CHAPTER - 01

CHAPTER – 1: ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS

SECTION-1(ELECTRIC CHARGES AND COULOMBS LAW)
1.1 INTRODUCTION:
All of us have the experience of seeing a spark or hearing a crackle when we take off our
synthetic clothes or sweater, particularly in dry weather.
Another common example of electric discharge is the lightning that we see in the sky during
thunderstorms. We also experience a sensation of an electric shock either while opening the
door of a car or holding the iron bar of a bus after sliding from our seat. The reason for these
experiences is discharge of electric charges through our body, which were accumulated due to
rubbing of insulating surfaces. You might have also heard that this is due to generation of static
electricity.
Electrostatics deals with the study of forces, fields and potentials arising from static
charges.
1.2 ELECTRIC CHARGES:

Atoms are the building blocks of matter. Electrons, protons and neutrons are the constituent
elementary particles of an atom. These particles attract each other because of their finite
masses. This force of attraction is the gravitational force between them. At the same time, two
electrons or two protons are found to repel each other and this repulsive force is very much
greater than the gravitational force of attraction between them. The repulsive force between
two electrons or two protons is the electrical force.
Charge is the fundamental property of matter due to which an electrostatic force arises.
If a glass rod is rubbed with silk cloth, some electrons pass from glass rod to silk cloth. As a
result, the glass rod becomes positively charged i.e. deficiency of electrons and the silk cloth
attains an equal negative charge i.e. excess of electrons. It is because silk cloth gains as many
electrons as lost by the glass rod. It can be shown experimentally that like charges repel each
other while unlike charges attract each other.
The property which differentiates the two kinds of charges is called the polarity of charge.
The charges acquired after rubbing are lost when the charged bodies are brought in contact.
That is the unlike charges acquired by the bodies neutralize each other’s effect. Therefore,
charges are named as positive and negative by the American scientist Benjamin Franklin. By
convention, the charge on the proton is considered as positive and that on the electron negative.
Note:
1) The charges are not created by the rubbing action. There is merely transfer of electrons
from one body to another.
2) Electrons are transferred from glass rod to silk cloth due to rubbing because we have done
external work. Thus, law of conservation of energy holds good.
3) The mass of negatively charged silk cloth will increase and that of glass rod will decrease.
It is because silk cloth has gained electrons while glass rod has lost electrons.
4) S.I. unit of charge is Ampere  sec = coulomb (C), smaller S.I. units are mC, C.
C.G.S. unit of charge is Stat coulomb or e.s.u. Electromagnetic unit of charge is ab coulomb
1
1𝐶 = 3 × 109 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 = 10 𝑎𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏.
Dimensional formula [𝑄] = [𝐴𝑇]
The tribo-electric series is a list that ranks materials according to their tendency to gain or
lose electrons. The process of electron transfers as a result of two objects coming into contact
with one another and then separating is called tribo-electric charging.

5)

Charge Mass
(1) Electric charge can be positive, negative (1) Mass of a body is a positive quantity.
or zero.
(2) Charge carried by a body does not (2) Mass of a body increases with its velocity as
depend upon velocity of the body. m
m0
where c is velocity of light in
1  v2 / c2

