Chapter four

Electric charge and electric field

Dr. Bestoon Mustafa

GENERAL PHYSICS I (CMPE 171)
Weeks 3
Fall 2023/24
Date
▪ Structure of a Matter and Electric Charges
▪ The nature of electric charge
▪ Conductors, semiconductors and insulates
▪ Coulomb’s Law
▪ Electric Field
▪ Electric Forces

2
▪ Learning the nature of electric charge
▪ Types of materials in term of conductivity
▪ The theory of Coulomb’s law and applications
▪ Electric field lines producing around charges

3
▪ Any material around the universe consists of Molecules.

▪ Molecules are a combination of two or more atoms.

▪ Atoms consist of one nucleus and shells around the nucleus (figure 1.4).

▪ At the shells there are only electrons.

▪ Inside nucleus there are protons and neutrons.

▪ Electrons are negatively charged,

▪ Protons are positively charged and

▪ Neutrons are uncharged particles.

▪ The proton and neutron are combinations of other entities called quarks

Fig 1.4 The structure of an atom

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➢ Note:
▪
▪ Charge of neutron is zero.
and,
▪ Mass of electron =𝟗. 𝟏 ∗ 𝟏𝟎−𝟑𝟏 𝒌𝒈

▪ Mass of portion = Mass of Neutron = 𝟏. 𝟔𝟕 ∗ 𝟏𝟎−𝟐𝟕 𝒌𝒈

➢ Principle of conservation of charge:

The algebraic sum of all the electric charges in any closed system is constant. Or,

Charge can neither be created nor destroyed. A charge can, however, be transferred from
one body to another.

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To this point the only one of these forces that we have examined in any detail is gravity.

Now we are ready to examine the force of electromagnetism, which encompasses both
electricity and magnetism.

Electromagnetic interactions involve particles that have a property called electric charge, an
attribute that is as fundamental as mass.

These particles as objects with mass are accelerated by gravitational forces,

So electrically charged objects are accelerated by electric forces.

Thus: if a particle is charged electrically called charged particle.

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▪ According to conductivity, there are three types of
materials: conductors, semiconductors and
insulators.

▪ Conductors permit the easy movement of charge

through them, such as copper.
▪ Insulators do not have ability to transferee free charge
carries (electrons) such as wood.

▪ Semiconductors (such as Silicon) are materials that

act as insulators at room temperature. However, they
can be turned to conductors by adding a motivate into
them.
▪ A motivator can be adding a dopant, affecting by a
magnetic field of increasing temperature.

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➢ Coulomb established a law called Coulomb’s law:

‘‘The magnitude of the electric force between two point charges is

directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them’’.
➢ The magnitude of this force is always positive.
➢ In mathematical terms, the magnitude of the force (F) that each of two point charges
(q1) and (q2) a distance (r) apart exerts on the other can be expressed as:

------------ (eq. 1)

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▪ 𝜀0 is the permittivity of the free space,
▪ The directions of the forces the two charges exert on each other are always along
the line joining them.

▪ When the charges and have the same sign, either both positive or both negative,
the forces are repulsive; when the charges have opposite signs, the forces are
attractive (figure 1.6)

Fig 1.6 direction of coulomb’s forces of (a) similar charges and, (b) opposite charges.
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Two-point charges, 𝑞1 = +25 𝑛𝐶 and 𝑞2 = −75 𝑛𝐶, are separated by a distance r =3 cm (as
shown below). Find the magnitude and direction of the electric force (a) that 𝑞1 exerts on
𝑞2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏 𝑞2 𝑒𝑥𝑤𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑞1 .

Solve a)

b)

CMPE -TIU The attractive force that acts on 𝑞1 is to the right, toward 𝑞2 10
Two point charges are located on the x-axis of a coordinate system: 𝑞1 = 1 𝑛𝐶 is at x =
+2 cm, and 𝑞2 = −3 𝑛𝐶 is at x = +4 cm. What is the total electric force exerted by 𝑞1
and 𝑞2 on a charge 𝑞3 = 5 𝑛𝐶 at x = 0 ?

Solve

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Two equal positive charges 𝑞1 = 𝑞2 = 2 µ𝐶 are located at 𝑥 = 0, 𝑦 = 0.3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥= 0, y = - 0.3 𝑚,
respectively. What are the magnitude and direction of the total electric force that 𝑞1 and 𝑞2 exert on
a third charge 𝑄 = 4 µ𝐶 𝑎𝑡 𝑥 = 0.4 𝑚, 𝑦 = 0?
Solution
The forces F1 on Q and F2 on Q due to
the identical charges q1 and q2 which are
at equal distances from Q. From Coulomb’s
law, both forces have the same magnitude of:

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▪ The electric force on a charged body is exerted by the electric field created by
other charged bodies.

▪ E is the force per unit charge exerted by charge A (fig 1.9)

on a test charge at P.

------------ (eq. 2)

------------ (eq. 2)

In SI units, the unit of electric field is Newton /Coulomb

Or N/C
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 Electric Field lines Electric Field

Fig. 1.7 (a) The field produced by a positive

point charge points away from the charge.
(b) The field produced by a negative point
charge points toward the charge.

Fig. 1.8 electric dipole Fig. 1.9 A charged body creates an

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electric field in the space around it.
▪ If the field at a certain point is known, gives the force (F0) experienced by a point charge
q0 placed at that point. This force is just equal to the electric field E produced at that
point by charges other than qo, multiplied by the charge q0:

Fig. 1.10

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▪ What is the magnitude of the electric field E at a field point 2.0 m from a point
charge q = 4.0 nC?
Solution

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A uniform electric field between two parallel conducting plates connected to a 100-volt battery. (The separation of
the plates is exaggerated in this figure relative to the dimensions of the plates.) E = 1.00 * 10^4 N/C, (a) If an
electron (charge -e = -1.60 *10^-19 C and mass m = 9.11 * 10-31 kg ) is released from rest at the upper plate,
what is its acceleration? (b) What speed and kinetic energy does it acquire while travelling 1.0 cm to the lower
plate? (c) How long does it take to travel this distance?

Solve
(a)

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In summary, we studies:
▪ The nature of electric charge.
▪ Materials as conductors, semiconductors, and insulators.
▪ Coulomb's Law for electric interactions.
▪ The concept of electric fields.
▪ Understanding electric forces.
These foundational concepts are crucial for comprehending electricity,
electronic devices, and further exploration of electrical phenomena.
✓ Alexander, C. K. (2013). Fundamentals of electric circuits. McGraw-Hill,.
✓ Young, H. D., Freedman, R. A., & Ford, A. L. (2014). University physics with modern physics (p. 822).
New York: Pearson.
✓ Bird, J. O. (2007). Electrical circuit theory and technology. Routledge.

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