Physics 122 September 7, 2010

Thi course is
This i hard!
h d!
Don’t expect to cram all the material before exams.
It is important to keep
k up with
h the
h material, l and
d not
slip behind. You should definitely look at the
homework
m w problems
p m before
f coming
m g to class..
Labs start next week (Sept. 13-15).
You should read the lab materials before coming to
lab, and take the pre-lab quiz. Lab writeup and pre-
lab-quiz will be on your section of PHY124 in
Bl kb
Blackboardd ass ssoon ass a software
s ft glitch
lit h is resolved.
s l d
There will generally be clicker questions each Thurday
based on that week’s
week s lab
lab.
Question 1
Here is how the WebAssign
gradebook looked yesterday
g y y at
~1:30 PM.

ND = Not Downloaded.
Downloaded Students
who haven’t even looked at the
problems.

NS = No Submissions.
Students who downloaded, but
haven’t submitted any of the
problems for grading.

Original policy of 10% credit

subtracted for wrong answers
h been
has b canceled.
l d You
Y have
h 10
“free” tries for each problem
As of 3:00 PM today, more than 80% of you have not yet
downloaded the Chapter 16 homework problems.
problems Not good!

In the first homework assignment, 10% credit was lost for

each incorrect answer.
answer We have changed that so there is
no penalty for incorrect answers.

Question #2.

1 2 Charges 1 and 2 have

what signs?
Answer: 1 is +, 2 is -
Question 3:
If there are two large
g planes
p of charge,
g , negative
g
on the left and positive on the right, for an
observer between the sheets of charge, what is
the direction of the electric field?
-- +
-- +
-- +
-- ↑ +
-- +
-- ← P → +
-- ↓ +
-- + Answer: field
-- + points to the left
-- +
-- +
-- +
Conductor: a material in which charges are free to move.*
Put a charge next to a conductor: How do the field lines look?

? Question 4:
What’s wrong
with this
picture?
 Electric field lines meet
a conductor
perpendicular to the
surface.
-
-
-
--
-
-
--
-
-
--
-
-
--
-
WRONG. Charges on the --
conductor
d would
ld move in
response to the field.
If the conductor
carries a net negative If the conductor carries
charge zero net charge

+ +
- - +
- +
- -
-- - +
- -- +
- -
-- - +
- -- +
- -
-- - +
- -- +
- -
-- - +
- -- +
-
-- +
--
+ +
 Remember some concepts about potential energy from
Ph i 121.
Physics 121 IIn thi
this room, th
there iis a gravitational
it ti l fi
field
ld
that exerts a force F = mg (vector) pointing downward
on an object
j with mass m.
The amount of work
required to carry the B
object
bj t ffrom A to
t B isi
W = m g (hB-hA),
independent
p
F=mg of the path.

There is a (scalar) gravitational hB

potential energy U = m g h. A

Only differences in potential hA

energy are meaningful.
If you carry a particle with charge +q around in a place
where there is a uniform electric field E, say pointing in
direction the charge feels a force F = q e in the x
the x direction,
direction.
E
E
xB B

If the particle moves from

E A to B, the amount of work
done by the field is
W = E q (xB-xA),
E independent of the path.
xA
F=eE
A
E Neglecting
g g gravity,
g y the particle
p has a
potential energy Uelectric = –q E x.
If you carry a particle with charge -q around in a place
where there is a uniform electric field E, say pointing in
direction the charge feels a force F = -q e in the x
the x direction,
direction.
E
E
Note sign
xB B

If the particle moves from

E A to B, the amount of work
done by the field is
W = q E (xA-xB) = q E Δx,
E independent of the path.
xA
F=eE
A
E Neglecting
g g gravity,
g y the particle
p has a
potential energy Uelectric = +q E x.
Note sign
 Electric Potential
energy g q
gy of a charge
D fi electric
Define l t i potential
t ti l = q
Units: Joule / Coulomb,
which
hi h we will
ill give
i a new name, V
Volt*
lt*

Higher potential E Lower potential

energy for + charge E energy for
f + charge
h
Lower potential E Higher potential
energy for
f – charge
h E energy for – charge
Higher potential Lower potential
E
El t i field
Electric fi ld lines
li s point
i t from
f m regions
i s
of higher potential to lower potential.

* Alessandro Volta (1745-1827),

inventor of the first battery.
Homework problem from Chapter 15:
Each of the pprotons in a particle
p beam has a kinetic
energy of 3.25x10-15 J. What is the magnitude and
direction of an electric field that will stop these protons
in a distance of 11.25
25 m?

