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Electric Charge and Electric Field

Electric charge, structure of matter, charge conservation and quantization


Conductors, insulators and induced charges
1 | q1q2 |
F12  
Coulomb‟s law and superposition principle 4 0 r2
Electric fields and forces Point, dipole
F
Electric-field calculations line, ring E  lim
q0  q
disk/plane 0

Electric field lines sphere 1 qi


E  rˆ
Electric dipoles 4 0 i ri 2
The three big ideas in Chapters 21/22
F
q1q2 E  lim Two basic problems in electrostatics:
1 q0 0 q
F  rˆ12 0
4 0 r122 Coulomb‟s Electric Given a charge distribution
Law Fields determine the electric field (and hence
force on a charge) at point P

OR
  qenc
 E  dA  0 Gauss‟s
Given the electric field in a region
determine the charge distribution
Law
Electric Charge
Glass rods, plastic tubes, silk, and fur can
be used to demonstrate the existence of
“electrical forces” and two kinds of electrical
charge.

Today this is understood as due to the


movement of subatomic constituents called
electrons, whose presence or absence
lead to powerful forces of attraction and
repulsion.
Like charges repel and opposites attract.

Electrical charge is the quantum number that measures


the strength of the electrical force between objects.
Structure of Matter
How has rubbing the rod to „charge it‟ physically changed it?
Answer requires an understanding of atomic structure:
atoms consist of a dense core (nucleus) of protons and neutrons (whose dominant
interaction is via the strong nuclear force) occupying only one 10000 th of the
atom’s volume, and relatively light discretized bundles of mass (electrons) that
statistically occupy the atom’s volume as a ‘probability cloud’.
Protons and electrons carry one unit of an intrinsic property called electrical charge.
In „bulk matter‟ the electrons are loosely bound to atoms/molecules/metal
lattices etc. (binding energy only a few eV often) via electrical forces, whereas
in stable matter the protons are very tightly bound in the nuclei (binding
energy on mega electron volts) via the strong force.
Structure of Matter
Thus it is the electrons (in solids1) that form a highly mobile carrier of electrical charge,
opposite of that of the proton. Thus:

A negatively charged object has a


surplus of electrons (relative to neutral)

A positively charged object has a


deficit of electrons (relative to neutral)

Charging therefore refers to the transfer


of electrons from one object to another.
Notice implicitly, this does not involve a change in the total charge of the system.

1Insolutions, there are both positive and


negative charge carriers: in the form of ions.
Charge quantization
As we have seen, the matter is ultimately discrete: it is built up from fundamental, (essentially) indivisible
constituents. In particular therefore charge is not infinitely divisible, and there is a smallest (free) quantum of
charge experimentally – that carried by an electron (or proton):
e = 1.602×10-19 C
Every other charge is an integer multiple of this fundamental unit of charge. (Milikan oil drop expt.)
The existence of quarks is a notable exception to this, but
quarks are confined into hadrons that have integer charges
Although charge is quantized, we will very often consider charge distributions which we approximate as
continuous – and hence can integrate over. We can do this because we are working in a classical approximation
where we have a very large number of fundamental charges and consider the motion/transfer of a relatively
small number of this total number..

Charge quantization is a subtle theoretical issue (i.e. it‟s usually an input into the
theory, unless we are talking about certain Grand Unified Theories which predict
charge quantization).
Charge Conservation
Conservation of electrical charge:
The algebraic sum of all electrical charge in a closed system is a constant in time.
OR
Electrical charge can neither be created nor destroyed.

In any charging or discharging process charge is merely transferred from one place to another.

