Electric Potential Energy

Potential energy can be defined as the capacity for doing work which arises

from position or configuration. In the electrical case, a charge will exert a
force on any other charge and potential energy arises from any collection of
charges. For example, if a positive charge Q is fixed at some point in space,
any other positive charge which is brought close to it will experience a
repulsive force and will therefore have potential energy. The potential energy
Index
of a test charge q in the vicinity of this source charge will be:
Voltage
where k is Coulomb's constant.
concepts
In electricity, it is usually more convenient to
use the electric potential energy per unit
charge, just called electric potential or voltage.

Application:Coulomb barrier for nuclear

fusion
Show Energy in electron volts
 
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HyperPhysics***** Electricity and Magnetism R Nave

Index

Zero Potential Voltage

concepts
The nature of potential is that the zero point is arbitrary; it can be set like the
origin of a coordinate system. That is not to say that it is insignificant; once the
zero of potential is set, then every value of potential is measured with respect
to that zero. Another way of saying it is that it is the change in potential which
has physical significance. The zero of electric potential (voltage) is set for
convenience, but there is usually some physical or geometric logic to the
choice of the zero point. For a single point charge or localized collection of
charges, it is logical to set the zero point at infinity. But for an infinite line
charge, that is not a logical choice, since the local values of potential would go
to infinity. For practical electrical circuits, the earth or ground potential is
usually taken to be zero and everything is referenced to the earth.
 Zero of potential at infinity
Zero of mechanical potential energy
 
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Potential Reference at Infinity

The general expression for the electric potential as a result of a point charge Q
can be obtained by referencing to a zero of potential at infinity. The expression
for the potential difference is:

Taking the limit as rb→∞ gives simply

Index
for any arbitrary value of r. The choice Voltage
of potential equal to zero at infinity is an concepts
arbitrary one, but is logical in this case
because the electric field and force
approach zero there. The
electric potential energy for a charge q
at r is then

where k is Coulomb's constant.

 
HyperPhysics***** Electricity and Magnetism
 Potential Energy
Potential energy is energy which results from position or configuration. The SI unit for energy
is the joule = newton x meter in accordance with the basic definition of energy as the capacity
for doing work. An object may have the capacity for doing work as a result of its position in a
gravitational field (gravitational potential energy), an electric field (electric potential energy),
or a magnetic field (magnetic potential energy). It may have elastic potential energy as a Index
result of a stretched spring or other elastic deformation.
Mathematical
definition

Energy
concepts

 
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Index
Potential Energy Function
Energy
If a force acting on an object is a function of position only, it is said to be a conservative force, concepts
and it can be represented by a potential energy function which for a one-dimensional case
satisfies the derivative condition

The integral form of this relationship is

which can be taken as a definition of potential energy. Note that there is an arbitrary constant
of integration in that definition, showing that any constant can be added to the potential
energy. Practically, this means that you can set the zero of potential energy at any point which
is convenient.
 
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Potential Energy Concept

The potential energy U is equal to the work you must
do to move an object from the U=0 reference point
to the position r. The reference point at which you
assign the value U=0 is arbitrary, so may be chosen
for convenience, like choosing the origin of a
Index
coordinate system.
Energy
concepts

The force on an object is the negative of

the derivative of the potential function U. This
means it is the negative of the slope of the potential
energy curve. Plots of potential functions are
valuable aids to visualizing the change of the force in
a given region of space.

 
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 Negative Signs in Potential

F in the definition of potential energy is the force

exerted by the force field, e.g., gravity, spring force,
etc. The potential energy U is equal to the work you
must do against that force to move an object from the
U=0 reference point to the position r. The force you Index
must exert to move it must be equal but oppositely
directed, and that is the source of the negative sign. Energy
The force exerted by the force field always tends concepts
toward lower energy and will act to reduce the
potential energy.

The negative sign on the derivative shows that if the

potential U increases with increasing r, the force will
tend to move it toward smaller r to decrease the
potential energy.

 
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Index
Potential Energy Derivative
Energy
If the potential energy function U is known, the force at any point can be obtained by taking concepts
the derivative of the potential.
 
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Potential Energy Integral Index

If the force is known, and is a conservative force, then the potential energy can be obtained by Energy
integrating the force. concepts
 
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Conservative Force
A conservative force may be defined as one for which the work done in moving between two points A
and B is independent of the path taken between the two points. The implication of "conservative" in this
context is that you could move it from A to B by one path and return to A by another path with no net
loss of energy - any closed return path to A takes net zero work.