KEi + PEi = KEf + PEf

ΔPE = KEi – KEf = 3.25x10
3 25 10-15
15 J

= q E Δx = 1.6x10-19C x E x 1.25m

E = 3.25x10-15 J / (1.6x10-19C x 1.25m) = 1.63x104 N/C.

(J = Nm,
Nm so J/m = N,
N and the dimensions are OK
OK.))

Higher potential energy at the point where the proton

stops,
t so the
th field
fi ld points
i t ttowards
d th
the source of
f th
the
proton.
Q
Question 5:
There is a uniform electric field E of magnitude 150
N/C, pointing South. An electron is released from rest,
and starts to move in response to the field.
field What is its
kinetic energy when it has travelled 30 cm?
There is a uniform electric field E of magnitude
g 150
N/C, pointing South. An electron is released from rest,
and starts to move in response to the field. What is its
kinetic energy when it has travelled 30 cm?

As before, ΔKE = ─ΔPE = ─q E (xf – xi)

= 1.6x10
1 6 10-19
19C x 150 N/C x 0
0.3m
3 =77.2x10
2 10-18
18 J

Which direction does it move?

Whichever way it goes, it is moving from higher to lower

energy so ΔPE is negative
potential energy, negative.

If the particle were a proton, what would be the

outcome?
t ?
 A BATTERY is a device that produces a fixed
potential difference between two conductors.
p

This terminal is at an
electric p
potential 1.5
Volts more positive than
this terminal.
This terminal
Thi i l is
i at an electric
l i
potential 12 Volts more
positive than this terminal.
p

Question
Q sti 6:
If I carry a proton from the – to
the + terminal of a 12 Volt
battery, how does its potential
energy change?
If I carry a proton from the – to the + terminal of a 12
Volt battery
battery, how does its potential energy change?

Proton has a positive charge, so the change in potential

energy in going to a more positive potential is positive.
positive

Change in potential energy = charge x change in potential.

ΔU = q ΔV = 1.6x10-19 Coul. x 12 Volt = 1.92x10-18 Joule

(Volt = J/C, so Coulomb x Volt = Joule)
 A ski lift raises the
potential energy of its
passenger by m g Δh.

A battery
y raises the potential
p energy
gy of
charge that flows through it by q ΔV.
We have expressed electric field in units of N/C
((force p
per unit charge).
g ) Consider the uniform electric
field between two large conducting planes.

The work done byy the field

f in
V1 V2 moving a charge q from V1 to
V2 is q E Δx.

The change in potential energy

E of the charge is –q E Δx which
is l q (V2 – V1).
i also )

So V2 < V1 as drawn,, and

E = (V1-V2)/Δx.
Δx
Units:
Newton/Coulomb = Volt/meter
Gravitational Potential Energy
gy (Phy
( y 121)) of an isolated mass

F = G M m / R 2 is the magnitude of the force between two

objects F is a vector.
objects. vector
Note sign
U = ─G M m / R is the gravitational potential energy. Work
you do
d when
h you allow
ll masses M andd m to
t come together
t th
from a great distance. There is no vector U.

Work you do to move a mass m from position x1 to x2 is

U2 ─U1 (means U(x2) – U(x1)).

In the uniform gravitational potential near Earth’s surface,

U = m g h where h is distance measured up from some
reference
f point.
i t
Electric potential

E = ke Q / R 2 is the magnitude of the electric field due to

a charge Q. E is a vector.

V = ke Q / R is the electric potential at a distance R from

an isolated (point) charge Q. There is no vector V.

Work you do to move a charge q from position x1 to x2 is

q (V2 - V1) (means V(x2) – V(x1)).

V (x) iss a function pos t on x, even if

funct on of position f there iss a
complicated arrangement of charges.

V (x) becomes more positive near positive charges,

charges more
negative near negative charges.
 Electric potential as a function of
distance from a 1μC charge.
charge

90,000 Volts at 0.1 meter

9000 Volts at 1 meter

900 Volts at 10 meters

Potential drops to zero very far from the charge.

Potential energy of two +1μC charges as a function of their
separation. U = q V (r) = ke q1 q2 / r 2.

0.09 Joules at 0.1 meter

Remember that the zero of

potential energy can be chosen
arbitrarily.
bit il It iis conventional
ti l tto
chose the zero at great separation.

