Chapter 1 - Electric Charge

Electric Charge
and Electric Field

Dr. Tahani Al Qahtani
University Physics with Modern Physics (Thirteenth Edition), Hugh D. Young, Roger A. Freedman
Outlines
▪ Electric Charge
▪ Insulators and Conductors
▪ Coulomb’s Law
▪ The Electric Field
▪ Electric Field Lines
2
By Dr. Tahani Al Qahtani
Electric Charge
Interaction between plastic

rods rubbed on fur.
Negatively charged objects
repel each other.
3
Electric Charge
Interaction between glass

rods rubbed on silk.
Positively charged objects
repel each other.
4
Electric Charge
Interaction between objects

with opposite charges.
Positively charged objects and
negatively charged objects
attract each other.
5
Electric Charge and the
Structure of Matter
The structure of atoms can be

described in terms of three
particles:
▪ The negatively charged electron,
▪ The positively charged proton,
▪ The uncharged neutron
6
Electric Charge
Generally, the atoms have neutral charge
net electric charge = 0
If an atom gains electrons,

negative ion
it becomes negatively charged.
If an atom loses electrons,

positive ion
it becomes positively charged.
7 Ionization
Ex: Lithium atom
8
Electric charge
is the most important property of the
protons and the electrons.
Charge of an electron = - 1.6 x 10-19 C

Charge of a proton = + 1.6 x 10-19 C
The number of electrons in one Coulomb of charge = 6.24 x1018 electrons
9
In any charging process, charge is
not created or destroyed; it is
merely transferred from one body
to another.
10
Law of conservation of electric charge
You can’t create a net electric charge, instead charge can only
move from one place to another.
Electric Charge Is Conserved
1. The algebraic sum of all the 2. The magnitude of charge of

electric charges in any closed the electron or proton is a
system is constant. natural unit of charge.
The total electric charge does Charge is quantized.
not change.
11
Conductors and Insulators
12
Conductors and Insulators
Electric charge has been transferred

through the copper wire between
the ball and the surface of the rod.
13
Induced Charges
14
Induced Charges
Charging by Induction
15
Electric Forces on Uncharged Objects
Charged body can exert forces even on objects that are not charged themselves.
16 This interaction is an induced-charge effect. This effect called polarization.

Coulomb’s Law
Coulomb’s Law was essential to

the development of the theory
of electromagnetism.
Charles Augustin de Coulomb
17
Coulomb’s Law
The magnitude of the electric
force between two point
charges is directly proportional
to the product of the charges
and inversely proportional to
the square of the distance
between them.
18
Coulomb’s Law
The absolute value bars are used because the charges Q1 and Q2
can be either positive or negative, while the force magnitude is
19 always positive. By Dr. Tahani Al Qahtani
Coulomb’s Law
Distance between the charges
When the distance between objects doubles, the
force between them reduces to a quarter of the
original value.
20
Coulomb’s Law
Electric Constants
ε0 is permittivity of free space.

ε0 = 8.85 x 10-12 C2/N.m2
21
Coulomb’s Law
 The force between two like point charges is repulsive, and between two
unlike point charges is attractive;
 The force direction is determined by the line that passes through both
charges;
 The magnitude of the force is directly proportional to the product of the

two charges, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between the charges.
22
Superposition Principle
If there are multiple point charges, we can calculate the force of the
two charges that acts on the third charge.
For all linear forces the total force is a vector sum of individual
forces.
23
Example 1:
Find the magnitude of the electric force between a electron and a
proton at a distance of r= 5.29 x 10 -11 m.
24
Example 2:
What is the net electric force acting on q1?
q1 = + 200 μC q2 = + 100 μC q3 = - 50 μC
+ 4m
+ 2m
-
25
Electric Field
What is an Electric Field?
It is a region of space affected by a charge

nearby.
The strength of the electric field is a vector

quantity, having a magnitude and a direction.
The direction of the electric field always

directed from positive charge to negative
charge
26 Michael Faraday By Dr. Tahani Al Qahtani
SI units: N/C
27
Electric Field of a Point Charge
28
Using a unit vector we can write a vector equation that gives both the
magnitude and direction of the electric field:
unit vector is equal to the displacement vector from the

