i

UNIT 13 THE ELECTRIC FIELD

Structure
13.1 Introducti~~
Objectives

13.2 Coulomb's Law

13.3 The Electric Field
13.3.1 Lines of Force
13.3.2 Calculation of Electric Field
13.3.3 T h e Electric Dipole

13.4 Motion in Flprtric Field

13.4.1 Point

h rige in Electric Field

13.4.2 Dipole in an Electric Field

13.5 Summary
13.6 Answers to SAQs
i

13.1

INTRODUCTION

It is a common experience that if we comb our hair on a dry day, and

subsequently bring the comb close to tiny bits of paper, the comb attracts
pieces of paper. The phenomenon involved is the production of static electric
charges, which has been known to mankind as long back as 600 BC. If you rub
a glass rod with a piece of silk, the rod develops an electric charge. When
another glass rod, similarly rubbed, is brought near it, the two repel each
other. However, if the glass rod is brought towards an amber rod rubbed with
fur, the two rods attract each other. Rods treated in this fashion are said to
have developed electric charge, and, the force between such charged bodies is
called electric jome. Conventionally, the type of charge that is developed on
glass, when it is rubbed with silk, is called positive chaqe,.while the other
kind of charge which is developed on amber (or plastic), when it is rubbed
with fur, is called negative chatye.
The modern view of the structure of matter involves atoms, which are made
of two kinds of charged particles, the negatively charged electrons and the
positively charged protons, in addition to the neutral particles called the
neutrons. Experiments carried out with charged bodies show that like charges
repel each other while unlike charges attract each other. Thus the force
between two positive charges, or that between two negative charges is
repulsive, while the force between a positive and a negative charge is
at tractive.

:I

It is observed that the electric charge carried by different bodies is quantized.

In other words, a charged body carries an amount of charge which is a
multiple of the elementary charge e of an electron (or proton). The magnitude
e = 1.60219 x 10''~ C

where C stands for Coulomb, the SI unit of charge. Modern theories have
proposed that some particles, called quarks, which have fractional charges are
the real building blocks of protons. Because of nature of forces between them,
quarks probably cannot be isolated.

of this charge is

Another important property of electric charge is that it is canserved in any

process involving them, e.g., collision, reaction, decay etc. This is typically

illustrated in a nuclear reaction. For example, a target O ~ . ; ~nucleus,

N
when
bombarded by a beam of a-particles (:He nuclei) gives rise to A70nucleus
and protons. This reaction is described by the equation

where superscripts denote the mass numbers, while the subscripts denote the
atomic numbers. Hence, the total charge on the left side is (7 2)e while that
on the right side is (1 8)e, thus confirming that electric charge is conserved
in a nuclear reaction.

An understanding of the interaction between the electric charges is therefore

crucial in understanding properties of matter. We will see later that electric
charges are also responsible for magnetic effects. Because of this, the force
responsible for holding the atoms and molecules together are called
electromagnetic force. This force is much stronger than the gravitational force.
Though electricity and magnetism form one combined branch of Physics, the
two effects are not inseparable. For the case of charges in static equilibrium,
the magnetic effects are absent and we have only electrostatics to deal with.
In this unit, we will discuss the properties the force field created by static
electric charges. This field exerts a force on any charged body that may be
brought within its range of influence (strictly speaking, the range is infinite).

Objectives
After reading this unit, you should be able to:
a

use Coulomb's law to determine the force between charged particles

(SAQs 1-3),

explain what are lines of force and use them to qualitatively describe a
field (SAQ 4),

define the electric field and determine the fields due to discrete and
continuous charge distributions (SAQs 5-10),

explain what is an electric dipole and calculate the field due to it (SAQ
l l ) , and,

describe motion of a charged particle in a uniform electric field (SAQs

12-13).

