defined as poin ting towards the positive
charge. Thus, the directicn of the electric field is opposite to the dipole
moment:

Along Axis of Dipole (Point Q)

The electric fields due to the positive and negative charges are
:

1 4
1 9 1 1
E, = E_
4Te0

Since the electric field are along the same line but in opposing directions,
E= E-E_
1
9
E=

1 1
E=

E= 4MEO
 d
4r
2
E=

4rqd
E=
41E0 2

1
2rqd
4TE0

E= 2rp
2

Factoring r from denominator:

- 1 1
2 pr
E
4 nE)

Now if r>>d, we can neglect

the (d/2r) term becomes very much smaller
than 1.Thus, we can neglect term.
this The question becomes:
 1
E

1 2p
E=
Since in this case the electric field is along the dipole moment, E, > E,

=
1 2p
E

Notice that in both cases the electric field tapers quickly as the inverse
of the cibe of the distance. Compared toa point charge which onlydecreases
as the inverse of the square of the distance, the dipoles field decreases much
faster because it contains both a positive and negative charge. If they were
brought to the same point their electric fields would cancel out completely
but since they have a small distance separating them, they have a feeble
electric field.