Electrostatics

Force between two charges:

q1 q 2 kq1 q2
F= =
4πϵ0 ϵr d2 d2
If cgs units: F is in dynes, q is in stat coulombs, d is in centimeter and k = 1. Note that 1 coulomb
is equal to 3 × 109 stat coulombs.

Potential or Voltage from the location of charged body:

Q
V=
4πϵ0 ϵr d
Electric Field Intensity:
Q
E=
4πϵ0 ϵr d2
Electric field of isolated sphere in free space:
Q
E=
4πϵ0 d2
Electric field (per unit length) of isolated charged long cylindrical wire in free space:
Δ
E=
2πϵ0 d
Electric Flux Density:
flux
D = ϵE =
A
Capacitance:
Q = CV
Material Capacitance

Parallel-Plate Capacitor ϵA kA
C= =
d d

N-parallel plate capacitor ϵA

C= (n − 1)
d
 N-parallel plate w/ different dielectric constant ϵ0 A
C=
d1 d2
ϵ1 + ϵ2 + ⋯

Two-parallel plate capacitor with medium partly air ϵ0 A

C= t
d − (t − ϵ )
r

Isolated Sphere C = 4πϵd

Concentric Sphere (negative outside charge) r1 r2

C = 4πϵ ( )
r2 − r1

Concentric Sphere (positive outside charge) r22

C = 4πϵ ( )
r2 − r1

Coaxial Cable 2πϵ

C= r
ln (r2 )
1

Two-wire line with opposite charge πϵ

C=
D D 2
ln [2r + √(2r) − 1]

Energy:
1
W = CV 2
2
Elastance – reciprocal of capacitance.
Force:
Q2
F=
2Aϵ
 Magnetic Circuits

Force on a conductor:

F = Il⃗ × B
⃗⃗
Force between two straight wires:
μ0 I1 I2 l
F=
2πd
Magnetomotive force:
mmf = τ = NI (for metric units: Ampere-turns)
mmf = τ = 0.4πNI (cgs units: Gilbert)
Magnetic flux:
ϕ = BA
Magnetic field intensity:
B τ
H= =
μ l
Magnetic field on infinitely long wire:
I
H=
2πr
Reluctance:
l τ
R= =
μA ϕ
Energy Stored:
1 2 1 β2
W = Rϕ = (lA) ( )
2 2 μ
Heat energy due to hysteresis loss:
W = k h β1.6 fV
Heat energy due to eddy current loss:
W = k e β2 f 2 t 2
 Electromagnetic Induction

Flux linkage:
linkage = ϕN
Induced emf:
dϕ di
e=N =L
dt dt
Induced emf in a short wire:
ϕ
e = Bl⃗ × v
⃗⃗ =
t
Self-inductance:
dϕ N 2 μN 2 A
L=N = =
di R L
Inductance of coaxial cable:
μ r2
L= ln ( )
2π r1
Inductance of two long parallel cylindrical conductors:
μ D
L= ln ( )
π √r1 r2
Series and parallel inductors – same property as DC circuits (assuming no mutual induction)
Mutual induction:
N1 N2 μN1 N2 A
M = k√L1 L2 = =
R l
Coefficient of coupling:
ϕ12
k=
ϕ1
Series coils with mutual inductance
LT = L1 + L2 + 2M; for series aiding
LT = L1 + L2 − 2M; for series opposing
Parallel coils with mutual inductance
L1 L2 − M 2
LT = ; for parallel aiding
L1 + L2 − 2M
L1 L2 − M 2
LT = ; for parallel opposing
L1 + L2 + 2M
Energy stored:
1
W = LI 2
2
 Sample Problems