13.2 COULOMB'S LAW

In 1784 Coulomb determined following facts about the force exerted by one
point charge on another. Consider two charges ql and qz separated by a
distance r12.such that the electrostatic force exerted by q l on 92 is F12.
Coulomb found that

p12 acts along the vector G2-(see Fig.l.l),

The magnitude of the force, Wz, is proportional to the product (qlq2)

(i) The force

(ii)

and is inversely proportional to the square of the distancest between the

charges.
,
(iii) The force is repulsive if ql and 92 have the same sign and it is attractive
if ql and qz have opposite signs.

The .EleetrfeFleld

where k is a constant and i12

= G 2 / r is a unit vector pointing from ql and 92.
From Newton's third law, it follows that the force, F21,exerted by 92 on ql , is
-,
equal and opposite to the force f12exerted by ql on 92, i.e., F12=
The
value of the constant k depends on the system of units used to describe the
quantities ql, 92 and ~ 1 2 In
.
SI units, in which the charge is measured in
Coulombs, the distance in meters and the force in Newtons, the value of the
constant k, when measured experimentally, is found to be 8.988 x lo9
N m2/c2. One usually uses the approximate value k 9 x lo9 N m2/C2. The
constant k is often written as k = 1/4aco where 6, is called the permittivity of
x
free space and has the value 8.854 x 10-l2 C2/N m2. In terms of these
quantities Coulomb's law is expressed as

-&.

I
!

I
I

As seen from Eqn.(l3.1), the electrostatic force between two charges is an

inverse square law force, similar to the gravitational force between two masses.
The validity of inverse square law has been checked by various experiments
and today we know that the exponent of rl2 in Eqn.(l3.1) is 2 having an
experimental uncertainty of about 2 parts in 10'.
In practice, we never have a pair of isolated point charges, but have to deal
with a system of n charges, with each charge exerting an electrostatic force on
the remaining (n - 1) charges. The resultant force on any charge ql is then
obtained by the superposition principle

where Fnl stands for the Coulomb force exerted by the charge q,, on ql.
Equation (13.3) states that the resultant force on a charge ql due to all other
charges is the vector sum of the forces due to each individual charge from the
set (q2,q3,"',qn)Example 1
Compare the electric and the gravitational forces that exist between an
electron and a proton.
Solution :
Since the two are oppositely charged, the electric force between them is
attractive. Gravitational force between any two objects is always attractive.
As both the forces are inverse square in nature,

where me and m, are respectively the masses of an electron and a proton.

Using numerical values 1/4aco = 9 x 10" m 2 / c 2 , G = 6.7 x lo-" N m2/kg2,
kg, we get
e = 1.6 x lo-''
C, me = 9.1 x
kg, and m, = 1.7 x

thus the gravitational force is negligible compared to the electic force.

Figure 13.1 :
CoulombL Law

Example 2
Determine the resultant force on the charge 93 due to the charges ql and 92 in
Fig.13.2. The charges are ql = -2 PC, 92 = 6 PC, and g = 4.5 PC.

Solution :
The force

between ql and 92 is attractive. The. magnitude of

1 3
Fl = -4rco 4

p1is

10-12

Force f'2 between qg and ql is repulsive and has a magnitude

1
F2= -10-l2
4rco

{m

Since the forces are at right angles to each other their resultant
magnitude ( F I=
= 1.12 x
N.

Figure 13.2

fl has a
0

SAQ 1 :
Calculate the force exerted on the charge ql in Fig.(13.3) due to the charges
q2 and q3:Take ql = -2 PC, 92 = 6 pC and 93 = -4.5 PC.

Figure 13.3

-"A

Example 3
~hreeparticlesof equal charges q are located at the vertices of an equilateral
triangle of side a. Find the force on each of the particles.

Solution :
.._

.B

C
Figure 13.4

Forces on C due to A and B are repulsive and are respectively along AC and
BC (Fig.13.4). The magnitude of each force is (1/4.rrco)q2/a2.Thus the
resultant is along the line joining the mid point D of the side AB to C. The
magnitude of this force is obtained by the triangle law to be
C,
(1/4.rrc.)q2/a2(l 1 2cos60)'/~ = (1/4nc0)q2/a2&.