vacuum, m is the mass of the body moving with

velocity v and m 0 is rest mass of the body.
(3) Charge is quantized. (3) The quantization of mass is yet to be
established.
(4) Electric charge is always conserved. (4) Mass is not conserved as it can be changed
into energy and vice-versa.
(5) Force between charges can be attractive (5) The gravitational force between two masses
or repulsive, accordingly as charges are is always attractive.
unlike or like charges.
GOLD LEAF ELECTROSCOPE:
A simple apparatus to detect charge on a body and
its polarity is the gold- leaf electroscope shown in fig (1.1).
It consists of a vertical metal rod kept in a box, with two
thin gold leaves attached to its bottom end.
When a charged body touches the metal knob at the top
of the rod, charge flows to the leaves and they diverge.
The degree of divergence is an indicator of the amount of
charge on a charged body.
1.3 CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS:
All substances are divided into two classes on the basis of their ability to conduct electric
charges. 1) Conductors and 2) Insulators
1) Conductors: The substances through which electric charges can flow easily are called
conductors. Ex: Silver, copper, aluminum, mercury etc.
2) Insulators: The substances through which electric charges cannot flow easily are called
insulators. Ex: Glass, rubber, mica, plastic, wood etc.
If some charge is transferred to a conductor, it readily gets distributed over the entire surface
of the conductor. If an insulator is charged, the charge remains localized.
If we bring a charged body in contact with the earth, all the charges flow to the earth through
the connecting conductor. The process of sharing the charges with the earth is called grounding
or earthing.
Note: There is a third category called semiconductors. Semiconductors are the substances
whose electrical property lies between those of conductors and insulators.
1.4 CHARGING BY INDUCTION:
A body can be charged by the removal or addition of electrons to it. The process of
charging a body known as electrification.
An uncharged conductor can be charged by two methods.
1) By conduction 2) By induction
A body, which is a good conductor can be charged by touching it
with a charged body. The process is known as charging by conduction.
A body, which is a good conductor can be charged by placing it near
a charged body. The process is known as charging by induction.
A conductor can be charged by induction in the following four steps.
1) Bring two metal spheres A and B, kept on insulating stands in
contact as shown in fig (1.2a).
2) Bring a positively charged rod as shown in fig (1.2b) nearer to
the sphere A, taking care that it should not touch the sphere.
The free electrons in the sphere are attracted towards the rod
and the positive charges repelled towards rear surface on the
sphere B. The accumulated charges remain on the surface till
the glass rod is held near the sphere. If the rod is removed the
charges are not acted by any outside force and they redistribute
to their original neutral state.
3) Separate the spheres as shown in fig (1.2c) by a small distance
while the glass rod is still held near the sphere A. The two spheres
are found to be oppositely charge
d and attract each other shown in fig 1.2d).
4) Remove the rod, as shown in fig (1.2e) the charges on spheres
are uniformly distributed. This is charging by induction.
1.5 BASIC PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC CHARGE:
If the sizes of the charged bodies are very small as compared to the distances between them,
we treat them as point charges.
1.5.1 Additivity of charges.

Charges are additive in nature. i.e. the total charge on the extended body is the algebraic
sum of the charges present on it.
If a system contains n charges q1, q2, q3…..qn then total charge in the system is
Q1 = q1 + q2 + ……. qn
Ex: If q1 = 1C, q2 = 2C and q3 = - 6C
Then q = q1 + q2 + q3 = 1 + 2 – 6 = - 3 C
Note: Proper signs have to be used while adding the charges in a system.

1.5.2: Charge is conserved.

Charge is conserved, i.e., It is not possible to create or destroy net charge carried by any isolated
system. It can be transferred from one body to another. i.e. The total charge of the isolated
system is always conserved.
Ex: When a glass rod is rubbed with silk cloth, a positive charge appears on the rod and, at the
same time, an equal negative charge appears on the silk cloth. Thus, the net charges on the rod
and the silk system is zero both before and after rubbing.

1.5.3: Quantisation of charge

The electric charge on a body is an integral multiple of e. This is called quantisation of
charge.
The total charge acquired by the body is given by
q =  ne where n = 1, 2 3,….. and e = 1.6 x 10-19C
Note: Quantisation of charge is meaningful only at the microscopic level where charges
involved are of the order of few hundreds of e. i.e. they can be counted. Such charges appear
in discrete lumps and quantisation of charge cannot be ignored.
However, at the macroscopic level, we deal with charges of a few micro coulombs. A charge
1x 10 6 C
of 1  C contains electrons whose number n = q/e = 19
 1013 , which is very large.
1.6 x 10 C
At this scale, the fact that the charge can increase or decrease only in units of e is not visible.
The grainy nature of charge is lost and it appears to be continuous. Hence, at the macroscopic
level, quantisation of charge has no practical consequence and it can be ignored.

