2.

Electric Potential and Electric Field

We have seen that the difference in electric potential between two arbitrary points in space is a function of the electric field which permeates space, but is
independent of the test charge used to measure this difference. Let us investigate the relationship between electric potential and the electric field.

Consider a charge which is slowly moved an infinitesimal distance along the -axis. Suppose that the difference in electric potential between the final

and initial positions of the charge is . By definition, the change in the charge's electric potential energy is given by

(84)

From Eq. (76), the work which we perform in moving the charge is

(85)

where is the local electric field-strength, and is the angle subtended between the direction of the field and the -axis. By

definition, , where is the -component of the local electric field. Energy conservation demands

that (i.e., the increase in the charge's energy matches the work done on the charge), or

(86)

which reduces to

3. In words, Gauss's law states that:

The net electric flux through any hypothetical closed surface is equal to 1/ times the
net electric charge within that closed surface.[5]
Gauss's law has a close mathematical similarity with a number of laws in other areas of
physics, such as Gauss's law for magnetism and Gauss's law for gravity. In fact, any inverse-
square lawcan be formulated in a way similar to Gauss's law: for example, Gauss's law itself is
essentially equivalent to the inverse-square Coulomb's law, and Gauss's law for gravity is
essentially equivalent to the inverse-square Newton's law of gravity.
The law can be expressed mathematically using vector calculus in integral form
and differential form, both are equivalent since they are related by the divergence theorem, also
called Gauss's theorem. Each of these forms in turn can also be expressed two ways: In terms
of a relation between the electric field E and the total electric charge, or in terms of the electric
displacement fieldD and the free electric charge.
Consider a parallel plate capacitor that produces a uniform electric field between its
4.

large plates. This is accomplished by connecting each plate to one of the terminals of
a power supply (such as a battery).
Figure 1: An electric field is set up by the charged plates separated by a distance
l. The charges on the plates are +Q and Q.

Figure 2: An electric charge q is moved from point A towards point B with an

external force T against the electric force qE.

Figure 3, 4: When it is moved through a distance d, its potential energy at the point B
is qEd relative to the point A.

Figure 5: When released from B (T = 0), it will accelerate toward the lower plate. As
it is moving toward the lower plate, its potential energy decreases and its Kinetic
energy increases. When it reaches the lower plate (where we can choose the
Potential energy to be zero), its potential energy at A is completely converted to
Kinetic Energy at point B:

Note that qEd is the work done by the field as the charge moves under the force qE
from B to A. Here m is the mass of the charge q, and v is its velocity as it reaches
point A. Here we assumed that electric field is uniform! Work done by E field:

Lets remember Kinetic Energy-Work theorem (Work Energy principle):

where we introduced the concept of potential energy and conservative force ( a force
under which one can define a potential energy so that the work done only depends
the differences of the potential energy function evaluated at the end points).
) Equation (2.2) defines potential energy difference in terms of the physically meaningful quantity
5.

work. Clearly, potential energy so defined is undetermined to within an additive constant.What this
means is that the actual value of potential energy is not physically significant; it is only the difference of
potential energy that is significant. We can always add an arbitrary constant to potential energy at
every point, since this will not change the potential energy difference: ( ) ( ) U U U U P R P R + + =
Put it differently, there is a freedom in choosing the point where potential energy is zero. A
convenient choice is to have electrostatic potential energy zero at infinity. With this choice, if we take
the point R at infinity, we get from Eq. (2.2) W U U U P P P = = (2.3) Since the point P is arbitrary,
Eq. (2.3) provides us with a definition of potential energy of a charge q at any point. Potential energy of
charge q at a point (in the presence of field due to any charge configuration) is the work done by the
external force (equal and opposite to the electric force) in bringing the charge q from infinity to that
point.