+ +

SAQ 2 : ,
Four partihes of equal charge q are located at the corners of a square of side
a. Find the force on each of the particles.

,
I

SAC) 3 :

Thc F

Four charges Q , Q, q and q are located a t tbe corners of a square of side a,

such that the opposite corners have equal charges. Obtain the relationship
between Q and q such that the force on each chaage Q is zero.

13.3 THE ELECTRIC FI43ED

The concept of a field is $ready familiar to you. A field is a quantity that can
be associated with position. We may for instance talk about a temperature
field in space, since with every position (x,y, t)in space, we can associate a
unique temperature T. This is an example of a scalar field.
The gravitational field of the earth extends over the region in which a body
experiences a force due to the earth. I n principle, the extent of the field is
infinite. At every point in space, the earth exerts a force on any object of
mass m. On the surface of the earth, this field has a magnitgde 9.8 N/kg.
This is an example of a vector field. The space surrounding a charged object
is region of an electric field E which is a vector field. The concept of electric
field 2 and its quantitative definition is understood in terms of the force
experienced by a test charge placed at a point P in this field I?. We say that
an electric field 2 exists a t the point P if a stationary positive charge
experiences an electrostatic force when placed at P. Wci s h d use the vector I?
to describe the strength and direction of the electrostatic field. The vector E,
therefore, represents an electrostatic force and it can exist in vacuum or in
matter surrounding a charged object.

/
Figure 13.5 : The force experienced by a test charge in the field
of a positive
charge Q. B e lines of force are also shown.

Let us examine the electric field I? due to a positive point charge +Q in some
detail. Let this charge +Q be placed at 0 (Fig. 13.5). This charge is a source
of the electric field E which exists in the space around it. A test charge placed

at P I experiences this field I? in the form of a force acting on it. By a test

charge, we mean an inifnitesimally small, hypothetical, positive charge which
does not exert any force on other charges. This assumption about the test
charge is necessary to assure that the charges in the given charge distribution
do not move when we determine the resulting electric field.

13.3.1 Lines of Force

To investigate the electric field l? in the neighbourhood of the charge Q, we
imagine that a test charge is put a t any one of the neighbouring points such
as PI, P2, , P3 etc. Since both the charges are positive, the test charge, when
a t PI, will be repelled by +&, and this repulsive force will act along OP1.
Similarly, when the test charge is at P 2 (or P3), it will experience a repulsive
force along OP2 (or OPs). In general, the test charge will experience a
repulsive force acting radially outwards. We can represent this pictorially, by
drawing lines of force around the charge Q. In the figure they appear t o lie in
the plane of the paper, though in reality, the lines span out radially in all
directions from the charge Q.
The lines of force form are drawn observing the following rules:
1. The number of lines diverging from a positive point charge or entering a
negative point charge is proportional to the charge and are drawn in a
symmetric manner.
2. Lines of force start from a positive charge and end on a negative charge.
3. The number of lines crossing unit area held normal to the lines (called
the density of lines) is proportional t o the magnitude E of the electric
field.
4. Two lines of force can never cross.

Figure 13.6 : Lines of force for an electric dipole

The lines of electric force is a useful concept t o visualise the nature of the
electric field. It may appear rather qualitative, but we shall not be concerned
with the quantitative and accurate representation of the lines of force. Given
a pattern of the lines of force, we may determine : (i) the direction of the
electric field I? at any point, and (ii) the regions where the strength of the
field is relatively strong or .weak. Today, the job of drawing lines of force can
be carried out speedily with the help of a computer. Nevertheless we should
be able f o draw the pattern of electric force for simple charge configuration, as
for example, an electric dipole (Fig.13.6).

SAQ 4

:
Sketch the electric lines of force due to an isolated negative charge -9.

