Physics

Project file
Electric field

Edition
2022-23

Aditya Mishra 12 th B
 S.G.M. INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

NAME- Aditya Mishra

CLASS-XIIth B
ROLL NO.-12042
SUBJECT-PHYSICS
TOPIC- ELECTRIC FIELD
SUBMITTED TO- SANDEEP SIR
 Aditya Mishra

physics
Electric field of electrostats
with
Mr.Sandeep sir
Adityta Mishra 12thA

Electric field

Sandeep sir

sir Sandeep Pathak

Chapter 2 Electric

Fields

2.1 The Important Stuff

2.1.1 The Electric Field
Suppose we have a point charge q0 located at r and a set of external charges conspire so as to
exert a force F on this charge. We can define the electric field at the point r by:
F
E = (2.1)
q0

The (vector) value of the E field depends only on the values and locations of the external
charges, because from Coulomb’s law the force on any “test charge” q 0 is proportional to the
value of the charge. However to make this definition really kosher we have to stipulate that the
test charge q0 is “small”; otherwise its presence will significantly influence the locations of the
external charges.
Turning Eq. 2.1 around, we can say that if the electric field at some point r has the value E
then a small charge placed at r will experience a force

F = q0E (2.2)

The electric field is a vector. From Eq. 2.1 we can see that its SI units must be CN.
It follows from Coulomb’s law that the electric field at point r due to a charge q located at
the origin is given by q
E = k r2ˆr (2.3)

where ˆr is the unit vector which points in the same direction as r.

2.1.2 Electric Fields from Particular Charge Distributions

• Electric Dipole

An electric dipole is a pair of charges of opposite sign (±q) separated by a distance d which is
usually meant to be small compared to the distance from the charges at which we

17
18 CHAPTER 2. ELECTRIC FIELDS
 E
E

r r

q q
(a) (b)

Figure 2.1: The E field due to a point charge q. (a) If the charge q is positive, the E field at some point thea
distanceE field has magnituder away has magnitudek|q|/r 2kand points|q|/r2 and pointstoward awaythe charge.from
the charge. (b) If the charge q is negative,

want to find the electric field. The product qd turns out to be important; the vector which
points from the −q charge to the +q charge and has magnitude qd is known as the electric
dipole moment for the pair, and is denoted p.
Suppose we form an electric dipole by placing a charge +q at (0, 0, d/2) and a charge −q at
(0, 0, −d/2). (So the dipole moment p has magnitude p = qd and points in the +k direction.) One
can show that when z is much larger than d, the electric field for points on the z axis is
1 p 2qd
Ez = 2π z3 = k z3 (2.4)
0

• “Line” of Charge

A linear charge distribution is characterized by its charger per unit length. Linear charge
density is usually given the symbol λ; for an arclength ds of the distribution, the electric charge
is
dq = λds

For a ring of charge with radius R and total charge q, for a point on the axis of the ring a
distance z from the center, the magnitude of the electric field (which points along the z axis) is
qz
=
E 4π0(z2 + r2)3/2 (2.5)

• Charged Disk & Infinite Sheet

A two-dimensional (surface) distribution of charge is characterized by its charge per unit

area. Surface charge density is usually given the symbol σ; for an area element dA of the
distribution, the electric charge is
dq = σdA
 For a disk or radius R and uniform charge density σ on its surface, for a point on the axis of
the disk at a distance z away from the center, the magnitude of the electric field (which points
along the z axis) is

E ! (2.6)
2.2. WORKED EXAMPLES 19

The limit R −→ ∞ of Eq. 2.6 gives the magnitude of the E field at a distance z from an infinite
sheet of charge with charge density σ. The result is
σ
E= (2.7)
20

2.1.3 Forces on Charges in Electric Fields

An isolated charge q in an electric field experiences a force F = qE. We note that when q is
positive the force points in the same direction as the field, but when q is negative, the force is
opposite the field direction!
The potential energy of a point charge in an E field will be discussed at great length in
chapter 4!
When an electric dipole p is place in a uniform E field, it experiences no net force, but it does
experience a torque. The torque is given by:

τ=p×E (2.8)

The potential energy of a dipole also depends on its orientation, and is given by:

U = −p · E (2.9)

2.1.4 Electric Field Lines

Oftentimes it is useful for us to get an overall visual picture of the electric field due to a
particular distribution of charge. It is useful make a plot where the little arrows representing the
direction of the electric field at each point are joined together, forming continuous (directed)
“lines”. These are the electric field lines for the charge distribution.
Such a plot will tell us the basic direction of the electricfield at all points in space (though we
do lose information about the magnitude of the field when we join the arrows). One can show
that:
• Electric field lines originate on positive charges (they point away from the positive
charge) and end on negative charges (they point toward the negative charge).
• Field lines cannot cross one another.
 Whereas a diagram of field lines can contain as many lines as you please, for an accurate
representation of the field the number of lines originating from a charge should be proportional
to the charge.