A further implication is that the energy of an object which is subject only to that conservative force is
dependent upon its position and not upon the path by which it reached that position. This makes it
possible to define a potential energy function which depends upon position only.

Index
Voltage
Voltage is electric potential energy per unit charge, measured in joules per coulomb ( = volts).
It is often referred to as "electric potential", which then must be distinguished from electric
potential energy by noting that the "potential" is a "per-unit-charge" quantity. Like mechanical
potential energy, the zero of potential can be chosen at any point, so the difference in voltage
is the quantity which is physically meaningful. The difference in voltage measured when
moving from point A to point B is equal to the work which would have to be done, per unit
charge, against the electric field to move the charge from A to B. When a voltage is generated,
it is sometimes called an "electromotive force" or emf.

Voltage
concepts

Used to express Used to calculate the

Is generated by
Used to calculate conservation of energy potential from
moving a wire in
current in Ohm's law. around a circuit in a distribution of
a magnetic field.
the voltage law. charges.
Measurement with voltmeter
Analogy with pressure in water circuit
 
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Index
Electromotive Force (EMF)
Voltage
When a voltage is generated by a battery, or by the magnetic force according to Faraday's concepts
Law, this generated voltage has been traditionally called an "electromotive force" or emf. The
emf represents energy per unit charge (voltage) which has been made available by the
generating mechanism and is not a "force". The term emf is retained for historical reasons. It is
useful to distinguish voltages which are generated from the voltage changes which occur in a
circuit as a result of energy dissipation, e.g., in a resistor.
 
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Motional EMF
Index
The magnetic force exerted on the charges in a moving conductor will generate a voltage (a
motional emf). The generated voltage can be seen to be the work done per unit charge. This Voltage
motional emf is one of many settings in which the generated emf is described by Faraday's concepts
Law.
Note that the direction of the magnetic force is shown as the right hand rule direction on a
positive charge, and shows the direction of the conventional current in the loop.

Relate to Faraday's Law

 
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Motional EMF and Faraday's Law

The motional emf expression is an application of Faraday's Law, as can be seen from:

Recall the developmental history of electrostatics.

1. Charges exist.
2. Charges exert forces on each other.
3. This force appears to exert itself across distances of any
size.

You and I have no problem with this last idea, but back in
the day it was called "action at a distance" — a rather
politely worded insult. To avoid the conceptual problems of
dealing with a disembodied force, Michael Faraday
invented the electric field and the world was satisfied.
Well, satisfied for a while. Then somebody pointed out that
the electric field was a vector quantity and they
remembered that vectors were cumbersome and difficult
to work with. Conceptual comfort was gained, but practical
implementation was unchanged. Damn those scientists.
Always looking for the best of all possible worlds. They
wanted something both conceptually satisfying and
mathematically simple. Such temerity!

Believe it or not, the problem was already solved by

physicists and mathematicians working on topics that had
nothing to do with electricity. Water, wind, heat, and
dissolved substances all flow. Some of the conceptual and
mathematical tricks used to understand these subjects
might also be used to understand electricity — and then
magnetism and gravity.

What are field lines if not some kind of flow pattern?

Electric field lines "flow" from positive charges to negative
charges. A positive charge is like an open faucet and a
negative charge is like an open drain. Anyone with a
working sink can make a crude model of an electric dipole
in their kitchen or bathroom with the flick of the wrist.
Similar analogies exist for wind, heat, and dissolved
substances. (Technically, heat and dissolved substances
diffuse instead of flow, so the analogies there are a bit
weaker.)

Think for a moment, of the other things that flow and think
of what it is that causes them to flow. This will be the
answer to our next conceptual problem. Let's set up a
table that compares similar phenomena. In all cases, there
will be something that flows and something that causes
the flow.

the flow of… is caused by a difference in…

a river
altitude
(liquid water)

the wind
atmospheric pressure
(atmospheric gases)

heat
temperature
(internal energy)

dissolved substances
concentration
(solutes)

In each case, the thing that's flowing can be described by

a vector field (a quantity that has magnitude and direction
at any location) and the thing that causes the flow can be
described by a difference in a scalar field (a quantity that
has magnitude only at any location).

the flow of… is caused by a difference in…

a vector field a scalar field
If we can identify the electric scalar field that causes the
electric vector field, we've made all of electricity
mathematically simpler, since scalars are mathematically
simpler than vectors. "Identify" probably isn't the right
word. "Define" is more like it. We are going to define a
quantity that serves the same role as height does for
rivers, pressure does for the wind, temperature does for
heat, and concentration does for solutes.

