University of Zakho

Faculty of Science
Department of Physic
1st Stage Morning

Submit:
Bizav Habib Saed

Subject:

Electric Field

Supervisor:
Dr. Dindar S. Bari

2021-2022
Introduction

The presence of an electric charge produces a force on all other charges present.
The electric force produces action-at-a-distance; the charged objects can
influence each other without touching. Suppose two charges, q1 and q2, are
initially at rest. Coulomb's law allows us to calculate the force exerted by charge
q2 on charge q1 (see Figure 1). At a certain moment charge q2 is moved closer to
charge q1. As a result we expect an increase of the force exerted by q2 on q1.
However, this change can not occur instantaneous (no signal can propagate faster
than the speed of light). The charges exert a force on one another by means of
disturbances that they generate in the space surrounding them. These
disturbances are called electric fields. Each electrically charged object generates
an electric field which permeates the space around it, and exerts pushes or pulls
whenever it comes in contact with other charged objects. The electric field E
generated by a set of charges can be measured by putting a point charge q at a
given position. The test charge will feel an electric force F. The electric field at the
location of the point charge is defined as the force F divided by the charge q:

Figure 1. Electric force between two electric charges.

Electric Field
The region around the electric charge in which the stress or electric force act is
called an electric field or electrostatic field. If the magnitude of charge is large,
then it may create a huge stress around the region. The electric field is
represented by the symbol E. The SI unit of the electric field is newton per
coulomb which is equal to volts per meter.

The electric field is represented by the imaginary lines of force. For the positive
charge, the line of force come out of the charge and for negative charge the line
of force will move towards the charge. The electric field for positive and negative
charges are shown below
Consider a unit charge Q placed in a vacuum. If another charge q is placed near
the Q then according to Coulomb law, the charge Q apply a force on it. The charge
Q produce an electric field around it, and when any other charge is placed near it,
then the electric field of Q apply force on it.

The electric field produced by the charge Q at a point r is given by

here Q – unit charge

r – distance between the charges

A charge Q applies the force on a charge q is expressed by

The charge q also apply an equal and opposite force on the charge Q.
 Types of an Electric Field
The electric field is mainly classified into two types. They are the uniform
electric field and the nonuniform electric field.

1. Uniform Electric Field

When the electric field is constant at every point, then the field is called the
uniform electric field. The constant field is obtained by placing the two conductor
parallel to each other, and the potential difference between them remains same
at every point.

2. Non-Uniform Electric Field

The field which is irregular at every point is called the non-uniform electric field.
The non-uniform field has a different magnitude and directions.
Properties of an Electric Field
The following are the properties of an electric field.

1. Field lines never intersect each other.

2. They are perpendicular to the surface charge.
3. The field is strong when the lines are close together, and it is weak
when the field lines move apart from each other.
4. The number of field lines is directly proportional to the magnitude of
the charge.
5. The electric field line starts from the positive charge and ends from
negative charge.
6. If the charge is single, then they start or end at infinity.
7. The line curves are continuous in a charge-free region.
When the electric and magnetic field combines, they form the electromagnetic
field.

Electric field of dipole

A dipole is a separation of opposite electrical charges and it is quantified by an

electric dipole moment. The electric dipole moment associated with two equal
charges of opposite polarity separated by a distance, d is defined as the vector
quantity having a magnitude equal to the product of the charge and the distance
between the charges and having a direction from the negative to the positive
charge along the line between the charges.
It is a useful concept in dielectrics and other applications in solid and liquid
materials. These applications involve the energy of a dipole and the electric field
of a dipole.
References:
1. D. R. Mihaela, C. Dorina, and A. Carmen, “Biochemical changes
induced by low frequency magnetic field exposure of vegetal
organism,” Romanian Journal of Physics, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 645–
651, 2006.

2. S. Mohammadjavad, F. Hassan, M. Gholamreza, and B. Aliasghar,

“Effect of magnetic field and silver nanoparticles on yield and
water use efficiency of (Carum copticum) under water stress
conditions,” Polish Journal of Chemical Technology, vol. 17, no.
1, pp. 110-114, 2015.

3. E. M. Massimo, “Magnetic field effects on plant growth,

development and evolution,” Frontiers in Plant Science, pp. 1-13,
2014.