The conservation law is a universal one – no exceptions have ever (or likely will ever) be observed. Why?
Like energy, momentum and angular momentum conservation, charge conservation is tied to a symmetry of
nature. Whereas the former three are intimately tied to spacetime symmetries, charge conservation is tied
i
to an abstract, “internal” phase rotation symmetry symmetry:   e  (Noether‟s theorem)
Conductors versus Insulators
Three scenarios we will consider:
1) Stationary charges: v = 0 (electrostatics)
2) Charges moving uniformly: v = const (magnetostatics)
3) Charges accelerating: v changes (electrodynamics)

Since matter is electrically neutral in bulk, we will often think of charges moving within matter.
Conductors: materials in which (valence) electrons are relatively free to move, in a sea of loosely bound electrons.
Think metals.
Insulators: materials which have few available “conduction band” electrons. Think non-metals.
Charging by Conduction
The process of giving one object a net charge by placing it in contact with another object.
Charging by Induction
The process of charging a second object by placing a charged object near it. In a conductor the free electrons are
attracted or repelled by the presence of the nearby charge.

The ground effectively acts as an infinite reservoir to absorb extra charge.


Charging by Induction – Polarization/Electrical forces on uncharged objects
In an insulator, neutral molecules can realign themselves so that the opposite charges are closer to the
nearby charge (polarization), leading to an attractive force between the charged object and the neutral one.
Coulomb`s Law We are now interested in a quantitative description of these electrical forces. In fact...
The basic question in electrostatics: given a configuration of stationary charges, what force acts on a test charge?

The basic tool is Coulomb`s law:


The magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point charges q1 and q2 is proportional to
the size of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them:

q1q2 1 q1q2
F12  k   k  8.988 109 N  m2 / C2
r2
12 4 0 r12 2
 0  8.854 1012 C2 / N  m 2
The force is attractive if sgn(q1)= – sgn(q2 ), and repulsive if sgn(q1)=sgn(q2) ,
and lies along the line that connects the two points.

– + +
YF21.82 (Electric Forces inside the nucleus) Typical dimensions of atomic nuclei are of the order 10-15 m (1 fm).
(a) If two protons in a nucleus are 2.0 fm apart, find the magnitude of the electric force each one exerts on the
other. Could you feel this force?
(b) Since the protons repel each other so strongly, why don‟t they shoot out of the nucleus?

Moral: If you see a Coulomb of charge in a dark alley... RUN!


Coulomb`s Law – Direction and Superposition principle 1 +
qq
1 –
In vector form:F12   1 2 2 rˆ12 r̂12 2
“1 on 2” 4 0 r12 r̂12 = unit vector pointing from the pos. of 1 to that of 2
Note Newton‟s third law implies: F21   F12
How do we compute the force on a given point charge Q due to the presence of multiple point charges?
q1 r1 Q Linear superposition principle: the net force on a point charge
Q from a set of point charges q1, q2, q3, ... is given by the
r2 r3 pairwise VECTOR sum of the forces due to each charge
Q qi

q2
q3 FQ  rˆ VECTOR sum
4 0 i ri 2 i

Intuitive meaning: Interaction between two charges


completely unaffected by presence of other charges.

For a static continuous charge distribution, the force on a point charge Q


is given by the integral version of this: Q dq
FQ 
4 0  rˆ r 2

but it is more useful to define the electric field for continuous


distributions (next section)
1D Example (YF21.20)
Two point charges are placed on the x-axis as follows: charge q1 = +4.00 nC is located
at x = 0.200 m, and charge q2= + 5.00 nC is at x = –0.300 m. What are the magnitude
and direction of the total force exerted by these two charges on a negative point
charge q3 = – 0.600 nC that is placed at the origin?

2D Example (YF21.78)
Two point charges q1 and q2 are held in place 4.50 cm apart. Another point
charge Q = – 1.75 μC of mass 5.00 g is initially located 3.00 cm from each of
these charges and released from rest. You observe that the initial acceleration
of Q is 324 m/s2 upward, parallel to the line connecting the two point charges.
Find q1 and q2.
YF21.74 Two identical spheres with mass m are hung from silk threads of length L as
shown. Each sphere has the same charge, so q1=q2=q. The radius of each sphere is
very small compared to the distance between the spheres, so they may be treated as
point charges. Show that if the angle θ is small the equilibrium separation
between the spheres is 1/3
 q L 2
d   multiple concept questions
 2 0 mg  with math approximations

YF21.73 Two positive point charges Q are held fixed on the x-axis at x=a and x = –a
A third positive point charge q with mass m is placed on the x-axis away from the origin
at a coordinate x such that x  a . The charge q, which is free to move along the
x-axis is then released. (a) Find the frequency of oscillation of the charge q. (b)
What happens if the charge is placed on the y-axis y  a instead?