The "flow" of the electric field is "caused" by a difference

in electric potential.
the flow of… is caused by a difference in…

electric field (test charges) electric potential

Now you have to ask yourself what "electric potential" is.

First of all, the second half of the term, potential, does not
imply that it has the possibility of happening or something
that may lead to future usefulness. The electric potential of
a location in space doesn't literally "have the potential to
become electric". This incorrect notion is based on a
different meaning of the word potential.

The real meaning of the word potential in this context is

one that is now obscure — and thus the source of
potential confusion. In the context of this discussion,
potential means something closer to that which gives
strength, power, might, or ability. For the physicist, the
noun potential is more closely related to the adjectives
potent or potency. Nowadays, the word potential seems
more impotent than potent. "I've got the power" is a phrase
that inspires. "I've got the potential" is a phrase in search of
inspiration.

Second of all, when I wrote the term electric potential, I

wasn't cut off two-thirds of the way through writing electric
potential energy. These are two separate (but related)
concepts. See if you can follow this train of reasoning.
Note how I said reasoning and not logic. This isn't a proof.
The mathematics will show how everything is related.

A difference in electric potential gives rise to an electric

field. (This is the concept I am introducing to you in this
chapter you are reading right now.) The electric field is the
force per charge acting on an imaginary test charge at any
location in space. (This concept was introduced in the
chapter before this one.) The work done placing an actual
charge in an electric field gives the charge electric
potential energy. (This concept is called the work-energy
theorem and was introduced a long time ago, in a chapter
far, far away.) By the transitive property (I guess), electric
potential gives rise to electric potential energy; and by the
reflexive property (another guess), the electric potential is
the energy per charge that an imaginary test charge has at
any location in space.

Those are words. We need maths. We can do this the

hard way (without calculus) or the easy way (with
calculus). Your choice.
In any case, here are the rules for the symbols specific to
this topic…

 The symbol for electric field is a bold, uppercase E. It's

bold because it's a vector quantity. It's uppercase because of
an arbitrary choice. It's an E because that just makes sense. If
you see the symbol written in italic with a bar across the top
like this, E̅, it means you're using the average value of the
magnitude only. Sometimes that's good enough.
 The symbol for electric potential energy is an italic,
uppercase U. It's italic because it's a scalar quantity. It's
uppercase because of… nobody knows. It's a U because you
gotta use some letter. I guess, now it's U's turn. Since we're
dealing with electric potential energy, we should add a
subscript, uppercase E. That gives us U . If I forget to add the
E

subscripted E, it's because you're supposed to know from

context that it's electric potential energy and not something
else.
 The symbol for electric potential is an italic, uppercase V.
It's italic because it's a scalar quantity. It's uppercase to match
electric potential energy (maybe). It's a V because V follows
U in the alphabet… I guess. It might also have to do with the
name of the unit for electric potential — the volt. You might
think I should add a subscripted, uppercase E to this symbol
too, like this V , but I won't. No one does. It's so rare to
E

discuss forms of scalar potential that aren't electric, that

adding a subscript is only done for the exceptions — like
gravitational potential, V .
g
non-calculus
Start from the work-energy theorem. When work is done
(W), energy changes (∆E).
W = ∆E
More specifically, when work is done against the electric
force (F̅ ), electric potential energy changes (∆U ). Recall
E E

that work is force times displacement (d). There's a bar

over the force symbol to indicate that we'll be using the
average value. This is one of the limitations of derivations
done without calculus.
F̅ d = ∆U
E E

Divide both sides by charge (q).

1 1
̅F d =   ∆U
E

q q E

Rearrange things a bit.

F̅ ∆U
E
 d =  E

q q
The ratio of force to charge on the left is called electric
field (E̅). That's an old idea that was discussed earlier in
this book. The only thing that's changed is we're dealing
with average values right now. The ratio of energy to
charge on the right is called electric potential (V). That's a
new idea that's being discussed right now in this book.
E̅ =  F̅ ΔV =  ΔU
 E E

q q

The electric field is the force on a test charge divided by its

charge for every location in space. Because it's derived
from a force, it's a vector field. The electric potential is the
electric potential energy of a test charge divided by its
charge for every location in space. Because it's derived
from an energy, it's a scalar field. These two fields are
related.

