1- ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 1

1.1 Electric Charge

• Of almost more than 100 fundamental particles of matter, three most important are electron,
·3l
proton and neutron. Their masses are m • 9.1 • 10 =
kg, m p --
u mn 1.6 • 10·27 kg =
respectively.

• Gravitational force of attraction between two electrons 1 em apart is 5.5 ｾｎＬ＠ ereas
electrical force of repulsion due to electric charge on them is 2.3 • 10.
stronger.

• Electric charge can be positive or negative. Traditionally, c h a r g e

24

is considered
0 hi is much

positive and that of electron negative although reverse sign co enti would have made
no difference.

Like charges repel each other and unlike charges ｡ｬｴｲＰ｣ｾｯｰ･＠ is used to detect
charges.

• Electrons revolving around the nucleus are

which protons are bound inside the nucleus.
two bodies, electrons get transferred from one
ｷ･｡ｫｬｾｯｵ＠
rti'o o
as compared to the force with
g exchange of electrons between
e other.

• Sl unit of charge is coulomb denoted ｾ＠ e charge passing in 1 second through

any cross-section of a conductor mpere current. Magnitude of charge on an
·19
electron or a proton is 1.6 • 10 C

• Electric charge, like mass, is property which is difficult to define.

The magnitudes of in nature are in integral multiple of a fundamental

=
charge 1 Q ne ). T ,.,;-11!11 as the quantization of charges. This fundamental charge
is the charge of denoted by e.

possess charge having magnitude e. For example, a proton

electron J possess positive charge I +e ). Atorn as a whole is
there are equal number of protons and electrons in it. This fact has
accuracy of 1 in 10 20 .

able to satisfactorily explain the quantization of charges so far.

neutrons are believed to be made up of more fundamental particles called

Quarks are of two types; 'up quark' possessing +( 2/3 )e charge and 'down quark'
:sses:sing ·( 1/3 )e charge. The independent existence of quarks is not detected so tar.

1.3 Conservation of Electric Charge

Irrespective of any process taking place, the algebraic sum of electric charges in an
electrically isolated system always remains constant. This statement is called the law of
conservation of charge.

In an electrically isolated system, a charge can neither enter nor leave it. Any charge-less
matter or radiation can enter or leave the system. r· ray photon entering the system may
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 2

ｰｲｯ､ｵ｣ｾ＾＠ an ｾ＾ｬ･｣ｴｲｯｮＭｰｳｩ＠ pair which as a whole being ･ｬｾ＾｣ｴｲｩ｡ｹ＠ ｮｾ＾ｵｴｲ｡ｬ＠ does not ｡ｬｴｾ＾ｲ＠
ｴｨｾ＾＠ original charge of ｴｨｾ＾＠ ｳｹｴｾ＾ｭＮ＠

1.4 Charging bv Induction

If two identical ｳｰｨ･ｲｾ＾Ｌ＠ one carrying ＾ｬ･｣ｴｲｩ＠ｾ charge Q and the other no charge
In contact and separated, each will possess ｾ＾ｱｵ｡ｬ＠ charge Q /2 after separ
uncharged sphere gets ｣ｨ｡ｲｧｾ＾､Ｎ＠ ａｮｯｴｨｾ＾ｲ＠ ｭｾ＾ｴｨｯ､＠ of charging a ｳｵ｢ｴ｡ｮ｣ｾ＾＠
under.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 r ｾ＠ Fig. 4 Fig. 5

fig. 1 shows a sphere with zero charge. ｾ＠

fig. 2 shows a plastic rod rubbed with fur wh ires negative charge brought close to
the sphere. This repels free ･ｬ｣ｴｲｯｾ＠ h sphere to a part away from the rod
leaving part of the sphere closer to ro ｳｬｴｩｶｾ＾ｹ＠ charged.
fig. 3 shows the ｾ＾ｬ･｣ｴｲｯｮｳ＠ on the sphe cted to the earth by earthing the sphere.
fig. 4 shows that the positive charg · st e ined by the sphere even on removal of the
earthing.
fig. 5 shows electrons redistribute sphere so that the positive charge is ｳｰｲｾ＾｡､＠ all
over the surface of ｴｨ･ｾ＠

This shows that a ｢ｯ､ｹｾ｡＠ b c rged without bringing in physical contact with ｡ｮｯｴｨｾ＾ｲ＠
charged substancela.This is called Induction of electric charge.

