Lesson 2: Gauss’ Law

3.8 Electric Flux

 Consider an electric field that is uniform in both magnitude and direction
as shown in Figure 18. The field lines penetrate a rectangular surface of
area whose plane is oriented perpendicular to the field. Recall that the
number of lines per unit area (in other words, the line density) is
proportional to the magnitude of the electric field. Therefore, the total
number of lines penetrating the surface is proportional to the product EA.
This product of the magnitude of the electric field and surface area
perpendicular to the field is called the electric flux Φ
𝚽𝑬 𝑬𝑨 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑. 𝟔

Figure 18 Field lines representing a uniform electric field penetrating a plane of

area perpendicular to the field.

 Electric flux is proportional to the number of electric field lines penetrating

some surface.
 If the surface under consideration is not perpendicular to the field, the flux
through it must be less than that given by Equation 3.6.

Example 3.9
What is the electric flux through a sphere that has a radius of 1.00 m and
carries a charge of +1.00 μC at its center?
Solution 3.9
𝒒 𝒎𝟐 𝟏𝝁𝑪
𝑬 𝒌𝒆 𝟐 𝟖. 𝟗𝟗 𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝑵 ∙ 𝟐 𝟖𝟗𝟗𝟎 𝑵/𝑪
𝒓 𝑪 𝟏𝒎 𝟐
 𝑵
𝚽𝑬 𝑬𝑨 𝟖𝟗𝟗𝟎 𝟒𝝅𝟏𝟐 𝟏𝟏𝟐. 𝟗𝟕 𝒌𝑵 ∙ 𝒎𝟐 /𝑪
𝑪

Figure 18 Field lines representing a uniform electric field penetrating an area A

whose normal is at an angle θ to the field.

 As shown in Figure 18 the flux through A equals the flux through A┴, the
flux through A is
𝚽𝑬 𝑬𝑨 𝑬𝑨 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑. 𝟕
 From this result, we see that the flux through a surface of fixed area A has
a maximum value EA when the surface is perpendicular to the field that
is, when θ; the flux is zero when the surface is parallel to the field (when
the normal to the surface is perpendicular to the field, that is, when θ).
Figure 19 A small element of surface area ΔAi. The electric field makes an angle
θi with the vector ΔAi

 The electric flux ΔΦE through this element is

∆𝚽𝑬 𝑬𝒊 𝚫𝑨𝒊 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽𝒊 𝑬𝒊 ∙ 𝚫𝑨𝒊 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑. 𝟖

 where we have used the definition of the scalar product (or dot
product) where 𝐴 ∙ 𝐵 𝐴𝐵 cos 𝜃

 By summing the contributions of all elements, we obtain the total flux

through the surface. If we let the area of each element approach zero, then
the number of elements approaches infinity and the sum is replaced by an
 integral. Therefore, the general definition of electric flux is

𝚽𝑬 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝑬𝒊 ∙ ∆𝑨𝒊 𝑬 ∙ 𝒅𝑨 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑. 𝟗

∆𝑨𝒊 →𝟎
𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆
Equation 3.9 is a surface integral, which means it must be evaluated
over the surface in question.

Example 3.10
Consider a uniform electric field E oriented in the x direction. Find the net
electric flux through the surface of a cube of edge length l, oriented as
shown in Figure 20.
 Figure 20

Solution 3.10
The net flux is the sum of the fluxes through all faces of the cube. First,
note that the flux through four of the faces (3, 4 and the unnumbered
ones) is zero because E is perpendicular to dA on these faces.

The net flux through faces 1 and 2 is

𝚽𝑬 𝑬 ∙ 𝒅𝑨 𝑬 ∙ 𝒅𝑨
𝟏 𝟐
For face 1, E is constant and directed inward but dA1 is directed outward
(θ = 180°); thus, the flux through this face is

𝑬 ∙ 𝒅𝑨 𝑬 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟏𝟖𝟎 𝒅𝑨 𝑬 𝒅𝑨 𝑬𝑨 𝑬𝒍𝟐

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
because the area of each face is A = l2.
For face 2, E is constant and outward but in the same direction as dA2 (θ
= 0°); thus, the flux through this face is

𝑬 ∙ 𝒅𝑨 𝑬 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟎 𝒅𝑨 𝑬 𝒅𝑨 𝑬𝑨 𝑬𝒍𝟐
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
Therefore, the net flux over all six faces is
𝚽𝑬 𝑬𝒍𝟐 𝑬𝒍𝟐 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎

3.9 Gauss’s Law

 In this section, we describe a general relationship between the net electric
flux through a closed surface (often called a gaussian surface) and the
 charge enclosed by the surface. This relationship, known as Gauss’s law,
is of fundamental importance in the study of electric fields.
 Consider a positive point charge q located at the center of a sphere of
radius r as shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21 A spherical gaussian surface of radius r surrounding a positive point

charge q.

 The field lines are directed radially outward and hence are perpendicular
to the surface at every point on the surface. Therefore,
𝑬⃗ ∙ ∆𝑨⃗𝒊 𝑬∆𝑨𝒊

the net flux through the gaussian surface is

𝚽𝑬 𝑬⃗ ∙ 𝒅𝑨⃗ 𝑬𝒅𝑨 𝑬 𝒅𝑨 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑. 𝟏𝟎

 The net flux through the gaussian surface is

𝒒
𝚽𝑬 𝒌𝒆 𝟐 𝟒𝝅𝒓𝟐 𝟒𝝅𝒌𝒆 𝒒 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑. 𝟏𝟏
𝒓
 Which can be written in the form
𝒒
𝚽𝑬
∈𝟎
  The net flux through any closed surface surrounding a point charge q is
given by q/ε0 and is independent of the shape of that surface.
 The net electric flux through a closed surface that surrounds no charge is
zero.
 The electric field due to many charges is the vector sum of the electric
fields produced by the individual charges.
 Gauss’s law states that the net flux through any closed surface is
𝒒𝒊𝒏
𝚽𝑬 𝑬 ∙ 𝒅𝑨
∈𝟎

where qin represents the net charge inside the surface and E
represents the electric field at any point on the surface.
 In principle, Gauss’s law can be solved for E to determine the electric field
due to a system of charges or a continuous distribution of charge.
 In practice, however, this type of solution is applicable only in a limited
number of highly symmetric situations.

3.10 Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium

 When there is no net motion of charge within a conductor, the conductor
is in electrostatic equilibrium.
 A conductor in electrostatic equilibrium has the following properties:
o The electric field is zero everywhere inside the conductor.
o If an isolated conductor carries a charge, the charge resides on its
surface.
o The electric field just outside a charged conductor is perpendicular
to the surface of the conductor and has a magnitude σ/ε0, where σ
is the surface charge density at that point.
o On an irregularly shaped conductor, the surface charge density is
greatest at locations where the radius of curvature of the surface is
smallest.

3.11 Summary
 Electric charges have the following important properties:
o Charges of opposite sign attract one another, and charges of the
same sign repel one another.
o The total charge in an isolated system is conserved.
o Charge is quantized.
 Conductors are materials in which electrons move freely.
 Insulators are materials in which electrons do not move freely.
 The electric field due to a group of point charges can be obtained by using
the superposition principle.
 Electric flux is proportional to the number of electric field lines that
penetrate a surface.
 Gauss’s law says that the net electric flux ΦE through any closed gaussian
surface is equal to the net charge qin inside the surface divided by ε0.
 Using Gauss’s law, you can calculate the electric field due to various
symmetric charge distributions.