2.2 Worked Examples

2.2.1 The Electric Field

.
An electric field (sometimes E-field[1]) is the
physical field that surrounds electrically
charged particles and exerts force on all other
charged particles in the field, either attracting
or repelling them.[2] It also refers to the physical
field for a system of charged particles.[3]
Electric fields originate from electric charges
and time-varying electric currents. Electric
fields and magnetic fields are both
manifestations of the electromagnetic field, one
of the four fundamental interactions (also called
forces) of nature.
Electric fields are important in many areas of
physics, and are exploited in electrical
technology. In atomic physics and chemistry,
for instance, the electric field is the attractive
force holding the atomic nucleus and
electrons together in atoms. It is also the
force responsible for chemical bonding
between atoms that result in molecules.
The electric field is defined as a vector field that
associates to each point in space the
(electrostatic or Coulomb) force per unit of
charge exerted on an infinitesimal positive test
charge at rest at that point.[4][5][6] The derived SI
unit for the electric field is the volt per meter
(V/m), which is equal to the newton per coulomb
(N/C).[7
.
Electric field

Effects of an electric field. The girl is touching

an electrostatic generator, which charges her
body with a high voltage. Her hair, which is
charged with the same polarity, is repelled by the
electric field of her head and stands out from her
head.

Common symbols
E

SI unit volt per meter (V/m)

 In SI base units m kg s−3 A−1

The electric field is defined at each point in

space as the force per unit charge that would be
experienced by a vanishingly small positive test
charge if held stationary at that point.[8]: 469–70  As
the electric field is defined in terms of force, and
force is a vector (i.e. having both magnitude and
direction), it follows
that an electric field is a vector field.[8]: 469–
70 
Fields that may be defined in this manner are
sometimes referred to as force fields. The
electric field acts between two charges similarly
to the way the gravitational field acts between
two masses, as they both obey an
inversesquare law with distance.[9] This is the
basis for Coulomb's law, which states that, for
stationary charges, the electric field varies with
the source charge and varies inversely with the
square of the distance from the source. This
means that if the source charge were doubled,
the electric field would double, and if you move
twice as far away from the source, the field at
that point would be only one-quarter its original
strength.
The electric field can be visualized with a set
of lines whose direction at each point is the
same as the field's, a concept introduced by
Michael Faraday,[10] whose term 'lines of
force' is still sometimes used. This
illustration has the useful property that the
field's strength is proportional to the density
of the lines.[11] The field lines are the paths
that a point positive charge would follow as
it is forced to move within the field, similar to
trajectories that masses follow within a
gravitational field. Field lines due to
stationary charges have several important
properties, including always originating from
positive charges and terminating at negative
charges, they enter all good conductors at
right angles, and they never cross or close
in on themselves.[8]: 479  The field lines are a
representative concept; the field actually
permeates all the intervening space
between the lines. More or fewer lines may
be drawn depending on the precision to
which it is desired to represent the field.[10]
The study of electric fields created by
stationary charges is called electrostatics.
Faraday's law describes the relationship
between a time-varying magnetic field and the
electric field. One way of stating Faraday's law
is that the curl of the electric field is equal to the
negative time derivative of the magnetic
field.[12]: 327  In the absence of time-varying
magnetic field, the electric field is therefore
called conservative (i.e. curl-free).
Application of electric field

Electric Field Assisted Combustion
In this section, an overview of electric field
(efield) assisted combustion is given, which is
limited to potential applications of burners in
energy and process engineering. Applications
for aerospace engines or new automotive IC
engine combustion concepts (e.g., plasma
ignition for usage of distributed ignition control
in HCCI-engines (homogeneous charge-
compression ignition) can be found e.g., in the
review of Starikovskiy and Aleksandrov [4].
 Basically, the interactions between electric
fields and flames have been known for a long
time [15]. These interactions are based on the
existence of charge carriers produced by the
chemi-ionization in the reaction zone of
hydrocarbon flames [16], which is indicated in
Figure 2. In this schematic, a positively charged
mesh electrode is placed above a
onedimensional premixed “flat” flame.