1.5 Coulomb's 0 6

ｾ｢ｩ｡ｮ＠ force, f ) between two stationary point charges ( q1 and q2)

Ｂｰｮ｡ｴｾｯ＠ the product of the charges ( Q1Q2) and Inversely proportional to the
2
-.ac;e ( r ) between them:· This statement is known as Coulomb's law.

F = _1_q1q2

N, q1 and q 2 are In C, r Is in m and k =

9 x 109 Nm 2C ' 2 in vacuum Is the
• 12 2 • 1 •2
constant. to 8.9 " 10 C N m =
is the ｾ＾ｬ･｣ｴｲｩ｡＠ permittivity In vacuum.

If the ｣ｨ｡ｲｧｾ＾ｳ＠ are in medium ｯｴｨｾ＾ｲ＠ than vacuum, then ｴｨｾ＾＠ electrical ｰｾ＾ｲｭｬｴｶｩｹ＠ of the
medium, £, should be used in ｨｾ＾＠ｴ above equation in place of to . ｔｨｾ＾＠ ratio £ f So Is called
relative permittivity, e,, of that ｭｾ＾､ｩｵＮ＠ The Coulomb's law tor any medium Is ｷｲｩｴｾ＾ｮ＠ as

F = _1_q1q2
41t8 ,2 '
where £ = So £r
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 3

Coulomb's Law In Vector Form

Let q1 and qi be two electrical like charges ( both positive or

both negative ) having position vectors r1 and 'i respectively
... ...
In a Cartesian co-ordinate system. The force,
...
'ij , acting on
charge q1 due to q1, directed from qi to q1, Is given by

...rl • -
-
F IJ k
-
I r1
qlqj
-2
• 'J I - -'•
I r1 • 'i I
k
-
lr1
qlqJ

•
.... 3
r11
- ...
(r1 • r.)
J

- ...
I- -I
,, • 'i
where Is the unit vector In the

- ...
r1 • 'J

Similarly, the force, FJI, acting on from q1 to qi, Is given by

....
....
.. • r
Fll
-. -k
lr
I
qlqj
....
r 12
I
'J
....
I

-- -
where
- ...'I • rl

lr1 • r I
1
Is Note that F il =

Coulomblan force are acting on a charge, the resultant

acting on it Is equal to the vector sum of the individual forces."

respectively. Let F21 and F23 be the forces

charge q2 due to charges q1 and q3 respectively.
- -
q1, q2 and q3 having position vectors
z
ｾ＠
,1
q1

.... .... ....

..
Then, F21 k
-. ,
I '2
q2q1
....
13
( '2 • '1 ) and
0
v
q3

- ..
F2S k
...
q2qs

I '2 • r 3
1

.... ,a - ....
( '2 • r 3 )
X

and from the principle of superposition, the resultant force acting on charge q2 is
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 4

= and In short,

- • kqz
3
I --"'----- ( r2
J=1 I - • -r Is
I * 2 r2 J
qJ
--
In general, the force acting on

;I = kqJ ｾ＠
j•1- ....
3
ql ( -:J • -:. • r ,_
"'-J
l * I Ir 1 • r 1 f'>'a
1.7 Continuous ｄｩｳｴｾ｢ｵｬｯｮ＠ of Charges r 'f.J •
The continuous distribution of charges can be ｾＢ｜ＬａＺ＠
( 1 ) Line Distribution, ( 2 ) Surface ｄｬｳｴｲ｢ｵｾｶｯｭ･＠ Distribution

Line Distribution
Let -=
r' tli urved line
z
-
-
A ( r' )

the

vector -
dF =
kql( .. )ldl'l ( ;

