ELectrostatics

Electrostatics
- Deals with phenomena due to attractions or repulsions of electric charges that are not moving.

Coulomb’s Law
- The magnitude of electric force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges andinversely
proportional to the square of the square of the distance between them.

k |q 1||q2|
F= 2
d
1 N −m ²
Where: k = ≅ 9 x 109
4 π εo C²
NOTE:
 Charges of opposite sign attract one another, and charges of the same sign repel one another.

 When two or more charges exerts forces simultaneously on another charge, the total force acting on that charge is
the vector sum of the individual forces exerted by each charge. This is known as the principle of superposition.

Sample Problems:

1. Three point charges are arranged as shown in figure. Find (a) the magnitude aand the direction of the electric force on the
particle at the origin (b) Fnd the magnitude and direction of electric force on the 6 nC charge.
Ans. (a) 1.38 x 10-5 N at 77.47° S of W and (b) 1.55 x 10-6 N at 19.29° S of E

2. Two small beads having positive charges q1 = 3q and q2 = q are fixed at the opposite ends of a horizontal insulating rod of
length d = 1.50 m. The bead with charge q1 is at the origin. As shown in figure,a third small, charged bead is free to slide on
the rod.At what position x is the third bead in equilibrium?
Ans. 0.95 m

3. Two small metallic spheres, each of mass m = 0.200 g, are suspended as pendulums by light strings of length L as shown in
figure. The spheres are given the same electric charge of 7.2 nC, and they come to equilibrium when each string is at
an angle of θ = 5.00° with the vertical. How long are the strings? Find the tension in the string
Ans. a.) 0.29 m and b.) 1.97 x 10-3 N
ELectrostatics

Electric field
- Is defined as any region where an electric charge can experience a force.
F k |q|
E= or E =
q d²

Note:
 Unit of Electric field is Newton/Coulomb.
 If q is posirive, the force is the same direction as the field; if q is negative, the force is in the opposite direction as
the field.
Sample Problems:
1. A small object of mass 3.80 g and charge -18.0 μC is suspended motionless above the ground when immersed in a uniform
electric field perpendicular to the ground. What are the magnitude and direction of the electric field?
Ans. 2071 N/C, downward

2. Three point charges are located on a circular arc as shown in figure. (a) What is the total electric field at P, the center of the
arc? (b) Find the electric force that would be exerted on a -5.00-nC point charge placed at P.
Ans. a.) 17, 978.36 N/C, to the east b.) 8.99 x 10-5N, to the west

3. An electron and a proton are each placed at rest in a uniform electric field of magnitude 520 N/C. Calculate the speed of each
particle 48.0 ns after being released.
Ans. 4.38 x 106 m/s and 2387.63 m/s

Electric Potential Difference

kq
V=
d
∆ V = VA - VB
∆ W = ∆ Vq

Note:
 Unit of electric potential is volt
 Electric potential is a scalar quantity

Sample Problem:
1. If a = 30 cm, b = 20 cm, q = +2.0 nC, and Q = -3.0 nC in the figure, what is the potential difference VA - VB?
Ans. 60 V

2. Calculate the speed of a proton that is accelerated from rest through an electric potential difference of 120 V.
Ans. 1.52 x 105 m/s
3. Three positive charges are located at the corners of an equilateral triangle as in shown figure. Find an expression for the
electric potential at the center of the triangle.
4 √ 3 kQ
Ans. volts
d
ELectrostatics