13.3.2 Calculation of Electric Field

The strength (or the intensity) and direction of the electric field
quantitatively by the equation
4

E = lim

is defined

F'

where $ is the electric force acting on a test charge +qt placed in an electric
field I? at a point P. The reason for taking the limit qt + 0 in (13.4) have
been explained earlier. Having determined I? at a point P in space, the force
experienced by any charge +q placed at P can be written as

This equation provides an operating definition for the determination of the

electric field I? via $ and it is of great practical importance as illustrated in
the following. In the following, we illustrate how to calculate the electric field
due to a given distribution of charges. We shall first consider the case when
the distribution is discrete, i.e., made up of several fixed point charges
(ql, qz, 93 ,qn). Let us place a test charge qt at P, the point where the
electric field I? is to be determined. By a direct application of Coulomb's law,
the force $lt exerted by ql on qt is given by

where flt is a unit vector directed from ql to qt and ~ l ist the distance between
ql and qt. The electric field, Zlt, acting at P due to ql is therefore given by

Zit

1 1 qlqt,
= lirn -[T~lt]
qt-+O qt 4n6, ri,
1 ql2 f l t
- -4~co
Tit

According to the principle of superposition, the resultant field at P is a vector

sum of the electric fields produced by each of the charges (ql, q2,q3,. .,qn) at
P, i.e.,

Example 4
Calculate the electric field at the point C (Fig. 13.7) due to a charge 8 pC at
A and a charge -1.5pC at B. The distances AC = 1 m and BC = 0.5m.

Figure 13.7

Solution :
Field at C due to A is (1/4nr0)(8 x 1 0 - ~ / 1 ~=)7.2 x lo4 N/C. The field at C
due to the charge at B is (1/4ac,)(-1.5 x 10-~/0.25) = -5.4 x lo4 N/C. The
field at C due to A and B is therefore d
m x lo4 = 9 x lo4 N/C.'

Example 5
Two point charges 5 pC and -10pC are l m apart. At which point is the field
due to them equal to zero.

Solution :
Clearly, the point must be to the left of the 5 pC charge, so that the force of
repulsion due to the smaller charge can be offset by the attractive force due to
the bigger charge. Suppose the distance of the point in question from the 5pC
charge is d (Fig. 13.8). The distance from the -1OpC charge is 1 d. The
field at P is given by

Solving, we get d = (1 f fi),Discarding the negative value, the distance is

2.41 m to the left of the smaller charge.

Figure 13.8

- lp

SAQ 5 :
~ i n d - t h magnitude
e
and the direction of the electric field at the centre of the
square of side 10 cm, due to the charge distribution shown in Fig. 13.9. The
magnitude of the charge q is 5 nC.

I
Figure 13.9

SAQ 6 :
Two charges 5 nC and -10 nC are separated by 1 m. Find a point where the
electric field strength is zero.

I
I

SAQ 7 :

The Electric Fleld

Five equal charges 40 nC each are placed at five vertices of a regular hexagon
of side 6 cm. The sixth vertex is free. Determine the electric field at the
centre of the hexagon due to this distribution.

The above procedure can be extended to calculate electric field due to a

continuous distribution of charges. The method consists of identifying a
differential element of charge, dq, in the given charge distribution. Depending
on a line (e.g. a uniform
on whether the charge is distributed c~>ntinuously
linear charge density X C/m), on a surface (e.g. a uniform surface charge
density a C/m2) or in a volume (e.g. uniform volume charge density p C/m3),
the element of charge dq could take any one of the form given below:
i) dq

Ad1 (where dl is a differentia element of length), or

ii) dq

a d s (where dS is a differential element of surface), or

iii) dq

pdr (where d r is a differential element of volume).