source point to the field point, divided by the distance
between these two points.
29
The field produced by a positive The field produced by a

point charge points away from negative point charge points
the charge. toward the charge.
1
30 The field strength decreases with increasing distance. E α
𝑟2 By Dr. Tahani Al Qahtani
Electric-Field Calculations
Electric fields caused by various distributions of electric charge
The Superposition of Electric Fields
The total electric field at a

point is the vector sum of the
fields at P due to all the
charges present
31
The Superposition of Electric Fields
For a line charge distribution → we use λ to represent the linear charge

density (C/m)
When charge is distributed over a surface → we use σ to represent the

surface charge density (C/m2).
When charge is distributed through a volume → we use ρ to represent the

volume charge density (C/m3).
32
Example 3:
What is the net electric field at point a due to charges q1 and q2?
q1 = 5 μC q2 = 10 μC E=?
+ + a
1m 1m
33
Example 4:
What is the net electric field at point a due to charges q1 and q2?
q1 = 40 μC E=?
+ a
3m
2m
+ q2 = 30 μC
34
Electric Field Lines
An electric field line is an imaginary Single positive charge
line or curve drawn through a
region of space so that its tangent
at any point is in the direction of
the electric-field vector at that
point.
35
Electric Field Lines
Two equal and opposite charges Two equal positive charges
36
Properties of Electric Field Lines
1. The lines always begin on positive charges and end on

negative charges.
2. The field lines must be tangent to the direction of the

field at any point.
3. The closeness of the lines indicates the strength of the

field.
4. The lines never cross. A charge cannot go in two

directions at the same time.
37
Electric Dipoles
An electric dipole is a pair of point charges with equal magnitude and opposite
sign (a positive charge q and a negative charge -q) separated by a distance d.
The electric dipole moment for a pair of opposite charges of magnitude q is

defined as the magnitude of the charge times the distance between them and the
defined direction is toward the positive charge p = qd
38
Force and Torque on an Electric Dipole
The net force on an electric dipole in a

uniform external electric field is zero.
F=0
However, the two forces don’t act along

the same line, so their torques don’t add
to zero.
Magnitude of electric dipole moment

p = qd
39
Exercises
▪ 21.14 page 717

▪ 21.15 page 717
▪ 21.26 page 718
▪ 21.31 page 718
▪ 21.50 page 719
▪ 21.57 page 720
University Physics with Modern Physics (Thirteenth Edition), Hugh D. Young,

40 Roger A. Freedman

Chapter 1 - Electric Charge

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Chapter 1 - Electric Charge

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Electric Charge

and Electric Field

Interaction between plastic

Interaction between glass

Interaction between objects

The structure of atoms can be

net electric charge = 0

If an atom gains electrons,

If an atom loses electrons,

Charge of an electron = - 1.6 x 10-19 C

Electric Charge Is Conserved

1. The algebraic sum of all the 2. The magnitude of charge of

Electric charge has been transferred

16 This interaction is an induced-charge effect. This effect called polarization.

Coulomb’s Law was essential to

Charles Augustin de Coulomb

ε0 is permittivity of free space.

 The magnitude of the force is directly proportional to the product of the

What is an Electric Field?

It is a region of space affected by a charge

The strength of the electric field is a vector

The direction of the electric field always

unit vector is equal to the displacement vector from the

The field produced by a positive The field produced by a

Electric fields caused by various distributions of electric charge

The Superposition of Electric Fields

The total electric field at a

For a line charge distribution → we use λ to represent the linear charge

When charge is distributed over a surface → we use σ to represent the

When charge is distributed through a volume → we use ρ to represent the

Two equal and opposite charges Two equal positive charges

1. The lines always begin on positive charges and end on

2. The field lines must be tangent to the direction of the

3. The closeness of the lines indicates the strength of the

4. The lines never cross. A charge cannot go in two

The electric dipole moment for a pair of opposite charges of magnitude q is

The net force on an electric dipole in a

However, the two forces don’t act along

Magnitude of electric dipole moment

▪ 21.14 page 717

University Physics with Modern Physics (Thirteenth Edition), Hugh D. Young,

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