Taylor series/Binomial Expanision:


(1  z)n  1  nz  n(n  1) z 2 / 2  ...
Electric Field There is something extremely disturbing the interaction picture we‟ve painted thus far:

Since the electrostatic force between charges exists even over empty space,
The same issue arises
how does one charge ‘know’ about the other charge? in Newtonian gravity!

OLD PERSPECTIVE Forbidden by relativity


(charges directly interact
“Action at a distance” charge charge over empty space)

NEW(er)
Field as intermediary charge field charge

Each point charge, by virtue of its existence, creates a „field‟ around it in all directions which „instructs‟ other
charges how to behave when immersed in the field. In other words, charges modify the space around them.

Contemporary interact directly


generates with other
sea of virtual
charge charge
quanta (photons)

“quantum field”
Electric Field To elaborate...

The choice of P was arbitrary, and so the electric field (a „vector field‟) exists
everywhere but at A itself where it is not defined.
The electric field at P yields the force per unit charge on a small test charge placed at P. It depends on the size
and locations of the source charge(s) that set up the field, but NOT the test charge. Furthermore, the field does not
exert a force on the source charges – there are no self-interactions! (This is essentially part of Newton‟s 2nd law.)
Changes in the electric field (say due to a moving source distribution) are propagated away from the source at
the speed of light. For now we are interested in static charge distributions for which the electric field is fixed.

F
Technically the E field at P is the formal limit E  qlim
0 q
,
since we don‟t want to consider the effect of the
0
0

test charge itself on the source charges and hence the


electric field.
Electric Field of a Point Charge
The simplest charge configuration is an isolated point charge Q. Its electric field is given
by Coulomb‟s law:
F kQ where r̂is the radial unit vector
E (r )  lim  2 rˆ pointing away from the charge Q.
q0 0 q r
0

The E-field viewed as a


vector field (i.e. a vector assigned
to each point in space) about the
point charge therefore looks like...
Notice the spherical symmetry: E only depends
on r, the radial distance from the point charge.
An Analogy with Gravity
Actually you‟ve been working with a vector field as long as you‟ve been studying physics...
GM e m GM e kQ
Consider Newton‟s gravitational law: F rˆ  mg g (r )  vs. E (r ) 
r2 r2 r2
What you‟ve been calling the „gravitational acceleration‟ of the Earth is really the „gravitational field‟ of Earth:
the force per unit mass experienced by a test mass placed near the Earth.

Here „mass‟ plays the role of „gravitational charge‟ (it‟s always attractive).

The gravitational field near the earth’s surface is constant in magnitude (since RE is so large), but always
points towards the center of the Earth: an Australian and a Canadian disagree on the direction of the
gravitational field even though they both agree all objects accelerate at 9.8 m/s2.

We‟re being sloppy since the Earth


is not a point mass, but the shell
theorem will reconcile this.
Electric field of an Electric Dipole (Example 2) – Superposition/Vector addition (See also example 21.9)
An electric dipole consists of two charges of magnitude Q, but opposite in sign held a small distance d apart. A
„long way‟ from the dipole the electric field due to the opposing charges tends to cancel and we expect a
E-field fall-off faster than 1/r2 (after all, if the charges precisely coincided, the net charge would be zero, and there
would be no electric field anywhere).
Find the E-field along the line perpendicular to the line joining the charges through the midpoint.
Result:
+
kQd ˆj 1
EP  
d x x3 (1  d 2 / 4 x 2 )3/2
P Large x limit:
kQd ˆj cubic falloff
EP  characteristic
– x3 of dipoles
Electric field of an Electric Dipole cont. (See also example 21.15)
d P
Repeat the calculation for a point far along the axis of the dipole... + –
x
x=0
kQ kQ
EP  E  E  (1, 0)  (1, 0) 
( x  d / 2) 2
( x  d / 2) 2  2kQd ˆ
Result: EP ~ i for x  d
x3
Taylor/Binomial expand: (1  z )  1  nz  n(n  1) z / 2  ...
n 2