The electric field dl? produced by dq at a point P situated a distance r away

is then given in magnitude by

By applying the superposition principle, the resultant field I? at P due to the

given charge distribution is obtained as
(13.9 j

where the integration is to be carried over the entire charge distribution,

keeping in mind the vector nature of dl? (which allows d E to assume different
directions for different locations of dq). Usually, one resolves dJ? into different
components e.g. dl? = (dE,, dEu,dE,) and calculates

and then combines the three components to obtain the resultant vector I? as

This procedure is illustrated below with the help of some solved examples.

Example 6
Obtain an expression for the electric field due t o an infinite line charge
containing a charge density A Clm, at any point, a t a distance of R from the
line.
Solution :
Since the line is infinite, we can take the foot of the perpendicular from P to
&he line as the origin (Fig.13.10). Consider the field a t P due to an element dy
of length located at the position y. The magnitude of this field is

' F ~ 13.10
I I ~:
to

line charae

dE =

Xdy

471-to(R2 + y2)

The field is directed as shown in the figure.

We can resolve the field into a
component d E cos B parallel to the line and a component d E sin B along the
direction OP.
For every element dy at y, there is a symmetrically placed element a t -y. The
field due to this element will be directed such that its component parallel to
the line will exactly cancel the parallel component of the field due t o the
element at y. The component along O P will however add up. Thus the net
field along OP is given by 2 J d E cos 8. The integration is performed by
~ net field along O P
observing that y = R t a n 8 , and hence dy = ~ s e 8.c The
is, therefore, given by integrating over 0 from zero t o 71-12(only half the line is
to be taken as we have already added the symmetric part)

E ,= bT'2d~cos~
-

r/2 R sec2 8 cos 8

dB
R2sec2B

lTf2

X
-

271-coR o

cos BdB

SAQ 8 :
The field due to a line charge at a distance of 40 cm from it is 100 NJC. What
is the field at 20 cm ?

SAQ 9 :
Find the field due t o a'semi-infinite line charge (i.e., a line which extends to
infinity on one side only) at the point P, located a t a distance R from its finite
end. Show that the direction of the field is independent of the distance R.

The Electrlc Ficld

Example 7
Find the field on the axis of a charged circular ring of radius c , csntaining a
charge density X per unit length.

Solution :
Consider the ring.to be in the y-z plane, and its axis to be the x - axis. The
field d,!? at a point P on the axis due to a charge dQ is given by
(1/4nco)dQ/(x2 a2), in the direction shown in Fig.13.11. As in the case of
the line charge, we can resolve dl? into a component along the axis and
another perpendicular to it. The perpendicular component cancels out due to
the contribution from a symmetrically placed charge element. The resultant
field is J d E cos 9. On integrating over the circle the magnitude of the field a t
P is

x
The integration is only over
(x2 a2)1/2 '
Q, since the other parameters are constant. The direction of the field is
towards the positive x - axis for x > 0 and towards the negative x - axis for
x < 0. We therfore have
where, we have substituted cos8 =

Example 8
Find the electric field at a point due to an infinite charged sheet, having a
charge density of a C/m2.

Solution

This problem can be solved by summing over the electric field due to two
dimensional charged area elements. This will involve two dimensional
integration. We will instead, do this problem in a slightly different way.
Let us take the charged plane to be the y-z plane containing the origin 0
(Fig.13.12). The point P is located at (x, 0,O). The field at P may be
obtained by summing over contribution from strips in the plane. Consider the
field due to a strip of width dz at (O,O, 2). The strip can be considered as a
line charge with a linear charge density X = adz. In Example 6, we have
calculated the field due to a line charge at a distance R to be X/2?rc,R. The
distance of t'he point P from the strip a t (0,0,z) can be seen to be d m .
You should note that Fig(13.13) is a three dimensional figure, and, we can
find the distance by drawing a perpendicular from the point P to the strip in
the plane containing the strip and the point P. The magnitude
of the field due
to the strip is gjven-by
adz
dE =
2?rc0,/=
The direction of the field is from the strip towards the point P, along the
perpendicular mentioned above. This field can be resolved into components one parallel to the plane and the other perpendicular to it. The parallel
component cancels out, due to a contribution from a symmetrically placed
element at (0,0, -t). The net field, therefore, points along the direction OP,
and is given by 2 J d E cos9. One can easily see that, the angle 9 is given by
cos t9 = % / d m The
. field is, therefore, given by

