ELECTRIC CHARGES

AND FIELDS
ELECTRIC CHARGE
The name electricity is coined from the Greek word
elektron meaning amber.
The bodies like glass or plastic rods, silk, fur and pith
balls are electrified. They acquire an electric charge on
rubbing.
The charges were named as positive and negative by
the American scientist Benjamin Franklin.
By convention, the charge on glass rod or cat’s fur is
called positive and that on plastic rod or silk is termed
negative.
Gold-leaf electroscope .
A simple apparatus to detect charge on a body
is the gold-leaf electroscope. It consists of a
vertical metal rod housed in a box, with two
thin gold leaves attached to its bottom end.
When a charged object touches the metal knob
at the top of the rod, charge flows on to the
leaves and they diverge. The degree of
divergence is an indicator of the amount of
charge.
CHARGING BY INDUCTION
BASIC PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC CHARGE
1.Additivity of charges
2.Charge is conserved
3.Quantization of charge
q = ne
e = 1.602192 × 10–19 C
 COULOMB’S LAW
Coulomb measured the force between two point charges and
found that it varied inversely as the square of the distance
between the charges and was directly proportional to the
product of the magnitude of the two charges and acted
along the line joining the two charges. Thus, if two point
charges q1, q2 are separated by a distance r in vacuum, the
magnitude of the force (F) between them is given by
Free space usually refers to a perfect vacuum, devoid of all particles.
The permittivity of free space, ε0, is a physical constant used often in
electromagnetism. It represents the capability of a vacuum to permit electric
fields.
 r =r–r
21 2 1

r12 = r1 – r2 =-r2—r1=-(r2-r1)= – r21

We denote force on q1 due to q2 by F12 and force on

q2 due to q1 by F21.
FORCES BETWEEN MULTIPLE CHARGES
TOPIC : ELECTRIC FIELD...
LO : To analyze electric field
due to a point charge and hence
examine the properties of
electric field lines.
Success Criteria
 Define electric field
 List the properties of field lines.
 Calculate electric field due to charge systems.
 Electric field
Electric field at a point in the space around
a system of charges tells you the force a unit
positive test charge would experience if
placed at that point (without disturbing the
system).
Electric field is a characteristic of the
system of charges and is independent of the
test charge that you place at a point to
determine the field.
ELECTRIC FIELD
Electric field due to a system of charges
Topic: ELECTRIC DIPOLE. Derive
equation for electric field due to dipole
along axial point.
TOPIC: ELECTRIC DIPOLE. Derive
equation for dipole along
equatorial axis
TOPIC: Electric field. Solve
numericals on electric field and
electric force.
To derive equation for torque on
electric dipole
Electric dipole in a uniform electric field
• The charge +q experiences a force
qE in the direction of the field.
• The charge –q experiences an
equal force in the opposite
direction.
• Thus the net force on the dipole is
zero.
• The two equal and unlike parallel
forces are not passing through the
same point, resulting in a torque
on the dipole, which tends to set
the dipole in the direction of the
electric field.
If the field is not uniform
In that case ,the net force will be non-
zero. In addition there will, in general, be a
torque on the system as before.

When p is parallel to E. The net torque is

zero. The dipole has a net force in the
direction of increasing field.

When p is antiparallel to E, the net force

on the dipole is in the direction of
decreasing field. The net torque is zero
Dependence of electric field
strength on the distance

Solid angle ,
ELECTRIC
FLUX
The electric flux is defined as the total number of electric lines of force,
crossing through the given area.
(i) Gauss’s law is true for any closed surface, no matter what its shape or size.
(ii) The term q on the right side of Gauss’s law, includes the sum of all charges
enclosed by the surface. The charges may be located anywhere inside the
surface
(iii)when the surface is so chosen that there are some charges inside and some
outside, the electric field is due to all the charges, both inside and outside S.
The term q on the right side of Gauss’s law, however, represents only the total
charge inside S.
(iv)The surface that we choose for the application of Gauss’s law is called the
Gaussian surface
Applications of Gauss’s Law

i)Field due to an infinite long

straight charged wire
Field due to an infinite long straight charged wire
Electric field due to an
infinite charged plane
sheet
Electric field due to two parallel charged sheets
Electric field due to uniformly charged spherical shell
Case (i) At a point outside the shell.
 Electric Field Intensity due to Two Parallel, Infinitely Long, Thin Plane
Sheet of Charge:

Case 1: +σ 1 & + σ 2
σ1 σ2

E1 E1 E1

Region I Region II Region III

E E E
(
σ1 > σ2 )

E2 E2 E2

E = E1 + E2 E = E 1 - E2 E = E1 + E2
σ1 + σ2 σ1 - σ2 σ1 + σ2
E= E= E=
2 ε0 2 ε0 2 ε0
Case 2: + σ 1 & - σ 2

σ1 σ2

E1 E1 E1

Region I Region II Region III

E E E
(
( σ1 > σ2 )
σ1 > σ2 )

E2 E2 E2

E = E1 - E 2 E = E 1 + E2 E = E1 - E2
σ1 - σ2 σ1 + σ2 σ1 - σ2
E= E= E=
2 ε0 2 ε0 2 ε0
Case 3: + σ & - σ

σ1 σ2

E1 E1 E1

Region I Region II Region III

E=0 E≠0 E=0

E2 E2 E2

E = E1 - E2 E = E1 + E = E1 - E 2
σ
σ 1 - σ2 =0 = σ1 - σ2 =0
E= E=
E2 σ1 +
2 ε0 E= 2 ε0
ε0
σ2