Without an external electric field, flames are

usually electrically neutral. The charge carriers
recombine downstream the reaction zone.
However, after application of electric fields, the
charge carriers are separated and an electric
current will flow between the electrodes
depending on the applied voltage. If the burner
acts as the cathode, then the positive ions are
accelerated towards the burner. The negative
ions and electrons move downstream towards
the anode. The charge carrier density in the
flame front of premixed hydrocarbon-air flames
is approximately 109–1010 cm−3 (depending on
the flame stoichiometry and boundary
conditions) without an external ionization source
[16,17,18]. Further details about the electrical
structure of flames can be found in Refs. [19]
and [20]. No appreciable ionization occurs if the
electric field strength is below the gas
breakdown threshold value [4]. Stronger
discharge in electric-field assisted combustion,
such as nanosecond discharge, microwave
discharge, dielectric barrier discharge, and
gliding arc, etc. can modify the chemical
reaction route, which could affect the flame
structure as well.
For relatively weak electric fields (or a low
reduced field strength E/n), mainly the ions
generated in the flame front are accelerated in
the electric field. This leads to a momentum
transfer between the positively charged ions
and the neutral gas molecules. These collisions
are responsible for flame modifications due to
the induced hydrodynamic backpressure [16].
These forces are known as “ionic wind” or
“electrically driven convection” (see e.g., [6]).
Electrons play a minor role in momentum
transfer in the flame front because of their low
mass. Similarly, the effect of negative ions is
relatively low due to their lower concentration.
Because of collisions between ions and fresh
gas molecules, a shift of the flame front
appears.
The ionic wind is mainly used for flame
stabilization and minimization of pollutant
emissions. Furthermore, the ionic wind can be
used to affect the flame–wall interaction. This is
useful to avoid flame quenching at the wall or
for controlling the heat transfer from the flame
to the wall, which is discussed in [21]. Usually, a
charged electrode and a grounded burner are
utilized for generation of an electric field that is
arranged longitudinally to the flame (see a
schematic in Figure 3). In case of a positively
charged electrode, the flame front is slightly
pushed back to the burner. This causes the
electric field enhanced combustion that is
reported in Section 2.1 (flame stabilization) and
Section 2.2 (pollutant minimization).