'

The integration can be easily performed by a change in variable z =)z 1 tan 6,

so that dz =I 2: 1 sec"d6.
In this substitution we have taken care to use I x I
instead of x, since the integral is positive for a.ll z. The range of integration
over 4 is 0 to %/2. On performing the integration, we get

For positive a,E is positive when z is positive, and it is negative when x is

negative. The magnitude of the field is independent of the distance z and is
0
given by a/2c,, .

SAQ 10 :
Find the electric field on the axis of a charged disk of radius R with a charge
density a C/m2.

,P

13.3.3 The Electric Dipole

An electric dipole is a charge distribution of two equal and opposite charges
fq, separated by a distance 2a. We define the dipole moment as a vector of
magnitude is 2aq, which is directed from the negative charge towards the
positive charge. The importance of the dipole lies in the fact that, molecules
often have permanent dipole moment. For instance, in the molecule of HCl,
the valence electron spends more time around the chlorine atom than it does
around the hydrogen atom. As a result, the molecule is in H+C1configuration, and it has a permanent dipole moment of magnitude
C m. The direction of the dipole moment vector is from the
3.43 x
chlorine ion to the hydrogen ion.

-'
/"
X
Figure 13.13'

To calculate the field due to an electric dipole, let us take the z - axis along
the dipole moment vector, with the origin of the coordinate system being
taken at the mid point of the dipole (Fig.13.13). The charge q is located at
(0,O, a) and -q at (0,0, -a). In the following, we will calculate the field due
to the dipole, in the plane z = 0 which bisects the dipole perpendicularly.
d points at a given
Because of symmetry, the field must be the same at i
distance from the origin. Thus we will calculate the field at a point P(0, R,O),
which lies on the y - axis.
The field at P due to +q is directed dong the line joining +q and the point P,
while the field due to -q is directed from P to the charge -q. We tan resolve
the field vectors along the axis and perpendicular to the axis. From
Fig.(13.13) it is clear that the components along the y-axis cancel. The
resultant is therefore along the - z axis. The magnitude of the field is given by

where p = 2aq is the magnitude of the dipole moment.

i
I

Th4 Ekctrlc Neld

Most of the time, we are interested in the field due to a dipole at large
distance from the dipole, i.e., R ) a. We can then approximate
1
1
(a2 + R2)3/2
since the direction of p'and
dipole, at large distances as

A!? are opposite, we can express the field due to a

SAQ 11 :
I

For the orientation of the dipole given in Fig.(ll .l3), find the field along the
z-axis, at far distance from the dipole.

13.4 MOTION IN AN ELECTRIC FIELD

When a charged particle is placed in an electric field, it experiences a force
given by
$=gl?
(13.13)
The charged particle, therefore, has an acceleration

Having determined the acceleration t i of the particle, we can predict its

motion using the laws of kinematics. In the following, we consider two simple
examples of motion in an electric field.

13.4.1 Point Charge in Electric Field

Let us consider the motion of a point charge +q, having a mass m, which is
released from rest in a uniform electric field I?. Such a field can be produced
in the region between two parallel metallic plates 1 and 2, if they are
oppositely charged (see Fig.13.14a).
The acceleration of the particle is constant in this case and it is equal to

and is directed along the negative y-axis, for the case shown in the figure.
The motion of the particle is similar to a body falling freely in the uniform,
gravitational field of the earth. Since the particle starts from rest, its velocity
5 and vertical distance y at any time t is given by

----------Figure 13.14r

The kinetic energy attained by the particle at the time t is given by

,t tricitp

The same result can be obtained from the work-energy theorem since a
constant force F = qE has acted on the particle when it has moved through a
distance y.