x  d  z  1
In both cases we‟ve considered, the combination Qd arises (in addition to the cubic fall-off). This is called the
(magnitude of the) dipole moment, and is denoted by p. Its direction is defined to point from the negative
charge to the positive charge:
p  Qd We will return to dipoles at the end of this chapter.
Electric Field Lines
Before we compute the electric field due to more complicated charge configurations, let us consider the
visualization of (otherwise abstract) electric fields a little further.
An electric field line is a curve whose tangent at any point is in
the direction of the electric-field vector there.
Faraday‟s Insight: “Connect the dots”, or in this case connect the arrows

By connecting the arrows, we don‟t lose information about the magnitude of the E –field: instead it is encoded by
the „density of the field lines‟: denser regions correspond to stronger fields.
Warning: field lines are lines of force, NOT trajectories. E-fields give us forces and hence accelerations,
NOT velocities. (Recall EnPh 131: the velocity vector is tangent to trajectory, not the acceleration.)
Electric Field Lines – Other notes
Field lines, like particle streamlines in a
fluid never cross: the E-field is unique at
each point.
By defn, field lines start on positive charges
and end at negative charges or at infinity.

The field lines themselves are unphysical,


though we can get polar substances to
„line up‟ along them.
Electric Field Calcuations: Continuous Charge Distributions
1 qi
The E-field for a discrete set of point charges is computed from the superposition principle: EP   rˆi
4 0 i ri 2
Often we are concerned with computing the E-field due to a continuous charge distribution described in
1D by a linear charge density:   dq / dx charge per unit length (as a function of x, y and z)
2D by a surface charge density:   dq / dA charge per unit area (as a function of x, y and z)
3D by a volume charge density:   dq / dV charge per unit volume (as a function of x, y and z)
1  dx
The summation in the discrete case becomes an integral in the continuous case: e.g. EP 
4 0 C  rˆ
r2
The hard part is to express the differential element of charge dq in terms of the geometry.
It is also crucial to note that this is a vector integration. We‟ll now look at several examples.

You need to learn these techniques well: the same methods will be used again in the calculation of magnetic fields.
E-field: Uniform line charge along perpendicular bisector (Example 1) 1D
L/2
Consider a charge Q uniformly distributed along a rod of length L lying on the dq
y-axis from y = – L/2 to y = L/2. Compute the E-field at a point along the x-axis.
dq Q
Uniform   const  Differential element: dq   dy  Q dy / L
dy L
1  dy
Differential element contribution to E-field at P: dE  (cos  ,  sin  )
4 0 r 2
(y-comp. has
 L /2 xiˆ  yjˆ  iˆ 1
E-field at P: E   dE 
4 0  L /2 ( x 2  y 2 )3/2
odd integrand)
dy    – L/2
2 0 x 1  4 x 2 / L2
 iˆ Q iˆ
Long line/short distance limit: E  Long distance limit: E 
( x / L  0) 2 0 x 1/r falloff ( x / L  ) 4 0 x 2

SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE WARNING:


If the charge was NOT UNIFORMLY distributed along the line, so that    ( y ) then it is false and
in fact meaningless to assert   Q / L since λ is explicitly a function of y while the rhs is a constant.