6.A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that stores electrical energy in
an electric field.[1] The effect of a capacitor is known as capacitance. While capacitance exists
between any two electrical conductors of a circuit in sufficiently close proximity, a capacitor is
specifically designed to provide and enhance this effect for a variety of practical applications by
consideration of size, shape, and positioning of closely spaced conductors, and the
intervening dielectric material. A capacitor was therefore historically first known as an
electric condenser.[2]
The physical form and construction of practical capacitors vary widely and many capacitor types are
in common use. Most capacitors contain at least two electrical conductors often in the form of
metallic plates or surfaces separated by a dielectric medium. A conductor may be a foil, thin film,
sintered bead of metal, or an electrolyte. The nonconducting dielectric acts to increase the
capacitor's charge capacity. Materials commonly used as dielectrics include glass, ceramic, plastic
film, paper, mica, and oxide layers. Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many
common electrical devices. Unlike a resistor, an ideal capacitor does not dissipate energy.
7.A dielectric (or dielectric material) is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an
applied electric field. When a dielectric is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow
through the material as they do in an electrical conductor. But only slightly shift from their average
equilibrium positions causing dielectric polarization. Because of dielectric polarization, positive
charges are displaced toward the field and negative charges shift in the opposite direction. This
creates an internal electric field that reduces the overall field within the dielectric itself.[1] If a
dielectric is composed of weakly bonded molecules, those molecules not only become polarized,
but also reorient so that their symmetry axes align to the field.[1]
The study of dielectric properties concerns storage and dissipation of electric and magnetic energy
in materials.[2][3][4] Dielectrics are important for explaining various phenomena
in electronics, optics, solid-state physics, and cell biophy
8.All materials are made up from atoms, and all atoms consist of protons, neutrons and
electrons. Protons, have a positive electrical charge. Neutrons have no electrical charge while
Electrons, have a negative electrical charge. Atoms are bound together by powerful forces of
attraction existing between the atoms nucleus and the electrons in its outer shell.
When these protons, neutrons and electrons are together within the atom they are happy and
stable. But if we separate them from each other they want to reform and start to exert a potential
of attraction called a potential difference.
Now if we create a closed circuit these loose electrons will start to move and drift back to the
protons due to their attraction creating a flow of electrons. This flow of electrons is called
an electrical current. The electrons do not flow freely through the circuit as the material they
move through creates a restriction to the electron flow. This restriction is called resistance.
Then all basic electrical or electronic circuits consist of three separate but very much related
electrical quantities called: Voltage, ( v ), Current, ( i ) and Resistance, ( ).

9.There are many circuits in our homes. Analyzing circuits is a valuable skill that allows
engineers to design new products as well as wiring for our homes, offices, or schools. We will
begin looking as simple circuits with resistors and batteries. The battery provides the potential
difference that causes the current to move through the conducting wires in the circuit. We will
analyze series circuits and parallel circuits along with complex circuits composed of elements
in series and parallel. We will use schematics to help us understand these circuits. Many
different types of meters are used to measure current, resistance, voltage, and capacitance in
a circuit. We will learn which one to use and in what manner as we work through this module.
For series connected capacitors, the charging current ( iC ) flowing through the capacitors
10.

is THE SAME for all capacitors as it only has one path to follow.
Then, Capacitors in Series all have the same current flowing through them
as iT = i1 = i2 = i3 etc. Therefore each capacitor will store the same amount of electrical
charge, Q on its plates regardless of its capacitance. This is because the charge stored by a plate
of any one capacitor must have come from the plate of its adjacent capacitor. Therefore,
capacitors connected together in series must have the same charge.

QT = Q1 = Q2 = Q3 .etc
Consider the following circuit in which the three capacitors, C1, C2 and C3 are all connected
together in a series branch across a supply voltage between points A and B.