I
Figure 13.14b

We shall now consider a second case in which a electron beam is deflected by

the electric field. In this case using the same arrangement of the parallel plates
of Fig.(13.14b), a particle is projected with a speed vo in the x-direction (i.e.,
parallel to the two plates and perpendicular to the uniform field I?). It is clear
that, in this case, the motion of the particle is similar to that of a projectile
thrown horizontally in the uniform gravitational field of the earth. If the
charged particle is an electron, as is-the case in a cathoderay osdlloscope
(CRO),the horizontal (x) and the vertical (y) displacements (Fig. 13.14b) of
the electron at any time
t during its passage between the plates are given by
.
,

and its trajectory is described by the equiltion

Thus the electrons follow a parabolic trajectory in the region between the
plates. After emerging from the plates, the electrons travel along a straight
line to hit the screen S placed OIB the right side and form a bright point image
on the fluorescent screen.

SAQ 12 :
kg) is travelling along the x - axis with a velocity
A proton (m = 1.67 x
of 4 x lo4 m/s enters a region of electric field given by I? = -1670i 3340j.
How far does the proton move parallel to the x - axis before stopping
momentarily ? How much is its y-deflection at this point ?

13.4.2 Dipole in an E1ec:tric Field

>Fignre 13.15

We now consider the motion of an electric dipole placed in an uniform electric

field. Let the dipole be placed such that the dipole moment vector $makes an
angle 9 with l? (Fig.13.15).
The two charges experience e!qua,l and opposite forces of a magnitude F = qE.
The line of action of these taro forces f and -f is not same, and hence, they
give rise to a torque, although the net force is zero. The magnitude of this
torque, ?, about an axis through 0 (the centre of the dipole) is given by

Recalling that F = qa and p = 2aq, we can write

The sense of this torque (i.e. vector T ) is such that it tends to align the
electric dipole F i n the direction of the electric field 2. All these properties
can be described through the vector equation

Since the dipole experiences a torque in an electric field, in order to change its
orientation in a field, work (positive or negative) must be done by an external
agency. If the initial orientation of the dipole makes an angle 8, with I!?, the
work done t o change the orientation 8 is

= pE(cos 8, - cos 8)
This work is stored a.the potvntial energy in the dipole. The zero of the
potential energy is usudly chosen such that the dipole is oriented
perpendicular to the field, i.e., 8, = n/2. The potential energy at any positior,
8 is, therefore, given by

Thus the minimum energy configuration of the dipole is parallel to the field.

SAQ 13 :
An electric dipole consists of two equal and opposite charges 1 nC each,
separated by lmm. The dipole is placed in an electric field of strcn:-tb 10'
N/C. Calculate the maximum torque exerted on the dipole. CalcrlHate the
work done in rotating the dipole from this position of maximum torque to an
orientation parallel t o the field.

13.5 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have discussed the interaction between charged bodies a t rest.
rB-,X~p
force between two point charges is given by the inverse square law force.
'The force is repulsive if the charges have similar signs, and is attractive if they
are dissimilar.
Any ch ge distribution, whether discrete or continuous is a source of force
field i the region of space around it. A test charge kept in this region
expedences a force. The region is called the electric field. The nature of
electric field can be visualized in terms of lines of force. These are imaginary
lines in the region of an electric field. A test charge kept in the region
experiences a force, which is directed along the tangent to the line of force at
its location. The density of these lines indicates the strength of the electric
, can calculate the elect& field at a point, if the
field. ~ u a n t i t a t i v e l ione
charge distribution producing the field is known.

$"

The Electric Fleld

An electric dipole consists of a pair of equal and opposite charges separated

by a small distance. The field due to an electric dipole at large distances
varies inversely as the cube of the distance from the dipole. A dipole, when
kept in an electric field experiences a torque.