In this (commonly occurring in this course) case, you must leave dq   ( y )dy and integrate using
the given functional form of λ.
E-field: Uniform ring of charge, along its symmetry axis (Example 2) 1D dq
Here dE has x,y and z components depending on the line element.
But by symmetry1 the y and z components of opposite pairs of elements
on the ring cancel. Only the x-component is additive. angular variable

ds  a d
dq Q around ring
Differential analysis:    const 
ds 2 a
1 dq 1 x a d
x-comp. of differential element contribution to E-field at P: dEx   cos   
4 0 r2 4 0 ( x 2  a 2 )3/2
Q iˆ
a x iˆ Q x iˆ Small x/a limit: E  x (so –q, small x exhibits SHM)
E     4 0 a3
Total E-field:
2 0 ( x 2  a 2 )3/2 4 0 ( x 2  a 2 )3/2 Q iˆ 1 (ring appears as point
Large x/a limit: E  
(Note: x is constant in the integration!) 4 0 x 2 charge from far away)

1You can certainly set up the y and z components of the E-field (as we will do in
the equivalent magnetic field question), and then show explicitly that when you
integrate over the whole ring, the y and z components integrate to zero.
E-field: Uniform disk, built from infinitesimal rings, along symmetry axis (Example 3) 2D
Use previous result: dq is now the infinitesimal ring of charge, and we „build up‟ the disk by
summing (i.e. integrating) the contributions from the rings, by allowing the radius „a‟ of the
ring to vary: circumference thickness P
dq Q 2Q
Differential element:    const  , dA  2 a da dq  a da x
dA R 2
R 2
dq x iˆ
E-field at P due to ring of radius a: dE   2
(from previous slide!) 4  0 (x  a )
2 3/2

Qx iˆ R ada  iˆ  x 
2 0 R 2 0 ( x 2  a 2 )3/2
Now integrate over all rings: E    1  
2 0  x2  R2 
Close to disk  iˆ   iˆ   R2  Q
or large disk: E   const Long distance limit: E 1  1  2  ... 
 (i.e. point charge)
( x / R  0) 2 0 ( x / R  ) 2 0   2 x  4 0 x
2

Again, the claim that σ = Q/πR2, holds and is meaningful


ONLY for a uniform charge distribution. If σ is NOT constant,
then you MUST work with dq = σ dA and the given functional
form of σ. Stay tuned for a nonuniform example!
E-field: Uniform disk cont. (parallel plate capacitor: example 21.13)
Since we have a whole chapter devoted to capacitance, it is worth investigating this example further. We have
found a configuration that yields a uniform E-field in the large disk/short-distance to the disk limit R→∞ or x→0).
In this limit, it does NOT matter that the disk is circular or that we remain in the center of it.

Now consider two oppositely charged closely spaced „infinitely large‟ (i.e. d/R→0) „plates‟:
superposition
 0 above upper sheet


E  E1  E2   ˆj between the sheets
0
 0 below lower sheet
A Nonuniform Example – Phys 230 Fall 2009 Midterm (Long Answer 1, parts b, c, and e partial)
A non-uniformly charged insulated disk of radius R lying in the yz plane with its center at the origin at x=0, has a
surface charge density given by: C
 (r ) 
r („r‟ is what we were calling „a‟ in the previous
where r is the distance from the center of the disk to a point in the yz plane. two examples. It‟s a more natural choice here,
since we want to emphasize that it is a variable.)

b) If the total charge on the disk is Q, determine the constant C.


c) Use the E-field due to a ring and b) to determine the E-field due to this charged disk at any point on the
positive x-axis. Use the substitution r = x tan θ. (Symmetry dictates the E-field will still only have an x-component
on the x-axis.)
e) Verify the result in c) reduces to that of a point charge for x >> R.

Again, the idea is to build up the disk from infinitesimal rings over which sigma is approximately constant!
E-field: Uniform Spherical Shell “The Shell Theorem” (Example 4) 2D Spherical shell built
Newton invented calculus to solve this problem: what is the gravitational from thin rings
force exerted on a point-like body due to a uniform spherical shell?
We‟re interested in the same problem, applied to electrostatics instead
of gravity: both are inverse-square law forces. Cosine law:
GMm kQq
circumference thickness R 2 2 . 2
 s  r 2 r2 2rsvscos
Q r
Differential element: dq   dA  dA
(spherical ring) dA  2 R sin   Rd 4 R 2 s 2  r 2  R2  2rR cos 
dq x s
E-field contribution from ring: dEx   2 R a=R sin θ
x = distance to ring center 4 0 ( x  a 2 )3/2 θ 
x  s cos 
r = distance to center of sphere Q s cos  sin  d
s = distance to ring surface   r
a &R = radius of ring & sphere 8 0 s3

This is a another crucial application of our ring result.