Capacitors in a Series Connection

In the previous parallel circuit we saw that the total capacitance, CT of the circuit was equal to
the sum of all the individual capacitors added together. In a series connected circuit however,
the total or equivalent capacitance CT is calculated differently.
In the series circuit above the right hand plate of the first capacitor, C1 is connected to the left
hand plate of the second capacitor, C2 whose right hand plate is connected to the left hand plate
of the third capacitor, C3. Then this series connection means that in a DC connected circuit,
capacitor C2 is effectively isolated from the circuit.
The result of this is that the effective plate area has decreased to the smallest individual
capacitance connected in the series chain. Therefore the voltage drop across each capacitor will
be different depending upon the values of the individual capacitances.
11. Force on a moving charge in a magnetic field. Ampere discovered that wires
carrying current experience a force when placed in a magnetic field. It was later shown that all
charged particles moving in a magnetic field experience a force. The force F acting on a charge
q moving with velocity v is perpendicular to the directions of both v and B and is given by the
following cross product

1) F = qvB

where F is expressed in newtons, the charge q is expressed in coulombs, the velocity is

expressed in meters per second, and the magnetic field intensity B is expressed in webers per
square meter. The magnitude of force F is given by

2) F = qvB sin

where is the angle from v to B. The direction of F is that shown in Fig. 1 when the moving
charge is positive and is given by the right hand rule: If you curl the fingers of your right hand
in the direction that carries v into B, then your right thumb points in the direction of F.

A cathode-ray tube is a convenient device for studying the behavior of a moving charge in a
magnetic field. Fig. 2 shows the essential features of a cathode-ray tube. The tube itself is glass
and highly evacuated. Electrons (cathode rays) are emitted by a heated filament K and are
accelerated toward an anode A which is maintained at a potential of several hundred to several
thousand volts above the filament. Most of the electrons are absorbed by the anode, but a
narrow wire-like beam passes through a small hole in the anode and continues on to a screen S
which is coated on its inner surface with a substance that emits light when struck by electrons.
12. The classic problem of determining the force on a current-carrying wire in
a magnetic field is critically analysed. A common explanation found in many
introductory textbooks is to represent the force on the wire as the sum of the
forces on charge carriers. In this approach neither the nature of the forces
involved nor their application points are fully discussed. In this paper we
provide an alternative microscopic explanation that is suitable for
introductory electromagnetism courses at university level. By considering the
wire as a superposition of a positive and a negative cylindrical charge
distributions, we show that the electrons are subject to both magnetic and
electric forces, whereas the ionic lattice of the metal is dragged by an electric
force. Furthermore, an analysis of the orders of magnitude involved in the
problem gives counterintuitive results with valuable educational potential.
We argue that this approach allows one to discuss different aspects of the
physical knowledge, which are relevant in physics education.

13. Magnetic field of a long wire

Magnetic fields arise from charges, similarly to electric fields, but are different in that
the charges must be moving. A long straight wire carrying a current is the simplest
example of a moving charge that generates a magnetic field. We mentioned that the
force a charge felt when moving through a magnetic field depended on the right-hand
rule. The direction of the magnetic field due to moving charges will also depend on the
right hand rule. For the case of a long straight wire carrying a current I, the magnetic
field lines wrap around the wire. By pointing one's right thumb along the direction of the
current, the direction of the magnetic field can by found by curving one's fingers around
the w

14. One interesting difference is that the Biot-Savart law is more general than the Ampre
law.

The Ampre law

Bds=0IBds=0I
is valid only when the flux of electric field through the loop is constant in time; otherwise its
rate of change (the displacement current) has to be added to the normal current on the right-
hand side. (Maxwell realized this).
However, the Biot-Savart law

B(x)=04j(xr)|xr|3d3rB(x)=04j(xr)|xr|3d3r
although originally formulated for static situations as well, is more general, for it is valid even if
the electric flux changes in time, provided the electric field is given by gradient of potential.
This happens for example when capacitor connected to battery with negligible self-inductance
gets charged. A magnetic field around the capacitor does not obey Ampre law, but it is given
by the above Biot-Savart formula.
15.