CHAPTER 12

ELECTROSTATICS

12.1 COULOMBSLAW
What is Electric Charge?
- An intrinsic property of protons and
electrons, which make up all matter,
is electric charge.
- A proton has a positive charge, and
an electron has a negative charge.

- The SI unit for measuring the magnitude

of electric charge is the coulomb (C).
- The electric charge is said to be
quantized. The smallest amount of
free charge is e=1.610-19 C. Any
electric charge, q, occurs as integer
multiples of the elementary charge
e, Q = ne
- Two electrically charged objects exert a
force on one another, called as
electrostatic force: like charges
repel and unlike charges attract
each other.

The strength of electrical force

depends on
- The distance between charges
- The amount of charge on each
object

 The electrostatic force between

two charged objects is proportional to
the quantity of each charge and
inversely proportional to the square
of the distance between charges.

Where
k= Coulombs constant
k=

Difference and Similarities between

Electricity and Gravity
Mathematical form of the Coulomb
law and law of gravitation very
similar

EXAMPLE 1
What is the electrostatic force between
two positive charges? [q1 = 4 C, q2
= 8 C, r = 10 cm]

ANSWER
= (8.99 x 10^9) (4 x 10^-6) (8 x 10^6) / (0.1)^2
= 28.8 N

 The force on a point charge due to two or more

other point charges
- There are three charges q1, q2 and q3. What would
be the net force on q1 due to both q2 and q3?
- First, find the magnitude and direction of the force
exerted on q1 by q2 (ignoring q3).
- Then, determine the force exerted on q1 by q3
(ignoring q2).
- The net force on q1 is the vector sum of these forces.
- If we have n charged particles, they interact
independently in pairs, and the force on any one of
them, let us say particle 1, is given by the vector sum
F1,net = F12 + F13 + F14 etc.

EXAMPLE 2
Forces F1 and F2 act independently on
test charge (q0). Find Fnet
[q1 = 2 C, q2 = 5 C, q0 = 4 C ]

F1 = kqq/r2 = 7.2 N (to right)

F2 = kqq/r2 = 2.9 N (to left)
So, Fnet = F1 F2 = 7.2 2.9 = 4.3 N
(to right)
Note, the larger effect of F1 (even
though the charge was smaller) is
due to its closer proximity to q0.

EXAMPLE 3
Three point charges are arranged as shown in the
figure below. (Take q1 = 5.46 nC, q2 = 4.95 nC, and
q3 = -2.97 nC.)

a) Find the magnitude of the electric force on the

particle at the origin.
b) Find the direction of the electric force on the particle
at the origin.

ANSWER
a) F=kq1q2 / r^2 (k=9 x 10^9, q=charge of particle, r=distance
between particles)
Force due to q1:
F1=(9 x 10^9)(5.46 x 10^-9)(4.95 x 10^-9) / (0.3)^2
F1 = 2.7027 x 10^-6 N to the left since repulsive force
Force due to q3:
F2=(9 x 10^9)(4.95 x 10^-9)(2.97 x 10^-9) / (0.1)^2
F2 = 1.323 x 10^-5 N downwards since attractive force
) To find magnitude, use pythagorean theorem
F^2 = (2.7027 x 10-6)^2 + (1.323 x 10-5)^2
F = 1.35 x 10-5 N

b) To find direction, use trigonometry

tan = 1.323 x 10^-5 / 2.7027 x 10^6
= 78.454 from the negative x-axis
=180 + 78.454 = 258.454 from
positive x-axis

EXAMPLE 4
Assume that a hydrogen atom consists
of an electron of charge e- orbiting a
proton of charge e+. Calculate the
ratio of the electrostatics force
between the electron and proton to
the gravitational force between
them. (Mass of electron,
m=9.1x10^-31 kg, mass of proton,
m=1.67x10^-27 kg)

12.2 Electric Fields

Field Theory
The electric force is not action at a distance but is the
action of a field.
A field is a physical entity that extends throughout a
volume of space and exerts forces.
Electric field = E(x,t) and Magnetic field = B(x,t)
Electric fields surround every electric charge and exerts a
force that causes electric charges to be attracted or
repelled.

- What would happen to a charge in each field?