Note: (Other properties of charges)

1. Like charges repel each other while unlike charges attract each other. This is referred
to as law of electrical charges.
2. A charged body attracts light uncharged bodies.
3. Charge always resides on the outer surface of a charged conductor.
4. Charge is a scalar quantity.
5. Charge is independent of the velocity of the body. It is unaffected by motion.
6. Accelerated charge radiates energy in the form of electromagnetic waves.
7. Charge cannot exist without mass. However, mass can exist without charge.
(Mass is always positive whereas charge may be positive or negative)
Illustrations:

Example 1. If 109 electrons move out of a body to another body every second, how
much time is required to get a total charge of 1 C on the other body?
Solution: In one second 109 electrons move out of the body. Therefore, the charge given
out in one second is 1.6 × 10–19 × 109 C = 1.6 × 10–10 C. The time required to accumulate a
charge of 1 C can then be estimated to be 1 C ÷ (1.6 × 10–10 C/s) = 6.25 × 109 s = 6.25 ×
109 ÷ (365 × 24 × 3600) years = 198 years. Thus, to collect a charge of one coulomb, from
a body from which 109 electrons move out every second, we will need approximately 200
years. One coulomb is, therefore, a very large unit for many practical purposes.
It is, however, also important to know what is roughly the number of electrons contained in a
piece of one cubic centimetre of a material. A cubic piece of copper of side 1 cm contains
about 2.5 × 1024 electrons.
Example 2. How much positive and negative charge is there in a cup of water?
Solution: Let us assume that the mass of one cup of water is 250 g. The molecular mass of
water is 18g. Thus, one mole (= 6.02 × 1023 molecules) of water is 18 g. Therefore, the
number of molecules in one cup of water is (250/18) × 6.02 × 1023.
[

Each molecule of water contains two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, i.e., 10 electrons
and 10 protons. Hence the total positive and total negative charge has the same magnitude. It
is equal to (250/18) × 6.02 × 1023 × 10 × 1.6 × 10–19 C = 1.34 × 107 C.

1.6: COULOMB’S LAW:

According to Coulomb’s law,
The electrostatic force between two stationary point charges is directly proportional to
the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between them.
Explanation:

→ →
Consider two-point charges q1 and q2 with position vectors 𝑟1 and 𝑟2 respectively as shown in
fig.
According to Coulomb’s law.
|𝑞1 ||𝑞2 | |𝑞1 ||𝑞2 |
F𝛼 2 Or F =K -----------------(1)
𝑟 𝑟2
where K is called electrostatic force constant or Coulomb constant. The value of K depends
upon
1) The nature of the medium separating the charges and
2) The system of units chosen.
1
In SI system, and for air medium, the value of K 
4 0
where 0 is called the permittivity of free space.
The experimental value of ∈0 is 8.854 x 10-12 C2 N-1 m-2 or Fm-1
1
⸫F= =8.9875x109  9 x 109 Nm2 C-2
4𝜋∈0
𝟏 |𝒒𝟏 ||𝒒𝟐 |
From equation (1), the magnitude of force is F =
𝟒𝝅∈𝟎 𝒓𝟐
If the two-point charges are in a material medium, then
1 1
K= =
4𝜋∈ 4𝜋∈0 ∈𝑟
where  is known as absolute permittivity of the medium and r relative permittivity or
dielectric constant of the medium (K)
𝟏 |𝐪𝟏 |𝐪𝟐 |
∴𝐅=
𝟒𝛑 ∈𝟎 ∈𝐫 𝐫 𝟐
Since force is a vector quantity, we can write Coulomb’s law in vector form as follows.
→ →
The force on q2 due to q1 is denoted by 𝐹21 . The vector leading from q1 to q2 is 𝑟21 and from
→ → →
q2 to q1 as 𝑟12. The magnitude of 𝑟21 is r21 and 𝑟12is r12. As the direction of a vector is specified
by a unit vector along the vector, we define
→ →
∧ 𝑟12 𝑟21 ∧
𝑟12 = → and → = 𝑟21
|𝑟12 | |𝑟21 |
Then force on q2 due to q1 in vector form is expressed as
→ 1 𝑞1 𝑞2 ∧
𝐹21 = 𝑟 . . . . . . . . . → (1) and
4𝜋∈ 𝑟 2 21 0 21
force on q1 due to q2 is
→ 1 𝑞1 𝑞2 ∧
𝐹12 = 𝑟 . . . . . . . . . → (2)
4𝜋 ∈0 𝑟12 2 12
The electrostatic force between two stationary point charges is always acting along the
straight line joining the two charges.
Remarks:
1) The equation (1) is valid for any sign of q1 and q2, whether positive or negative.
 