E-field: “The Shell Theorem” cont. Shell theorem geometry
(labelled for gravity q→m)
R and r are constant in the integration, but s, θ and  are variable.
But they are not independent of each other as the animation shows...

Use the cosine law twice to eliminate the angles in favour of s:


s2  r 2  R2
R2  s 2  r 2  2rs cos  cos  
2rs
s 2  r 2  R2  2rR cos  s ds  rR sin  d
differentiate
Thus:  Q
Q s2  r 2  R2 Q rR r 2  R2  rR (Shell seen as a point
dEx 
16 0 r 2 R

s2
ds Ex  
16 0 r R |r  R|
2
1 
s 2
ds   4 0 r 2 charge from outside!)
 0 rR
This easy integral evaluates to:  (No E-field inside shell!)
E-field: “The Shell Theorem” Discussion Q 1
E  rˆ anywhere outside the shell
Given the spherical symmetry, the choice of the 4 0 r 2

“x-axis” is irrelevant, and the result is general: anywhere inside the shell
E0
Furthermore, with no further work, we can conclude for a uniformly charged solid sphere/ball, the result is the
same. Why? Because we can build the uniform ball up from a series of concentric shells... the shell result tells
us the E-field (outside) depends only on the distance to the center. But each concentric shell has the same center!

This is a very important and simplifying result (in both electrostatics and Newtonian gravity) that we‟ve implicitly
been using all along: it allows us to treat certain objects as points.

As we have seen, symmetry principles play an important role in simplifying many calculations. In the next
chapter we will introduce Gauss’s Law which will allow us to obtain this result in a much simpler manner.
YF21.99 (Example 5: Composite configurations)

Two 1.20 m non-conducting wires meet at a right angle. One segment


carries +2.50 μC of charge distributed uniformly along its length, and the
other carries – 2.50 μC of charge distributed uniformly along it, as shown.

(a) Find the magnitude and the direction of the electric field these wires
produce at point P, which is 60.0 cm from each wire.

(b) If an electron is released at P, what are the magnitude and direction


of the net force that these wires exert on it?

(Use earlier results! Note the rods are not infinite.)


Important special case: Uniform E-fields and Conductors
We have seen that close to a large uniformly charged plate, or between two large uniformly charged plates, the
E-field is constant in both magnitude and direction.

Another case of importance in which a uniform E-field arises is in the INTERIOR of a CONDUCTOR in an
ELECTROSTATIC situation: namely the E-field is identically ZERO.
Why?
Consider the contrapositive: Suppose the E-field in the interior of a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium was
non-zero. Since it is a conductor, charges on the interior would be free to move under the influence of the non-zero
field. But if they were free to move (and in particular accelerate), then this would not be an electrostatic situation.
Thus the E-field in the interior must be zero, and any excess charge on the conductor must be at its surface(s).

(Note this argument says nothing about the E-field in a hole inside a conductor.)

Memorize this fact.


Behaviour of charges in a uniform field
Our discussion so far has been centered around computing the E-field due to a given static charge distribution.
The „other side‟ is to use the E-field to compute motion of a small1 charge placed in a given E-field. The problem
is that most E-field configurations yield mathematically difficult/impossible to compute trajectories.
However one easy case to deal with is the behaviour of charges immersed in uniform E-fields.
essentially 2D
uniform 1D
projectile motion
acceleration

1The restriction to small charges is so that we may neglect the


„back-reaction‟ of the charge on the E-field itself!
YF 21.87 (Motion through a Uniform E-field example) - Partial
A proton is projected into a uniform electric field that points vertically
upward and has magnitude E. The initial velocity of the proton has a
magnitude v0 and is directed at an angle α below the horizontal.