I; • ·;: 13
... )
X

total force F
- = J). (kq
.....
r' )ldl'l ..... -
( r • .. , z
1 1; ·;Is

Let -
o ( r' ) = surface charge density at a
-
point having position
q

-
d a'
vector, r' , on any surface,

= area vector of a small area around that point as

shown In the figure,
X
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 5

-
On calculating the force acting on any charge q having position vector,
charge in the small surface element, da' , and Integrating over the entire surface we get total
force
- r • due to the

-=
F -
• r'l

Volume Distribution

= volume
Let p ( r' I

dV'
position vector, -
charge density at a point having

r• , In any volume,
= small volume element of the entire volume

:&
y
ＺｳｬｵＬｾｨＯｯ･｡｣ｮｧ＠ t:: Ｚｾ｡ｲ･＠
volume element, dV', and Integrating ovJ.:. U: X
volume we get total force "'"'

-F =
vlr·r'l3
1.8 Electric Field ｾ＠
The region around a
called the electric ｦｩ･ｾ｡ｴ＠
a. Larges In which the effect of electric charge Is prevailing Is
particular system of electric charges.

" The ｦｯｲ｣ｾｬｮ＠ on4a unit positive charge at a given point In an electric field of a point
charge r stem of charges Is called the electric field ( or the Intensity of electric

field...... ｾ＠ point.''

ｾＢＱ Ｑ＠ F',q;l k ｾ＠ ql 1-;. -;11

j•1 - -+
Ir • r 13
1
re, q1, q2, ..... , qN are the sources of the electric field .
•1 •1
The unit of electric field Intensity In Sl system Is N C ( or V m I·
Noteworthy points for an electric field

1 1 The electric charge used to measure electric field Intensity Is called a test charge.

2 1 If we know electric field Intensity at all the points In the electric field, there Is no need to
know the source charges or their locations In the field.
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 6

3) The test charge should be as small as possible to ensure that its presence makes no
change in the original field.

4 ) The direction of force experienced by a positive charge at any point is the direction of
electric field at that point.

I>) Faraday first Introduced the concept of an electric field which is a ｰｨｹｳｩ｣ｾＡ＠ r

1.8 (a) Electric Field due to a Point Charge

Taking the position of charge Q as origin, the electric force due to It ｾ＠ charge q at
a distance r from It will be ｾ＠

F' .. ｫｑｱｾ＠
r2 -
Hence, electric field
Intensity due to charge
ｾﾷ＠ ｾ＠
! "'.
Q will t t Q <0 .. 4 Q >0 t

E .. : ..
The figure shows the electric
Ｚｾｭ＠ / ｾ＠ .. ｾ＠
/
field due to point charges in
two dimensions. Actual field

pendic:ularly, centre of the sphere located at the

the charge is positive and inwards if the charge

decreases away from the charge as indicated by

and opposite charges, separated by a finite distance, is called an

charges are q and -q and 2a is the distance between them, electric
of the dipole is

dipole moment Is a vector quantity and Its direction Is from the negative electric
to the positive electric charge. Its unit is coulomb-meter ( Cm ).

The total charge on an electric dipole Is zero, but Its electric field Is not zero, since the
position of the two opposite charges is different.

1.9 ( a l Electric Field of a Dipole

To find the electric fleld of a dipole, let origin of the co-ordinate system be at its mid-point.
Let the +q charge be on positive Z-axls and -q charge be on negative Z-axis and the
separation between them be 2a.
 1- ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 7

-
The position vector of +q charge is r1 ( 0, 0, a ) and that of ·q charge Is
...
r2 ( 0, 0, •B ). The

electric field due to this dlpore at any point having position vector r - Is given by

...
E( r
- ) = k
[(+q)(;". ｾｉ＠ (·q)(;".
+ ------"'--
ｾ｝＠
........ 13 ........ 13
1 r • r1 I r • r2

for a point z on z:axls

having position vector, r - = ( 0, 0, z ),

-+ y (0, y, 0)
y

-
E (z) k[q (O,O,z • a) • q (O,O,z + a)]
I(z • a) 13 I( z + a )1 3
<2J
.a

(0, 0, - a)

= k
q
----=---·---=--
(z • a )
2
(z + a)
2
-q •
p
G
kq(4za I ..
= ( z2 • 2 2
p
8 1
But 2aq = p,

E (z) =
For 9 position vector, r - = ( 0, y, 0 ),

• q(O,y,a ).! ]
(y2+a2)2

kq(2a)
3 p
(y2+ •212

k ..
___!_ p (if y>>a)
y3
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 8

1.10 The Behaviour of an Electric Dipole In a Uniform Electric Field

=q (2 a
... y

-
An electric dipole

E making an angle
p

6 with

system, 0, Is at the centre of the dipole and

) Is kept in a uniform electric field

it.
...
The origin of the co-ordinate

E is directed along
the positive Y -axis.