Environmental Applications
Ozone generation and electrostatic
precipitation (ESP) are the most important
industrial applications of atmospheric pressure
non-thermal plasma (NTP) in environmental
remediation [1,9]. However, still significant
research efforts are necessary for improving the
efficiency of these processes. ESP is the device
of choice for controlling particle emissions of
many industrial applications. Ozone (O3) is
applied as a disinfectant and oxidant for water
treatment, but it also plays a major role for
plasma oxidation of NO [57] and particulate
matter (PM) [58]. NTPs were utilized for
treatment of volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) as well as short- and long-chained
hydrocarbons [59,60]. Thus, NTPs are
promising for exhaust gas treatment for
automotive and industrial applications.
Furthermore, they are applied for conversion of
carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and
syngas (consisting primarily of hydrogen (H2),
carbon monoxide (CO), and some CO2) into
hydrocarbons [61,62]. Thermal plasmas have
also been used for plasma gasification, which is
already applied in industry, e.g., for waste
treatment [63]. Potential future technologies
could include plasma sterilization and
decontamination of surfaces and liquids
including applications in food industry and for
wastewater processing.
Flue gas of technical burners, gas turbines,
and IC engines contain a variety of pollutants
due to incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons.
This means that the ideal state of the
thermodynamic equilibrium cannot be reached
because of too short combustion times, the lack
of mixture homogeneity and rapid variation in
the temperature field. Especially, diesel engines
are used widely for power generation in industry
with nitric oxides being the main pollutant. The
exhaust gas is far leaner than that of gasoline
engines and contains far less unburned
hydrocarbon and CO. Furthermore, also PM
emissions are more problematic for diesel
engines compared to conventional spark-
ignition gasoline engines (mainly equipped with
port-fuel injection systems for homogeneous
mixture formation). However, Direct-Injection
Spark-Ignition engines (DISI, sometimes also
termed GDI, Gasoline Direct Injection) may
show high PM emissions as well, especially
during cold-start of the engine and other
operating points with very late injection leading
to local fuel-rich mixture and/or wall wetting
[64,65]. Additionally, during combustion of solid
fuels such as biomass, coal and waste further
pollutants such as ash, SO2, dioxin, furans, and
Hg0, etc. are emitted.
 There are many primary measures to reduce
formation of pollutants during combustion (such
as Exhaust Gas Recirculation EGR, high
pressure fuel injection and multiple injections in
IC engines, lean combustion, etc.). Besides
that, several secondary measures have been
applied for NOx removal from flue gases. This
includes Selective Catalytic reduction (SCR),
active lean NOx catalysts, or lean NOx trap
catalysts. For example, SCR is used to convert
NOx into molecular nitrogen, and water, using a
catalyst and ammonia (or “urea”). However,
SCR catalysts need high temperatures of
around 300 °C for activation. There are
additional challenges, e.g., the possibility of
ammonia leakage, catalyst poisoning, and the
need for refilling of urea in automotive
applications, etc.; furthermore, besides diesel
engines, the simultaneous removal of
multipollutants from coal-fired power plants was
forced during the last years. Non-thermal
plasma technologies for flue gas cleaning
perform well on SO2, NOx, and Hg0 removal.
Extensive studies have been carried out and
some examples are provided in the subsequent
section.
Electric potential[edit]
Main article: Electric potential
See also: Helmholtz
decomposition and Conservative vector field
§ Irrotational vector fields
If a system is static, such that magnetic fields
are not time-varying, then by Faraday's law, the
electric field is curl-free. In this case, one can
define an electric potential, that is, a function
such that .[17] This is analogous to the
gravitational potential. The difference between
the electric potential at two points in space is
called the potential difference (or voltage)
between the two points.
In general, however, the electric field cannot be
described independently of the magnetic field.
Given the magnetic vector potential, A, defined
so that , one can still define an electric potential
such that:
where is the gradient of the electric potential and
is the partial derivative of A with respect to time.
Faraday's law of induction can be recovered by
taking the curl of that equation [18] which
justifies, a posteriori, the previous form for E.
Continuous vs. discrete charge
representation[edit] Main
article: Charge density
The equations of electromagnetism are best
described in a continuous description. However,
charges are sometimes best described as
discrete points; for example, some models may
describe electrons as point sources where
charge density is infinite on an infinitesimal
section of space.
A charge located at can be described
mathematically as a charge density , where the
Dirac delta function (in three dimensions) is
used. Conversely, a charge distribution can be
approximated by many small point charges.
Lesson 10: Electric Fields

Just like the force due to gravity, the force due to electric charges can act over great distances.
● Keep in mind that most forces we deal with in everyday life are not like this.
0 We mostly deal with “contact forces”… objects touch each other directly in order to exert a
force on each other.
○ For example, a tennis racket hits a tennis ball
● The idea of even considering forces that could happen without anything touching (“action at a
distance”) was very difficult for early scientists to accept, from Aristotle to Newton.
0 It is necessary though, if you are going to be able to explain a falling ball, or two positive
charges pushing away from each other.

The British scientist Michael Faraday came up with the idea of a field and
applied it to the study of electrostatics.
● A field is sometimes defined as a sphere of influence. An object within
the field will be affected by it.
0 Think of how you talk about countries in social studies... large,
powerful nations can have an influence on nearby countries.
Usually as you get further away from the powerful nation, the
influence they have on other countries decreases.
○ Or think about being near your gym bag after playing a soccer game.
Sitting right next to it the stink is pretty intense (yuck!), but as you
move away the smell isn't quite so bad. Illustration 1: Michael
Faraday
There are two kinds of fields...
1. Scalar Fields: magnitude but no direction
Example 1: Heat field from a fire: If you stand by a campfire, you can measure the
magnitude (temperature) of the field with a thermometer; if you are close to the fire you
will measure a stronger field (higher temperature), but if you move away the field
strength decreases (lower temperature). You would not be saying anything about a
direction, like “25oC South”.