13.6 ANSWERS TO SAQs

between ql and 92 has a magnitude 1/(4rco) x 3 x 10-l2 N. It
1. Force
N along the x - axis
can be resolved into a force ( 1 / 4 r s ) 3 6 / 2 x
and 1/(4rc,,)3/2 x 10-l2 N along the y - axis. The force between ql and
~3 is repulsive and has a magnitude (1/4rco) x 10-l2 N. It is directed
along the y-axis.
2. Consider the force on the particle at B (Fig.13.16). Due to A and C the
repulsive force on B is (1/4rc0)q2/a2fi along the diagonal DB. The
charge at D also provides a repulsive force (1/47rr0)q2/2a2. Thus the net
force is along the diagonal DB, and it has a magnitude
1/(47rr0)(q2/.2)(fi
112).

p--(J
Figure 13.16

3. Force on Q due to the pair of charges q is ( 1 / 4 r c 0 ) ~ q f i / a 2 .The force

due to the charge Q at the opposite corner is (l/4,rco)Q2/2a2which is
colinear with the force due to the pair q. Thus, in order that net force is
zero, the charges must be such that Q = -2fiq.

+Q

4. The lines of forces are identical to that shown for a positive charege,
excepting that they converge towards the charge and not diverge away
from it.

Figure 13.17

5. Distance to the centre is 5 f i cm. If we put a unit positive charge at the

centre, the resultant of the forces due to the two negative charges is
towards the charge -29, while the resultant due to two positive charges
is towards +q. The magnitude of each is the same and is given by (Fig.
13.17)

The resultant is, therefore, directed along the perpendicular from the
centre to the line joining q and -29 and has a magnitude 9 f i x lo3
N/C.
6. The point lies on the extension of the line segment joining the two
charges, 2.41 m from the 5 nC charge.

7. The field at the centre due to the charges located at two opposite
vertices is zero. The resultant field is due to the lone charge q located at
the vertex whose opposite corner is vacant. The field is directed from
the centre to the vacant corner an3 it has a magnitude (1/4rc0)q/a2,
since the distance of the centre from each of the vertices is a.
Substituting numerical values, the magnitude of the field is lo5 N/C.

8. The field strength due to a line charge is inversely proportional to the

distance. The field at 20 cm is 200 N/C.

!*

9. As in Example 6, consider the field at P due to an element dy located a t

a distance y from the origin (Fig.13.18). The field is resolved into
components d E cos 8 along OP and -dE sin 8 parallel to the line. Unlike
Example 6, the parallel component does not cancel with anything
because the line is only semi-infinite. The components of the fields can
be evaluated using the same substitution as Example 6,

= JUl2d E cosfl

El

and.

Figure 13.18

EII =

- JT12d~ sin B
"I2 R sec28 sin fl

X
= - -[I2
4rcoR

de

sin 8d8

The magnitude of the field is, therefore, given by

The direction makes an angle of -45" with the x - axis, independent of

the distance R.
10. This problem can be done by considering the disk to be made of a large
number of concentric rings and using the result of Example 7 for the
ring. The field at a point (z, 0,0) on the axis is given by

11. The fields due t o +q and -q are in opposite directions. Clearly, the field
points along the positive z-axis, i.e., along p'. The magnitude of the field
is given by
1

For z >> a, we can write

so that

1
- f tacl(z
1
(z - a)2
The field is, therefore, given by

+ a)2 %4a 7

Electricity

12. The acceleration in the x - direction is a, = q E , / m = 1.6 x 10" m/s2.

The acceleration in the y - direction a, is twice this value. The distance
moved along the x - axis is v 2 / 2 a , = 0.5 m. The time taken in the
s. The y - deflection is a,t2/2 = a,t2 = 1 m.
process is v / a , = 2.5 x

C m. The maximum torque is

13. The dipole moment is p = qd =
when the dipole is aligned perpendicular to the field and has a
magnitude T = pE = 0.1 N m. The work done is -0.1 J.