(a) Find the maximum distance hmax that the proton 


descends vertically below its initial elevation. (Ignore gravity.) E
v0
(b) After what horizontal distance d does the proton return to its
original elevation?
(c) Sketch the trajectory of the proton.
Dipoles revisited: dipoles immersed in uniform fields
We`ve discussed the E-fields created by an electric dipole, and we conclude
the chapter with a discussion of the behaviour of dipoles in an external field.

Since the total charge on a dipole is zero, the net


force acting on the rigid dipole is zero. However
since the forces that act individually on the charges
act along different lines, the net torque acting on a
dipole is not zero. With respect to the center of the
dipole: You owe your existence to
  qEd sin    pE sin  the polar nature of water:
without it biochemistry is
  p E  is the angle between p and E impossible.

Recall: p is the dipole moment. It Quantum mechanics


points from the –ve to the +ve charge. explains the polar
nature of water.
The minus sign is to indicate explicitly the
torque is clockwise and acts to decrease phi.
Dipoles revisited: dipoles immersed in uniform fields
Thus the torque is maximal when the dipole is perp. to the E-field, and zero when they are parallel or antiparallel.
The external E-field tends to align the dipole so that the dipole moment p is parallel to the E-field (stable
equilibrium, why?,YF21.69). (The anti-parallel configuration is therefore unstable.)

Work done on a dipole by a uniform field


Recall from EnPh131 the work done by a force is given by: W   F  ds
(or parametrize the path
The rotational analogue of this is given by applying our dictionary: W    d element by: ds  Rd and
note that Ftan R   .)

The electrostatic force does work in rotating an out-of-equilibrium dipole to its equilibrium position. Furthermore,
like gravity, electrostatic forces are conservative, so it makes sense to speak of a potential energy of a dipole...
Dipoles revisited: Potential energy in uniform fields
f f
Recall, by definition: U  U 0  U f  WC    d    pE sin  d  pE cos  f  pE cos 0
0 0
Thus adopting the universal convention that U (0)   pE
Remember only changes in potential
U ( )   pE cos    p E energy have meaning. The „zero‟ location
is arbitrary.

For small angular displacements    pE versus a spring:


F  kx
or a pendulum:
  mgl
about stable equilibrium: U  pE 2 / 2 U  kx 2 / 2 U  mgl 2 / 2
(Supplementary)
YF21.70 A dipole consisting of charges ±e, 220 nm apart is placed between two very large sheets carrying equal
but opposite charge densities of 125 μC/m2. (a) What is the max potential energy this dipole can have due to the
sheets? (b) What is the maximum torque the sheets can exert on the dipole? Orientations for a) and b)?
Chapter Review Questions – Phys 230 Fall 2009 Midterm (Questions 1 and 2)
Multiple Choice/Short Answer: Where indicated, you must show the summary of your work (key concepts or eqns)
tailored specifically to the question in order to obtain ANY marks (i.e. no random guessing). Keep it brief (your details can
be done on scrap); I don’t want to mark these as long answer questions!

1. (4 marks) A spherical conductor of radius r = 50.0 cm and carrying a charge of +4.00 μC is centered at the origin. An
infinite line charge of uniform linear charge density λ = – 2.00 μC/m runs parallel to the x-axis at y = 3.00 m. What is the
magnitude of the E-field at the point P on the x-axis 2.00 m to the right of the origin?
y
a) 3.00×103 N/C
b) 1.08×104 N/C –2 μC/m
c) 1.50×104 N/C
d) 2.00×104 N/C P 3.0 m

e) 2.10×104 N/C 4 μC x

2.0 m

Formula(e) Used: _______________________________________________________________

2. (4 marks) Two vertically-oriented oppositely-charged large metal plates are placed a distance 0.25 m apart, and the
potential difference between them is 70 V. A very small metal ball with a mass 8.0×10-4 kg, and a charge of +5.0 μC is
attached to an insulating thread, and lowered into the space between the plates. What angle will the thread make with the
vertical when the metal ball is equilibrium? (Use g = 9.81 m/s 2.)
θ
a) 10°
b) 15° + –
c) 20°
d) 25°
e) 30°

Formula(e) Used: _______________________________________________________________

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