2. Vector Fields: magnitude and direction

Example 2: A gravity field is a measure of the Newtons exerted per kilogram of mass
towards the centre of another mass.

Electric fields are vector fields that exist around any charge (positive or negative).
● If one charge is placed near a second charge, the two fields will “touch” and exert a force on
each other.
0 Note: the field is NOT a force, but it does exert a force! It's just like if you watch a person
pushing a box; we don’t say the person is a force, just that he is exerting a force.
● This meant that physicists had a mathematical way of showing how a force could be transferred
over a distance without anything actually touching.
0 This model is not considered to be complete, but it is good enough for the way we need to
look at things for the time being.
How can we detect and measure the electric field around a charge?

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 ● The easiest way is to place another known charge near by and see how it reacts.
● We do need to be careful since both the charges have their own fields that will interact with
each other, so that would affect your results.
0 Physicists have defined something called a test charge as the mathematically perfect charge
that could be brought near another charge (the source charge) to measure the source
charge's electric field.
■ The test charge is an infinitely small, positive charge. It is a mathematical creation… they
don’t really exist.
■ Since it is infinitely small, it has a super small electrical field of its own, so we will treat it
as having no electric field. This is good, since we don't have to be concerned with its
electric field affecting the results.
■ It is usually given the symbol q, just like any other charge.

Since a test charge is always positive...

● if we see the test charge move towards the source charge, we know that the source charge
must be negative
● if the test charge moves away from the source charge, then the source charge must be
positive.

Example 1: You have a steel ball that has an unknown charge on it (this is your source charge). When
you place a test charge to the right of the source charge, you see the test charge move away, to the
right. Determine if the steel ball is positive or negative.
Since the test charge is positive (like always), it would only be repelled by another positive
object. The source charge (the steel ball) must therefore be positive.

Measuring Electric Fields

According to Coulomb’s Law, the force exerted on the test charge must be directly proportional to its
own charge and the source charge...
Fe α q1 q2
where we assume that q2 is the test charge, which we will rename to simply q...
F e α q1 q
If you divide the force by the charge on the test charge, you get a new formula.

E=

Fe
q
E = electric field (N/C)
F = force (N) q = charge on
test charge (C)
Warning!
There are two very important things to notice about this formula as it appears on the data sheet.
First, the arrow above “E” in the formula shows this is the vector measurement of field;
Without the arrow it is the scalar “energy.” You must write the arrow above “E” in this formula, since you are otherwise
showing it as energy.

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Second, the data sheet does not show “q” as being anything special (like a test charge).
You need to remember that this formula uses the charge of the object testing the field, not making it. More on this idea after
the following example.
Example 2: I place a 3.7 C test charge 2.7m to the right of a -7.94C source charge. If there is an
attractive force of 3.62e10 N acting on the test charge, determine the field strength of the source
charge at that location.
We don’t need the distance to figure this question out. It is important to know that the test
charge is to the right of the other charge, since we need to give a direction.

Fe 3.62e10
⃗E= = =9783783784=9.8e9 N/C [left] q
3.7

The field points left because that’s the direction the test charge is being pulled. By definition,
the direction of an electric field is the direction a positive test charge is pushed or pulled.

E


E

Illustration 2: Direction of electric field near positive and negative

charges.
Super Important Note!
One of the most important things to remember when using this formula is which charge is
used. Do you use the source charge that is creating the field, or the test charge that is placed
nearby to measure the field. The answer, as shown in Example 4, is the test charge. But this
is often something that students forget or mix up. There is a way to remember.

Let's keep in mind that you've already studied fields when you learned about gravity in
Physics 20. We can look at the parallels between the following two formulas to remember
things about each of them.
F E=
g= g
m Fe
q
g = measurement of the E = measurement of the
gravitational field strength electric field strength
Fg = the force acting on the small object Fe = the force acting on the test charge
m = mass of the small object (like a person), q = the charge of the test charge,
not the large object (like the earth) not the source charge making
the electric field
This formula measures the amount of force This formula measures the amount of force
per unit mass. per unit charge.
When you use the formula Fg = mg you (usually) use a small mass that is sitting on or near a
planet that is creating the gravitational field, not the mass of the planet. The charge in the

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 F
formula E= e
is the small test charge sitting near the bigger sourcecharge that is making
q'
the electric field.

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