Positive potential energy – you have to do work in order

to bring those two charges together.
Potential energy of a +1μC charge and a -1μC
charge as a function of their separation
charge, separation.
Distance (meters)

The force is attractive, so you

could get some work out of letting
th charges
the h come together.
t th
Question 7:
T
Two charges
h of
f 1.2x10
1 2 10-66 C and
d 3.5x10
3 5 10-66 C are initially
i iti ll
separated by 1 meter. How much work do I have to
do to move them to a separation
p of 0.3 meter?

(Hint. Think of one of them as fixed, and find the

difference of potential energy when I move the
other one closer.)
Two charges of 1.2x10-6 C and 3.5x10-6 C are initially
separated
t dbby 1 meter.
t H
How much h workk do
d Ih have to
t dod
to move them to a separation of 0.3 meter?

Think of the 1.2x10-6 C charge as fixed.

The potential a distance of 1 m away is

9x109 Nm2C-2 x 1.2x10-6 C / 1 m = 10.8 kV
0.3 m away:
9 109 Nm
9x10 N 2C-22 x 1.2x10
1 2 10-66 C / 0
0.3
3 m = 36
36.0
0 kV

Movingg a charge
g of 3.5x10-6 C from a ppoint of 10.8 kV
potential to a point of 36.0 kV potential means
increasing its potential by 25.2 kV, which raises its
potential energy by 3.5x10
3 5x10-6 C x 25,200
25 200 V = 0.088
0 088 J.J
 Potential due to several charges –
add potentials of each charge

Potentiall at point P is the

P h sum of f the
h potentials
l
produced by q1 and q2. q1 is +5μC, 4 m away from the
observation p point,, q2 is -2μC,
μ , 5 m away.
y

q1 q2 ⎛ 5 × 10 −6
2 × 10 −6
⎞
V (P ) = ke + ke = 9 × 10 ⎜
9
− ⎟ = 7650 V
r1 r2 ⎝ 4 5 ⎠
 10 cm
Q
Question 8:
Three charges of +1x10-6 C are
at the corners of a square, 10
cm on a side.
side What is the 1 μC
3 ea. +1 C
potential at the fourth corner?
 10 cm
Three charges
g of +1x10-6
C are
at the corners of a square, 10
cm on a side. What is the
potential at the fourth corner? 1 μC
3 ea. +1 C

Two of the charges are a distance 0.10 m, and the third

is a distance 0.1414 m (0.10 x √2).
⎛ q1 q2 q3 ⎞
V = ke ⎜⎜ + + ⎟⎟
⎝ r1 r2 r3 ⎠
⎛ 1 × 10 −6
1 × 10 −6
1 × 10 −6
⎞
= 9 × 10 ⎜9
+ + ⎟
⎝ 0
0.1
1 0
0.1
1 0
0.1414
1414 ⎠
= 2.44 × 105 V
 For any distribution of charge
charge, the
potential V(x) can be found by
- - - adding contribution from each
-
charge.
h
- -
+ ++

+
+ +

+ x
 One special case:
A spherically symmetric charge
distribution produces V (r) = ke Q / r
where r is measured from the center
of the sphere, and Q is the total
charge on (in) the sphere. It looks
l k all
like ll of
f the
h charge
h is concentratedd
at the center.

True for solid sphere or

spherical shell.
You already knew this
because the field is the
same outs
sam outside a sph
sphere
r as
for a point charge at center.
What is the relation between Electric Field lines and
Equipotentials?
Recall work done by a force which moves an object:
W = F d cosθ
Replace work W by change of potential V, and force F
b electric
by l t i fi ld E, and
field nd you thatt ΔV = E d cosθ,
u ssee th sθ which
hi h
will be zero (constant V) if cosθ=0, i.e., θ = 90°.

Surfaces of constant
potential are perpendicular
to electric field lines.
Field lines (black) and equipotentials (red) of an electric
dipole.

From http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/equipot.html
The surface of a conductor is an equipotential.
Restatement of the fact that electric field lines are
perpendicular to the surface of a conductor where they
meet it.
it
Labs start next week (Sept. 13-15).
You should read the lab materials
before coming to lab,
lab and take the
pre-lab quiz. Info on your section of
PHY124 in Blackboard as soon as a
software
f glitch
l h is resolved.
l d

Your f
first lab is on tracing
g out
electric field lines and equipotentials.

There will be clicker questions every

Thurday based on that week’s lab.