2) The equation (1) and equation (2) are related as F12   F21
DIRECTION OF THE FORCE:
q1 q2 q1 q2
d F d F
Fig. (a) two positive charges repel Fig. (b) two negative charges repel

q1 q2
d F
Fig. (c) a positive and negative charge attract.

SI UNIT OF CHARGE:

The SI unit of electrical charge is coulomb ( C ). The definition of coulomb can be obtained
from Coulomb’s law as follows:
1 𝑞1 𝑞2
Consider, F =
4𝜋∈ 𝑟 2
1 1𝑥1
Let q1 = q2 = 1C and r = 1 m then, F = 𝑋{ } = 9 x 109 N
4𝜋∈𝑜 12

Thus, one coulomb of charge is that charge which when placed at rest in air at a distance
of 1m from an identical charge repels it and is repelled by a force of 9 x109 N
Limitations of Coulomb’s law:
1)Coulomb’s law holds good for stationary point charges only.
2) Coulomb’s law is not universal as it depends on the properties of the intervening medium.

RELATIVE PERMITTIVITY OR DIELECTRIC CONSTANT:

The electrostatic force between two-point charges q1 and q2 separated by a distance d in free
space is given by
1 q1q2
Fa = .............  (1)
4  o d2
The force between the same two charges in another medium is
1 q 1q 2
Fm = .............  (2)
4  or d2
From (1) and (2)
Fa
 r  K
Fm
i.e. Dielectric constant or relative permittivity of a medium can be defined as the ratio of
electrostatic force between two stationary point charges separated by a certain distance in free
space to the electrostatic force between the same two-point charges separated by the same
distance in the medium.
Note:
1. K = 1, for vacuum and K = 1.00059 for air medium and
for all other dielectric media, K > 1.
1.7 FORCES BETWEEN MULTIPLE CHARGES:
Consider a system of n stationary charges q1, q2, q3 …… qn
having position vectors r1, r2, r3, …..rn respectively. Then,
force on any charge due to a number of other charges is
the vector sum of all the forces on that charge due to a
number of other charges. The individual forces are
unaffected due to the presence of nearby charges. This is
termed as the principle of superposition.
→
If the force on q1 due to q2 is 𝐹12 then
→ 1 𝑞1 𝑞2 ∧
𝐹12 = 𝑟
4𝜋 ∈0 𝑟12 2 12
In the same way, force on q1 due to q3 is
→ 1 𝑞1 𝑞3 ∧
𝐹13 = 𝑟
4𝜋 ∈0 𝑟13 2 13
Thus, the total force F1 on q1 due to the two charges q2 and q3 is,
→ → → 1 𝑞1 𝑞2 ∧ 1 𝑞1 𝑞3 ∧
𝐹1 = 𝐹12 + 𝐹13 = 𝑟12 + .𝑟
4𝜋 ∈0 𝑟12 2 4𝜋 ∈0 𝑟13 2 13
The above calculation of force can be generalized to a system of more than three charges.
Thus, total force F1 on q1 due to all the charges is given by
→ → → → →
𝐹1 = 𝐹12 + 𝐹13 + 𝐹14 +. . . . . . . . . +𝐹𝐼𝑛
→ 1 𝑞1 𝑞2 ∧ 𝑞1 𝑞3 ∧ 𝑞1 𝑞𝑛 ∧
𝐹1 = [ 2 𝑟12 + 𝑟13 +. . . . + 𝑟 ]
4𝜋 ∈0 𝑟12 𝑟13 2 𝑟1 𝑛 2 𝑙𝑛
𝑛
→ 𝑞1 𝑞𝑖
𝐹1 = ∑ 2
4𝜋 ∈0 𝑟1𝑖
𝑖=2
The vector sum is obtained by the parallelogram law of addition of vectors.
Illustrations:
1. Point charges of +1C, +1C and -1C are placed at the corners A, B and C of an
equilateral triangle ABC of side 0.3m. Calculate the resultant force on the charge at B.
A (q1 = +1μC)