The electric field and electric potential are related by

displacement. Field times displacement is potential…

E̅d = ∆V

…or field is potential over displacement, if you prefer.

∆
E̅ =  V
d

In fancy calculus language, field is the gradient of potential

— because the real world is fancy, by which I mean three-
dimensional. Gradient is the three dimensional equivalent
of a slope. An ordinary slope is one-dimensional, because
a line is one-dimensional (even if it's not straight). There's
only one decision to make when moving along a curve. Do
I go ahead, or do I go back? In normal euclidean space,
we have three options. Up or down? Left or right? Forward
or backward?

calculus
Start from the work-energy theorem. When work is done
(W), energy changes (∆E).
W = ∆E
More specifically, when work is done against the electric
force (F ), electric potential energy changes (∆U ). Recall
E E

that work is the force-displacement integral.

⌠ F   · dr = ∆U  
− E

⌡  E

Divide both sides by charge (q).

1⌠ 1  ∆U
− F   · dr =  E

q⌡ q E

Rearrange things a bit.

F  ∆U
⌠
− E
 · dr =  E

⌡
q q
The ratio of force to charge on the left is called electric
field (E). That's an old idea that was discussed earlier in
this book. The ratio of energy to charge on the right is
called electric potential (V). That's a new idea that's being
discussed right now in this book.
 F  ΔU
E =  E ΔV =  E

q q

The electric field is the force on a test charge divided by its

charge for every location in space. Because it's derived
from a force, it's a vector field. The electric potential is the
electric potential energy of a test charge divided by its
charge for every location in space. Because it's derived
from an energy, it's a scalar field. These two fields are
related.

The electric field and electric potential are related by a

path integral that works for all sorts of situations. My
advice when working with a path integral is to always pick
the easiest path to work with. Electricity is a conservative
force, so the work done by it doesn't depend on the path
taken. This equation says something more astounding.
The integral on the left is so path independent that its
value depends only upon the electric potential at the
beginning and end of the path. If you can find those two
numbers and subtract them, you've done the whole
integral. If more integrals worked this way, students
wouldn't get so hung up on calculus.

⌠ E · dr = ∆  
−
⌡ V  

Electric field and electric potential are also related by a

derivative that works for one dimensional situations only
— situations with spherical, cylindrical, or planar
symmetry.

d
E = −  d  V r̂
r

In fancier calculus terms, field is the gradient of potential

— because the real world is fancier than a one-
dimensional problem. The gradient is the equivalent of a
derivative in higher dimensions (in this book, two and
three dimensions). This relationship works for all kinds of
symmetry and non-symmetry.

E = −∇V
The Greek letter delta looks like a triangle pointing upward
(∆). An inverted delta is called a del (∇). The delta and del
symbols are examples of mathematical devices
called operators — symbols that indicate that an operation
needs to be performed on a variable. The delta operator
has been discussed numerous times throughout this book.
The del operator is a bit more rare.

The delta operator is used whenever the change or

difference of a quantity is needed. Jump back a bit to the
equation that relates electric field to electric potential
through a path integral.

−⌠ E · dr = ∆  
 ⌡ V  
Here, ∆V means a difference in electric potential between
two points — usually a starting or initial location (indicated
in this book with a subscript zero) and an ending or final
location (indicated in this book without any subscript).
r

⌠  
− E · dr = V − V 0
⌡  
r0

In cartesian coordinates, the del operator is the sum of the

partial derivatives in the three unit vector directions. (In
noncartesian coordinates, the del is a bit more
complicated).

∂ ∂ ∂
∇ = î  ∂  + ĵ  ∂  + k̂  ∂
x y z
When the del operator is applied to a scalar field, the
resulting operation is known as a gradient. Jump back a bit.
The equation that says the electric field is the gradient of
the electric potential…
E = −∇V

…looks like this when the del operator is expanded…

E = − î  ∂  V − ĵ  ∂  V − k̂  ∂  

 ∂ ∂ ∂V
x y z

…and like this when the terms are rearranged so that

scalars precede vectors…

∂ ∂ ∂
E = −  ∂  V î −  ∂  V ĵ −  ∂  V k̂
x y z

Maybe now you can see why the del symbol was invented.
The compact equation has 5 symbols in it (not counting
spaces). The expanded equation has 23 (counting "hats",
but not counting spaces).