A charge creates an electric field around itself and the other
charge feels that field.
Test charge: point object with a very small positive
charge so that it does not modify the original field
Electric field at a given point in space: place a positive test
charge q at the point and measure the electrostatic
force that acts on the test charge; then

A field is not just an abstract concept that we use to describe

forces. The field is real.
If we place a positive point charge in an electric field, there
will be a vector force on that charge in the direction of the
electric field
The magnitude of the force depends on the strength of the

Definition of Electric Field

We define the electric field in terms of the
force it exerts on a positive point charge
Unit of the electric field: N/C (newtons per
coulomb)
We can then write F=q/E
Note that the electric force is parallel to the
electric field and is proportional to the charge
The force on a negative charge will be in the
opposite direction

Electric Field Lines

- We can represent the electric field
graphically by electric field lines i.e.,
curves that represent the vector force
exerted on a positive test charge.
Electric field lines will originate on positive
charges and
terminate on negative charges.
Electric field lines do not cross. (Why?)
The electric force at a given point in space is
tangent to the electric field line through
that point.

Properties of Field Lines

The strength of the electric field is
represented by the density of electric
field lines

 The direction of the electric field is

tangent to the electric field lines
- The electric field lines from a point
charge extend out radially.

MOTION OF A POINT CHARGE IN A

UNIFORM ELECTRIC FIELD
Figure (a) shows a particle of charge +q moving with a velocity v in
the direction of the electric field E. The force F=qE which is in the
direction of v causes the particle of charge +q to accelerate along
the direction of the electric field E.
Acceleration , a = F/m = qE/m
(m=mass of charged particle)

A negative point charge such as an electron moving with a velocity

v in the direction of E experiences a force F=eE in the direction
opposite to that of E. This force causes the electron to decelerate.

 Figure (b) shows a particle of charge +q entering

a uniform electric field E with a velocity v which
is perpendicular to E. The force F=qE on the
particle is constantand the direction of E. This is
identical to the motion of projectile under gravity.
The horizontal componenet of velocity of the particle
remains constant, v
The vertical component of velocity increases with an
acceleration
a=F/m =qE/m

EXAMPLE 1
The figure shows three ink drops in a bubble-jet printer
that have the same mass but different charge entering a
uniform electric field E with the same velocity v
perpendicular to the electric field. Sketch the paths of
the particles in the electric field. Explain for the
differences in the paths.

ANSWER

12.3 Gauss law

Electric Flux
The electric flux is defined to be
or
Where E is the electric field and A is the area

If surface area is not perpendicular to the electric field we

have to slightly change our definition of the flux

Where
is the angle between the field and the unit
vector that is perpendicular to the surface

 For a closed surface, the unit vector is taken as

being pointed outward

Where flux lines enter the surface, the surface

normal and the electric field lines are anti-parallel

 Is there a difference in the net flux through the cube between the
two situations?

No! It is important to remember to properly take into account the

various dot products
The equation we have for flux is fine for simple situations
- the electric field is uniform and
- the surface area is plane

 If the area is not planar, then the

evaluation of the flux generally
requires an area integral since the
angle will be continually changing.

 We start from
The electric field is given by
The problem has spherical symmetry, therefore use a
sphere as the Gaussian surface
Since E is radial, its dot product with the differential area
vector, which is also radial, is always one
Also E is the same at every point on the surface of the
sphere
For these reasons, E can be pulled out from the integral
and what remains is

The integral over the surface area of the sphere yields

 Pulling all this together then yields

Gaussian Surfaces

Electric Field of Point

Charge
The electric field of a point charge Q can be obtained by a
straightforward application of Gauss' law. Considering a
Gaussian surface in the form of a sphere at radius r, the
electric field has the same magnitude at every point of
the sphere and is directed outward. The electric flux is
then just the electric field times the area of the sphere.

Electric Field of
Conducting Sphere

EXAMPLE 1

ANSWER
a) Use
= (1x10^-7)/(4 x 8.85x10^-12 x
(0.015)^2)
=4 x 10^6 V m^-1
b) E = 0

EXAMPLE 2

ANSWER

EXAMPLE 3

ANSWER
Using T cos 30 = mg
T sin 30 = qE = q(/2)
tan 30 = (q)/(2mg)

= 5 x 10^-9 C m^-2

12.4 Electric potential

The total of the electric flux out of a
closed surface is equal to the
charge enclosed divided by the
permittivity.

Effect of a neighbouring
conductor

Electric potential energy

EXAMPLE 1

ANSWER