The resultant of qE and ·qE forces acting on +q and ·q charges

respectively being zero, the dipole is In translational equilibrium.
But as the two forces have different lines of action, the dipole
will experience a torque.

The torques acting on charge +q due to force qE and ｯｮｾ［Ｎ＠

-q due to force -qE respectively with respect to origin are '(.I
-;
1
= -: q "i and ;
2
= (·:) x(·q "i) ti..._O
The total torque acting on the dipole is .C. V
9

-; = ;, +;l =(: •q-;) -+ ｅｾｱＺ＠ •-;

't = p x E (in

The magnitude of this pE sin 6 and Its direction is perpendicularly coming out
of the plane of tlgurt&...,.•

The dipole torque till the angle 9 reduces to zero and the dipole aligns
Itself the electric field. This is the equilibrium position of the dipole
(about •ciliates in absence of damping ) and if It has to be rotated by some
angle work will have to be done equal to the change In potential energy
of the

electric field, the intensity of the

different at different points, different y
act on the two charges of the dipole. Hence
dipole experiences a linear displacement In
/_;o,r·-qｾ＠
-
addition to rotation.
2
Let the electric field intensity be E at .q charge / a t • dE (2a cos8)
and let it increase linearly In the X-direction. Let •q 8 dx
the x-coordinate of -q charge be x. Then from the
figure, x-coordinate of +q charge is x + 2a cos 9.
f
Also the electric intensity near +q charge will be
dE X
E + - 2a cos 9. The electrical force acting on 0
dx
 1- ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 9

--+
--+ --+ dE
these charges will be -q E and +q(E + -2acos9 ).
dx
....
dE
The net force on the dipole being q - 2a cos 9 , the dipole will have in the
dx
positive x ·direction in addition to rotation In the clockwise direction. The stop
when the dipole aligns in the direction of the field ( assuming damping is the
translation will continue In the positive X·direction.

When a dry comb charged by rubbing with dry hair Is brought ｣ｬｯｾｭ｡＠ pieces of
paper, electric dipole is Induced in them in the direction of ｮｯＧｊＡｾｴｲｩ｣＠ field. This
exerts a net force on the pieces of paper which get attracted to t h Q

1.12 Electric Field Lines

Michael Faraday Introduced the concept of electric

•
called them lines of force.
An electric field line is a curve drawn in the electric the tangent to
the curve at any point Is In the direction of electric

1.12
( 1) The tangent drawn at field line indicates the direction of
electric intensity at that

(2 I then two tangents can be

is not possible.

PI In the region of the electric field gives the

N +an arbitrary number 1 number of field lines

the surface of a sphere of radius R due to a
as shown in the figure. This is not the flux.

lines per unit area is proportional to

Intensity.

"

where, I} is the proportionality constant value of which can be determined from the
Initially assigned arbitrary number, N.

In the case of an electric dipole, the number of field lines originating from .. q charge
enter Into ·q charge as both the charges are of the same magnitude. Sut If one charge
Is q and the other is ·q·, where q > q·, then the number of electric field lines leaving
the charge +q will be
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 10

ｾｱ＠
N "' and the number of electric field
so
Jines entering -q' charge will be
ｾｱﾷ＠
N' "'
&0

Thus out of N number of lines N' number of

lines enter the charge .q' and the remaining
lines become radial at large distances and
move to Infinity as shown In the figure.

The electric field lines are used tor

geometrical representation of electric field
and are Imaginary. The electric field Is a reality. n tli. •

( 4 I The field lines of a uniform electric field ｡ｲ･ｾｬ＠ and

equidistant.

