PHYS502/University Physics 2

Module 4 – Electric Potential and Potential Difference

Learning Outcomes:
At the end this module, students are expected to:

C2 – Relate the fundamental principles of electromagnetism to given physical situations.

C3 - Construct circuit diagrams and other representations in describing

electromagnetism.

C5 - Analyze inputs and outputs based on given electric circuit diagrams.

Specifically

✓ Electric Potential and its sources

✓ Potential Difference

Introduction

Electric Potential:

The electric potential -or just potential - tells us something about how a charge will move
in a given situation. For example, the electric potential due to a point charge of magnitude
Q is:

V(r) = kQ r

The electric potential will be positive or negative depending on the sign of the charge Q.
If Q is positive, V will also be positive. If Q is negative, V will be negative. The potential
is a scalar -- not a vector. So there is no direction associated with that minus sign.
The minus sign tells you what the charge is. This also makes it easier to manipulate this
quantity than a vector quantity.

If Q is positive, it will repel other positive charges. The strength of that repulsion is
proportional to 1/r.

Electric Potential from Electric Field

Consider the work done by the electric field in moving a charge q0 a distance ds:

𝑑𝑊 = 𝐹(𝑑𝑆) = 𝑞0 𝐸(𝑑𝑆)

The total work done by the field in moving the charge a macroscopic distance from
initial point i to final point f is given by a line integral along the path:

𝑓
𝑊 = 𝑞0 ∫𝑖 𝐸 ∗ 𝑑𝑆

This work is related to the negative change in potential energy or electric potential:

𝑊
= −∆𝑉 = −(𝑉𝑓 − 𝑉𝑖 )
𝑞0

𝑓 𝑖
∆𝑉 = 𝑉𝑓 − 𝑉𝑖 = − ∫𝑖 𝐸 ∗ 𝑑𝑠 = ∫𝑓 𝐸 ∗ 𝑑𝑠

The last step changes the direction of the integration and reverses the sign of the
integral.

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Equipotential Surface

Equipotential surfaces are surfaces (not necessarily physical surfaces) which are at
equal electric potential. Thus, between any 2 points on the surface ΔV=0. This implies
that no work can be done by the electric field to move an object along the surface, and
thus we must have E⋅ds = 0

Therefore, equipotential surfaces are always perpendicular to the direction of the

electric field (the field lines).

The potential lines indicate surfaces at the same electric potential, and the spacing is a
measure of the rate of charge of the potential. The lines themselves have no physical
meaning.

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Potential Energy of a Point Charges

The potential energy pf two point charges is related to the work as

𝑓 𝑥 𝐾𝑞1 𝑞2 𝐾𝑞1 𝑞2 𝐾𝑞1 𝑞2

𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 = ∫𝑖 𝐹1𝑜𝑛2 𝑑𝑥 = ∫𝑥 𝑓 =− +
𝑖 𝑥2 𝑥𝑓 𝑥𝑖

𝐾𝑞1 𝑞2 𝐾𝑞1 𝑞2
∆𝑈𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 = −𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐(𝑖→𝑓) = −
𝑥𝑓 𝑥𝑖

Thus, the general expression for the electric potential energy is:

𝐾𝑞1 𝑞2 1 𝑞1 𝑞2
𝑈𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 = =
𝑟 4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟

The equation is valid for two like charges or for opposite charges.

The electric potential of many point charges is just the sum of the potential energies due
to all pair charges using superposition principle. Such that:

𝐾𝑞1 𝑞2
𝑈𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 = ∑𝑖<𝑗
𝑟

For energy conservation problem, it is necessary to consider only the potential energy of
those pairs for which the distance rij changes and not to consider potential energy of those
pair that does not move.

The advantage of this calculation is that you only have to linearly add the electric potential
arising from each point charge, rather than adding each vector component separately as
in the case of the electric field.

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The Potential Energy of a Dipole

The work done by the electric filed on the diploe as it rotates through the small angle,
𝑑𝜃 is:
𝑑𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 = −𝑝𝐸 sin 𝜙 𝑑𝜙

The potential energy associated with the work done on the dipole is:

∆𝑈𝑑𝑖𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒 = −𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 = −𝑝𝐸 cos 𝜙𝑓 + 𝑝𝐸 cos 𝜙𝑖

Hence,
𝑈𝑑𝑖𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒 = −𝑝𝐸 cos 𝜙 = −𝑝⃗ ∗ 𝐸⃗⃗

The Electric Potential

The electric potential is define as:

𝑈𝑞+𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝑉= 𝑞

The electric potential, like the electric field is a property of the source charge and it fills
the space around the course charge.

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The unit of electric potential is Joule per Coulomb, which is called the volt, V.

The following equations can be used to calculate the electric potential:

1. Electric potential of a point charge

1 𝑞
𝑉=
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟

2. Electric potential of a charged sphere

1 𝑄
𝑉= --- > sphere of charge, r ≥ R
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟

3. Electric Charge of Many Charges

1 𝑞𝑖
𝑉= ∑
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟𝑖
𝑖

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References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals

1. Knight, R.D. (2017). Physics with Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers A
Strategic Approach. 4th Edition. USA: Pearson Educ. Inc.
2. Lloyd, D.H. (2014). Physics Laboratory Manual. 4th ed. Canada: Brooks/Cole
Cengage Learning. (Laboratory).

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. http://physics.unl.edu/~klee/phys151/lectures/notes/lec37-notes.pdf

2. http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~acosta/phy2061/lectures/ElectricPotential.pdf

Online Instructional Videos

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpVxj3XrLgk