Electric flux

Gauss’ law
Application

COURSE INSTRUCTOR:
Abdul Majeed Pirzada,
Lecturer, SMIU

Lecture # 08 and 09/Applied

Physics
 ELECTRIC FLUX
 The number of electric field lines crossing a given
area kept normal to the electric field lines is called electric
flux
 It is usually denoted by the Greek letter ΦE and its unit
is N m2 C-1.
 Electric flux is a scalar quantity
Electric field of a point charge
 Consider two small rectangular area elements placed
normal to the field at regions A and B.
 Even though these elements have the same area, the
number of electric field lines crossing the element in region
A is more than that crossing the element in region B.
 Therefore the electric flux in region A is more than that in
region B.
 Electric Flux
We define the electric flux ,
of the electric field E,
through the surface A, as:
E
=E.A
A

area  = E A cos ()

A
Where:
A is a vector normal to the surface
(magnitude A, and direction normal to the surface).
 is the angle between E and A
 Electric Flux
Electric flux is the rate of flow of the electric field through
a given area.
You can think of the flux through some surface as a measure of
the number of field lines which pass through that surface.
Flux depends on the strength of E, on the surface area, and on
the relative orientation of the field and surface.

E E

A
Normal to surface,
magnitude A
area
A Here the flux is A 
=E·A
 Electric Flux
The flux also depends on orientation
 = E . A = E A cos 

area
E A E area
A


A cos  A A cos  A

The number of field lines through the tilted surface equals the
number through its projection . Hence, the flux through the tilted
surface is simply given by the flux through its projection: E (A
cos.
 Electric flux in a non uniform
electric field and an arbitrarily
shaped area
 Suppose the electric field is not uniform and the area A
is not flat then the entire area is divided into n small
area segments

 such that each area element is almost flat and the

electric field over each area element is considered to
be uniform
Electric flux for non-uniform electric
Field
 The electric flux for the entire area A is approximately
written as

 By taking the limit ΔAi→0 (for all i) the summation

becomes integration.
 The total electric flux for the entire area is given by

 It is clear that the electric flux for a given surface

depends on both the electric field pattern on the
surface area and orientation of the surface with respect
to the electric field.
What if the surface is curved, or the field varies with position ??

=E. 1. We divide the surface into small

A regions with area dA

2. The flux through dA

is
d = E dA cos 
dA d = E . dA

A 3. To obtain the total flux we need
E
to integrate over the surface A

 =  d =  E . dA
GUASS
LAW
 A positive point charge Q is surrounded by
an imaginary sphere of radius r
 The total electric flux through the closed surface
of the sphere using the equation

 The electric field of the point charge is directed

radially outward at all points on the surface of the
sphere

 Therefore, the direction of the area element

dA is along the electric field E and .θ= 00
E is uniform on the surface of the
sphere

 The equation is called as Gauss’s law

 Application of Gauss’s Law
To calculate Electric Field due to different charge distributions.
For this purpose we consider construction of a Guassian surface.
Guassian Surface : It is an imaginary surface in the electric field
which is
a) It is closed from all sides
b) E at every point is symmetrical
c) Θ at every point symmetrical
d) May be a combination of more than one surface.
 Step # 01
Lets consider a gaussian surface in shape of a sphere with
‘q’ as centre, r radius so that surface pass through ‘P’.
At every point E is symmetrical.
At Every point r is symmetrical
At every point Θ is zero.
Step # 02
 Electric field due to line charge
Electric charge is distributed on an infinite long straight
conductor with linear charge density λ. We have to find Electric
field on a point P at normal distance r.
Consider a Gaussian Surface in the shape of a cylinder having
axis along conductor. It has radius r so that point P lies on the
surface. Let its length be l.
The electric field is normal to conductor, hence it is symmetrical
to the surfaces of these cylinder.
Thank you