Hold it now. What's the deal with all these minus signs?
Let me explain… later.

units

electric potential

What's new in this chapter of this book? The whole notion

of electric potential. I introduced electric potential as the
way to solve the evils of the vector nature of the electric
field, but electric potential is a concept that has a right to
exist all on its own. Electric potential is the electric
potential energy on a test charge divided by the charge of
that test charge.

ΔU
ΔV =  E

q
Old stuff. SI is an abbreviation for le Système international
d'unités in French or the International System of Units in
English. The SI unit of energy is the joule, named
for James Joule, the English brewer turned physicist who
determined that heat and electricity were forms of energy
equivalent to other forms of mechanical energy like
gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. The SI
unit of charge is the coulomb, named for Charles-
Augustin Coulomb, the French nobleman and soldier turned
physicist who discovered the inverse square rule of the
electrostatic force. The SI unit of displacement (or
distance) is the meter — a word named after nobody and
ultimately derived from the Greek word for measure
(μετρον, metron).
New stuff. The SI unit of electric potential is the volt,
named for the Italian nobleman turned
physicist Alessandro Volta, whose full name is the
astonishingly long Conte (Count) Alessandro Giuseppe
Antonio Anastasio Volta. The joke today is that Volta's full
name was so long that when they cut it down to the name
of a unit, they went too far and chopped off the final "a".
The unit of electric potential should rightly be called the
volta instead of the volt (a joke appreciated only by the
pedantic among us). Count Volta is best known as the
inventor of the electrochemical cell — what we now
mistakenly call a battery (another distinction appreciated
only by the pedantic — a battery is a collection of
electrochemical cells). For those that care about the
important stuff, a volt is a joule per coulomb.

[V = J/C]

The electric potential difference between two locations is

one volt if it takes one joule of work to move one coulomb
of charge from one location to the other.

electric field

Electric potential is a way to explain a "difficult" vector field

in terms of an "easy" scalar field. By definition, the electric
field is the force per charge on an imaginary test charge.

F
E =  E

By means of a long explanation, the electric field is also

the gradient of the electric potential (the rate of change of
electric potential with displacement).

∆
E =  V
d
Set the two quantities equal…

F ∆
E
 =  V
q d

…and then set their units equal.

[N/C = V/m]

The newton per coulomb and the volt per meter are
equivalent units for the electric field. The volt per meter is
more frequently used by those who actually measure
things because the volt (which can be measured with a
voltmeter) and the meter (which can be measured with a
ruler of any size, including the appropriately named meter
stick) are much easier to measure than force (which could
be measured with a spring scale or strain gauge attached
to a charged object, I suppose) and charge (which could
be measured with no device I know of).

electric potential energy

If a volt is a joule per coulomb, then a joule is a coulomb

volt. When one coulomb of charge is moved through an
electric potential difference of one volt, its energy changes
by one joule.

[J = CV]
For some applications the joule is just too big, mostly
because the coulomb is just too big. A common small unit
of charge is the elementary charge [e]. It's the smallest
charge ever observed. Some particles, like the proton,
have this charge with a plus sign (q  = +1 e) and some,
proton

like the electron, have it with a minus sign (q  = −1 e).

electron

When one elementary charge is moved through an electric

potential difference of one volt, its energy changes by
one electron volt [eV] — plus or minus one electron volt
depending on the sign of the charge and the sign of the
potential difference. The electron volt is used for some
applications in electromagnetism; solid state, atomic,
nuclear, and particle physics; and related sciences like
biophysics, chemistry, and astronomy. It's a good small
unit for small physical systems like atoms and molecules.
It's actually a bit too small for nuclear and particle physics,
but the next largest SI unit is the joule, which is 19 orders
of magnitude larger.
qV = qV
1 electronvolt = (1 elementary charge)(1 volt)
1 electronvolt = (1.6 × 10  coulombs)(1 volt)
−19

1 electronvolt = 1.6 × 10  joules
−19

1 eV = 1.6 × 10  J
−19

The electron volt is not actually an SI unit since the

elementary charge is not defined as a unit. The charge on
an electron or proton or anything else with the elementary
charge has to be obtained experimentally and is therefore
uncertain. The electron volt has been "accepted for use"
with the SI by the CIPM (le Comité international des poids et
mesures or the the International Committee for Weights and
Measures).