600

------------------ 1m

600 0.3 m 600 (q3 = +1μC)

C F2 B
(q2 = -1μC)

D
FR F1
 → 𝟏 𝒒𝟏 𝒒𝟑
Force on 𝑞3 due to 𝑞1 is 𝑭𝟏 = along BD
𝟒𝝐𝟎 𝒓𝟐

1 𝑞1 𝑞3
Force on 𝑞3 due to 𝑞1 is F1 = --------------------------------1m
4𝜖0 𝑟 2

9 𝑥 109 𝑥 1 𝑥 10−6 𝑥 1 𝑥 10−6

= (3 𝑥 10−1 )2
= 0.1 N ---------------1m

→ 𝟏 𝒒𝟐 𝒒𝟑
Force on 𝑞3 due to 𝑞2 is 𝑭𝟐 = along BC
𝟒𝝐𝟎 𝒓𝟐

1 𝑞2 𝑞3 9 𝑥 109 𝑥 1 𝑥 10−6 𝑥 1 𝑥 10−6

Force on 𝑞3 due to 𝑞2 is F2 = = = 0.1 N
4𝜖0 𝑟 2 (3 𝑥 10−1 )2
→ → →
The resultant force is, 𝑭𝑹 = 𝑭𝟏 + 𝑭𝟐

𝐹𝑅2 = 𝐹12 + 𝐹22 + 2 𝐹1 𝐹2 cos 𝜃

Here F1 = F2 and θ = 1200

1
⸫ 𝐹𝑅2 = 𝐹12 + 𝐹22 + 2 𝐹1 𝐹2 𝑐𝑜𝑠1200 = 2 𝐹12 + 2𝐹12 (− ) = F1 = 0.1N --------1m
2

As F1 = F2 Direction of the resultant force is along the angular bisector

i.e. The direction of FR is θ = 600 with BC--------------------------------------------------1m

Important questions for PU:

one-mark questions:
1. Define the SI unit of charge.
2. What do you understand by the statement that ‘charge is quantised’?
3. What is electrification?
4. Two identical metal spheres of equal masses are charged oppositely to the same quantity
of charge. Will the spheres have the same masses even after charging?
5. Define dielectric constant of a medium in terms of electrostatic force.
Two-mark questions:
6. Name the different methods of charging a body.
7. If 2500 electrons are removed from an isolated neutral metal sphere, what is the charge
acquired by sphere? [e = 1.6 x 10-19 C].
Three-mark questions:
8. Write the three properties of electrical charges.
9. State and explain Coulomb’s law in electrostatics. Express it in vector form.
PU numericals:
1) The electrostatic force on a small sphere of charge 0.4 μC due to another small sphere of
charge – 0.8 μC in air is 0.2 N.
(a) What is the distance between the two spheres?
(b) What is the force on the second sphere due to the first?
2. (a) Two insulated charged copper spheres A and B have their centers separated by a
distance of 50 cm. What is the mutual force of electrostatic repulsion if the charge on
each is 6.5 × 10-7 C? The radii of A and B are negligible compared to the distance of
separation.
(b) What is the force of repulsion if each sphere is charged double the above amount, and
the distance between them is halved?
3. Suppose the spheres A and B in previous Exercise have identical sizes. A third sphere of
the same size but uncharged is brought in contact with the first, then brought in contact
with the second, and finally removed from both. What is the new force of repulsion
between A and B?
4. Two copper balls, each weighing 10 g are kept in air 10 cm apart. If one electron from
every 106 atoms is transferred from one ball to the other, what is the coulomb force between
them? (Atomic weight of copper is 63.5)
5. Calculate the charge on each of a pair of pith balls suspended in air from the same point by
strings 0.1 m long if they repel each other to a separation of 0.1 m. Mass of each pith ball
is 100 mg. also calculate the tension in the string.
6. Four-point charges qA = 2 μC, qB = –5 μC, qC = 2 μC, and qD = –5 μC are located at the
corners of a square ABCD of side 10 cm. What is the force on a charge of 1 μC placed at
the centre of the square?