Electricity & Magnetism

HAFIZ FAROOQ ALAM COURSE CODE PHYS 201

CHEMISRTY DEPARTMENT BS- CHEMISTRY
UNIVERISTY OF SAHIWAL 3th SEMESTER
 Course introduction
Outlines
➢ Objectives
➢ 1. Coulomb’s law
➢ 1.1. Definition
➢ 1.2. Dependence on radius
➢ 1.3. Dependence on charges
➢ 1.4. Magnitude of force
➢ 1.5. Direction of force
➢ 1.6. Fundamental electric constants
➢ 2. Difference b/w electric magnetic force
➢ 3. Superposition of forces
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 Course introduction
Objectives

➢ To develop understanding of electric force between two charges

➢ To find out the way to calculate electric force

➢ To understand the basic electric constants

➢ To understand the superposition of forces

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 Introduction
1.1. Definition
➢ Charles Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806) studied the interaction forces of
charged particles in detail in 1784.

➢ Coulomb's law states that:

“The magnitude of the electric force between two point charges is directly
proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the
square of the distance between them”.

𝑞 1𝑞 2
𝐹 =𝑘
𝑟2

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 introduction
Continued…

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 1.2. Dependence on r

➢ Charged bodies that are very small in comparison with the distance r between
them

➢ Coulomb found that the electric force is proportional to 1 𝑟 2 .

➢ when the distance doubles, the force decreases to one-quarter of its initial value
➢ when the distance is halved, the force increases to four times its initial value

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 1.3. Dependence on charges

➢ The electric force between two point charges also depends on the quantity of

charge on each body, which we will denote by 𝑞1and 𝑞2.

➢ the forces that two point charges 𝑞1 and 𝑞2 exert on each other are proportional

to each charge and therefore are proportional to the product of the two charges

𝑞1𝑞2.

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 1.4. Magnitude of force

➢ Magnitude of force = 𝐹 = 𝑘 𝑞𝑟1 𝑞

2
2
➢ 𝑘 is a proportionality constant whose numerical value depends on the system of
units used.

➢ The absolute value bars are used in expression, because the charges 𝑞1 and 𝑞2
can be either positive or negative, while the force magnitude is always positive.

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 1.5. Direction of force

➢ The directions of the forces the two charges exert on each other are always

along the line joining them.

➢ When the charges 𝑞1 and 𝑞2 have the same sign, either both positive or both

negative, the forces are repulsive.

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 Direction of force
(Continued…)

➢ when the charges have opposite signs, the forces are attractive.

➢ The two forces obey Newton’s third law; they are always equal in magnitude

and opposite in direction, even when the charges are not equal in magnitude.

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 1.6. Fundamental electric constants

➢ The value of the proportionality constant in Coulomb’s law depends on the

system of units used.

➢ 𝑘 = 8.987551787 × 109 𝐶2 𝑁 𝑚2 ≅ 8.988 × 109 𝐶2 𝑁 𝑚2

➢ In SI units we usually write the constant 𝑘 as 1 4𝜋𝜀 , where 𝜀0 is another

0

constant.

➢ 𝜀 = 8.854 × 10−12 𝐶2 𝑁𝑚 2

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 Fundamental electric constants
(Continued…)

1
➢ and = 𝑘 = 8.988 × 109𝑁 𝑚2 𝐶2
4𝜋𝜀 0

1
➢ By approximating
4𝜋𝜀 0
= 9 × 109𝑁 𝑚2 𝐶 2

➢ which is within about 0.1% of the correct value.

➢ the most fundamental unit of charge is the magnitude of the charge of an

electron or a proton, which is denoted by e. 𝑒 = 1.602176487 (40)

10−19 𝐶2

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 2. Difference

Electric force Gravitational force

➢ Much weaker as compared to
➢ Much stronger
electrostatic force.
➢ Can be attractive or repulsive.
➢ Only attractive as mass can't be
➢ Depends on the medium negative.

➢ Doesn’t depend on medium

between the charges.
between masses

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 Difference
(Continue….)

15 Comparison of electric and gravitational forces

 3. Superposition of forces

➢ Coulomb’s law as we have stated it describes only the interaction of two

point charges. Experiments show that when two charges exert forces
simultaneously on a third charge, the total force acting on that charge is the
vector sum of the forces that the two charges would exert individually.

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 Superposition of forces
(Continued….)

➢ This important property, called the principle of superposition of forces, holds for
any number of charges. By using this principle, we can apply Coulomb’s law to
any collection of charges.

➢ Strictly speaking, Coulomb’s law as we have stated it should be used only for
point charges in vacuum. If matter is present in the space between the charges, the
net force acting on each charge is altered because charges are induced in the
molecules of the intervening material.

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 Superposition of forces
(Continued….)

➢ As a practical matter, though, we can use Coulomb’s

law unaltered for point
charges in air. At normal atmospheric pressure, the
presence of air changes the electric force from its vacuum
value by only about one part in 2000.

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 Example 1

An α particle (the nucleus of a helium atom) has mass m = 6.64 × 10-27 kg and
charge q = +2e = 3.2 × 10-19 C. Compare the magnitude of the electric repulsion
between two α (“alpha”) particles with that of the gravitational attraction between
them.
Solution IDENTIFY and SET UP:
This problem involves Newton’s law for the
gravitational force Fg between particles (see Section 13.1) and Coulomb’s
law for the electric force Fe between point charges. To compare these forces,
we make our target variable the ratio Fe /Fg. We use Eq. (21.2) for Fe and Eq.
(13.1) for Fg
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 Solution
(Continue…)
EXECUTE:
Figure 21.11 shows our sketch. From Eqs. (21.2)
and (13.1),

Figure 21.11:
Our sketch for this problem

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 Solution
(Continued....)
These are both inverse-square forces, so the factors cancel when we take the ratio:

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 Example

Solution

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 Sloution
(Continued…)

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 Example 2

Solution

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 Solution
(Continued…)

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 Example .4

Solution

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 Example 21.4

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 Quick review of lecture

➢ How to define Coulombs Law?

➢ What are factors that affect the electric force between charges?

➢ What is difference between gravitational and electric forces?

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 For more reading visit the following

➢ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GQTfpDE9DQ

➢ “University physics with modern physics” by H.D

Young, R.A. Freedman, 13th edition, Pearson. Page
693-696

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