ELECTRIC FLUX

and
GAUSS’ LAW
 Electric Flux
• Electric flux is the rate of flow
of the electric field through a
given area.
• Electric flux is proportional to
the number of electric field
lines going through a virtual
surface.
• The electric flux passing
through a surface is the
number of electric field
lines that pass through it.
• Because electric field lines
are drawn arbitrarily, we
quantify electric flux like
this: E=EA
• We define A to be a
vector having a
magnitude equal to the
area of the surface, in a
direction normal to the
surface.
• The “amount of surface”
perpendicular to the
electric field is Acos.
• Electric field lines are considered to
originate on positive electric charges
and to terminate on negative
charges.
• Field lines directed into a closed
surface are considered negative;
those directed out of a closed
surface are positive.
• It is a scalar quantity and the end
result can be positive or negative. If
the flux is going from the inside to
the outside, we call that a positive
flux, if it is going from the outside to
the inside, that’s a negative flux.
• Electric flux is proportional to
the total number of electric field
lines going through a surface.
• For simplicity in calculations, it
is often convenient to consider a
surface perpendicular to the flux
lines.
• The total flux can be positive, negative,
or equal to zero. If the same amount of
flux is entering and leaving the surface,
we have zero total flux.
• If more flux is leaving than entering
the surface, then we have positive total
flux. Opposite, if more flux is entering
than leaving the surface, we have
a negative total flux.
• Sample Problem:

Calculate the electric flux through

the rectangle of sides 5 cm and 10
cm kept in the region of a uniform
electric field 100 N/C. The angle θ
is 600. Suppose θ becomes zero, what
is the electric flux?
• Sample Problem:

Given:
Ef = 100 N/C
A=lxw
A = (0.05m)(0.1m) = 0.005m2
θ = 600
Φ= EAcosθ
Solution:
Φ = EAcosθ
Φ = (100 N/C)(0.005m2 )(cos600)
Φ = 0.25 Nm2/C

Φ= EAcosθ
Φ = (100 N/C)(0.005m2 )(cos00)
Φ = 0.5 Nm2/C
• The mathematical
relation between
electric flux and
enclosed charge is
known as Gauss’s
law for the electric
field, one of the
fundamental laws
of electromagnetism.
• In the metre-kilogram-second
system and the International
System of Units (SI) the net flux
of an electric field through any
closed surface is equal to the
enclosed charge, in units
of coulombs, divided by a
constant, called
the permittivity of free space.
• Gauss’s Law says that the
electric flux going through a
closed surface, is the sum of
all charges Q inside that
closed surface, divided by
permittivity of free space E0.
• It was initially formulated by
Carl Friedrich Gauss in the
year 1835 and relates the
electric fields at the points on
a closed surface and the net
charge enclosed by that
surface.
 Gaussian Surface
• A Gaussian Surface is a special surface
over which the Gauss’s Law can be
applied. Any Gaussian surface has to
satisfy the following conditions.
- The shape of the surface may be
irregular but it must be large to enclose the
charge.
- It must be a closed surface.
- The magnitude of the field must be
constant.
In figure (a), the area A1 encloses the charge Q. So
electric flux through this closed surface A1 is Q/ ε
.

But the closed surface A2 contains no charges

inside, so electric flux through A2 is zero.
In figure (b), the net charge inside the cube is 3q and the
total electric flux in the cube is therefore ΦE = 3q/ ε .

The charge -10 q lies outside the cube and it will not
contribute to the total flux through the surface of the
cube.
• Sample Problem:

Determine the electric flux for

a Gaussian surface that
contains 100 million electrons.
• Given:
Q = (1x108 electrons) (1.602x10-19 C)
Q = 1.602x10-11 C
Ɛ = 8.85x10-12 C2/Nm2

• Solution:
Φ = q/ Ɛ
Φ = 1.602x10-11
C / 8.85x10-12 C2/Nm2
Φ = 1.81Nm2 /C
• Sample Problem:

2. A 6nC point charge is located at

the center of a cube of side length
2m. What is the electric flux through
each of the faces of the cube?
• Given:
Q = 6nC = 6x10-9C
S = 2m
• Solution:
By Gauss' Law, the total flux coming out of the cube is:
Φ = q/ Ɛ
Φ = 6x10-9C / 8.85x10-12 C2/Nm2
Φ = 677.97 Nm2/C
By symmetry, this flux must be evenly split between the six
faces. Therefore, the flux through each
face is:
Φ = 1/6(678Nm2/C)
Φ = 133Nm2/C