( 5) The field lines of a stationary orm close loops.

The adjoining figure shows electric field dipole.

1.13 Electric Flux

field as shown in the figure. An infinitely small

If

can be

LSOcia•ted with jth element =

with the entire surface Is
--
Ej · A a
1

= J E'rih
surface

"The total electric flux associated with any closed surface Is equal to the ratio of the total
electric charge enclosed by the surface to So.''

cp = f -E •da
.... 1
= -Iq
&0
( Note: to Is to be used If the medium In closed surface is vacuum or atmospheric air, else
the permittivity, s, of the medium has to be used.)
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 11

-
The electric field E in the above equation Is the resultant electric field due to all charges
whether inside or outside the enclosed surface, but the summation of charges on the RHS of
the above equation is the algebraic sum of the charges enclosed by the surface.

1.15 Application of Gauss's Theorem

Electric Field due to ed Wire or Line Ch

Let ). = uniform charge density along the length of

the conductor.

From symmetry, the magnitude of electric field at all

points like P over the curved surface of the cylinder
of radius r and length L, whose axis coincides with
the conductor, will be the same. The direction of the
field at all points on this surface and also at all
points on two ends of the cylinder Is radially
outwards if ). > 0.

Using Gauss's Law,

--
JE[]Ia=
q

of the cylinder will be zero as the field

E =
ii Electric Sheet of Char e

Let a
at a perpendicular distance r on either sides of the charged plane. By
Intensity at P and P' will have equal magnitude and opposite direction. If
plane is positivelnegatlve, the direction of the electric intensity will be
the plane. Consider a closed cylinder with equal lengths on either side of the
P to P', As the electric intensity Is perpendicular to the plane, the flux linked
curved surface of the cylinder Is zero. As the points P and P' are equidistant from
plane, the magnitude of electric intensity are the same.

Ep = Ep· "' E and EpA + Ep·A "' 2EA

is the total flux coming out of the cross-sectional
area, A, of the cylinder. The closed cylindrical
surface encloses the charge q GA. = p• + p
Ep• A
+ A• Ep
+
I --
Using Gauss's Law,

E []Ia = ｾ＠
'•
2EA = and
.;.++ +
++
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 12

E = a
28 0
The above equation shows that electric Intensity at any point Is independent of its distance
from the plane.

If two uniformly charged infinite plates,

having surface charge density Ch and th,
are kept parallel to each other, then the
ｾ＠ t-
magnitudes and directions of electric
2Eo
intensity at points between and on either 02
sides of planes will be as shown in the t-
figure. 2Eo
01. 02
If G t =. =
o 2 o, then the electric intensity 2Eo
between the plates will be G I eo and on
either sides of the two plates will be zero.

IIi Shell

Let of radius R.

(
/
ｾ＠

- '
\
Since the charge enclosed In a
zero, the electric intensity Is zero
r < R Is
I -- ｾ＠

I
oints outside the
\
I

q 1
·h:B0 ,2
-.
i e total charge on the spherical shell. Thus for points outside the spherical shell,
charge of the spherical shell can be treated as concentrated at Its centre.

Let p = uniform volume charge density on a sphere of radius R.

\
( a I For points Inside the sphere:
I
Applying Gauss's Theorem to a sphere of radius r :S R,
3 I
p 41tr pr
4 lt,2 E( r ) = - - -
3 8
E( r I = 380
= E( R) ｾ＠
0
 1 • ELECTRIC CHARGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD Page 13

The direction of the field Is radially outwards if p > 0 and inwards if p < 0.

I b I For points outside the sphere:

Applying Gauss's Theorem to a sphere of radius r, concentric with charged sphere of radius
R(r >R), 3 ｾ＠
2 4'1:R p Q
4 2tr E( r ) " "' ｾＬ＠ where Q Is the charge on the sphere.

c;O
3 So "O
3
E(r)" R p " Q -1 (r>R)
3r28 4X8 r2
0 0

Thus, for points outside the sphere, the entire charge ｾＺ＠
concentrated at its centre. 'C.J • sphere can be treated as

fl>CJ

;t.fli