1. Two electrons in a vacuum experience a force of 2 x 10^-15 N. How far apart are the electrons?
[3.39 x 10^-(7) m]
2. The electric potential at a point in air due to a change is 21 V. If air is replaced by a medium of
relative permittivity of 3, then the electric potential at that point will be: [7V]
3. Two previously uncharged capacitors are connected in series and then charged with a 12 v source.
One capacitor is 30 μF and the other is unknown. If the voltage across the 30 μF capacitor is 8v,
find the capacitance of the unknown capacitor. [60 uF]
4. An isolated capacitor of unknown capacitance has been charged to a potential difference of 100v,
when charged capacitor is then connected parallel to an uncharged 10 microfarad capacitor, the
potential difference is 30 v. Find the unknown capacitance in microfarads. [4.29]
5. A capacitor charged with 10,000 microcoulombs. If the energy stored is 1 joule, find the
capacitance in microfarads? [50]
6. What is the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor having rectangular plates 10 cm by 20 cm
separated by a distance of 0.1 mm? The dielectric is air. [1.77 nF]
7. Four 3-pC charges are at the corners of a 1m square. The two charges on the left side of the square
are positive. The two charges on the right side are negative. What is the field E (mv/m) at the
center of the square when Er = 1? [153.5 mV/m]
8. Two point charges 10 cm apart exerts a force of 1 x 10^-3 gram on each other. If the charges are
of the same value, what is each charge in stat coulomb? [9.9 statcoloumb]
9. An iron ring 100 cm mean circumference is made from a round iron of cross-section 10^-3 m^2.
Its relative permeability is 500. If it is wound with 250 turns. What current will be required to
produce a flux of 2 x 10^-3 Wb? [12.73 A]
10. Two coils of inductance 8 H and 10 H are connected in parallel. If their mutual inductance is 4H,
determine the equivalent inductance of the combination if mutual inductance assist the self-
inductance. [6.4 H]
11. What is the force between two wires carrying currents 10 and 50 amperes each? The lengths of
the wires are 50 cm and are separated by 5 cm distance. [0.001 N]
12. The current in an inductor is given by I = 5 +16t amperes. The self-induced emf in it is 10 mV.
Find the energy stored in the inductor at t = 1 second. [137.8 mJ]
13. A wire of length 1m carries a current of 10 A perpendicular to a field of flux density 0.5T.
Determine the magnitude of the force on the wire. [5 N]
14. A piece of conductor 10 cm long moves across a magnetic field of 10,000 gauss at a velocity of
120 cm/sec. What voltage appears across the conductor? [0.12 V]
15. When one coil of a magnetically coupled pair has a current of 5 A, the resulting fluxes ϕ11 and
ϕ12 are 0.4 mWb and 0.8 mWb respectively. If the turns are N1 = 500 and N2 = 1500, find L2.
[1080 mH]
16. A charged capacitor and an inductor are connected in series. At time t = 0 the current is zero, but
the capacitor is charged. If T is the period of the resulting oscillations, the next time after t = 0
that the current is a maximum is: [T/4]
17. A capacitor in an LC oscillator has a maximum potential difference of 15V and a maximum energy
of 360 μJ. At a certain instant the energy in the capacitor is 40 μJ. At that instant what is the
potential difference across the capacitor? [5 V]
18. The total energy in an LC circuit is 5.0 × 10−6 J. If L = 25mH the maximum current is: [20 mA]
19. A charged capacitor and an inductor are connected in series. At time t = 0 the current is zero, but
the capacitor is charged. If T is the period of the resulting oscillations, the next time after t = 0
that the voltage across the inductor is a maximum is: [T/2]
20. A charged capacitor and an inductor are connected in series. At time t = 0 the current is zero, but
the capacitor is charged. If T is the period of the resulting oscillations, the next time after t = 0
that the energy stored in the magnetic field of the inductor is a maximum is: [T/4]
21. We desire to make an LC circuit that oscillates at 100 Hz using an inductance of 2.5H. We also
need a capacitance of: [1.01 uF]
22. Suppose this page is perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field and the magnetic flux through it is
5Wb. If the page is turned by 30◦ around an edge the flux through it will be: [4.3 Wb]
23. A 2-T uniform magnetic field makes an angle of 30◦ with the z axis. The magnetic flux through a
3 m^2 portion of the xy-plane is: [5.2 Wb]
24. The units of capacitance are equivalent to: [(C^2)/J]
25. Suitable units for μ0 are: [Tesla-Meter/Ampere]
26. A charged capacitor and an inductor are connected in series. At time t = 0 the current is zero, but
the capacitor is charged. If T is the period of the resulting oscillations, the next time after t = 0
that charge in capacitor is a maximum is: [T/2]
27. A capacitor in an LC oscillator has a maximum potential difference of 15V and a maximum energy
of 360 μJ. At a certain instant the energy in the capacitor is 40 μJ. At that instant what is the
potential difference across the inductor? [10 V]
28. In an oscillating LC circuit, the total stored energy is U and the maximum charge on the capacitor
is Q. When the charge on the capacitor is Q/2, the energy stored in the inductor is: [3U/4]
29. In an oscillating LC circuit, the total stored energy is U. The maximum energy stored in the
capacitor during one cycle is: [U]
30. An LC circuit has a capacitance of 30 μF and an inductance of 15mH. At time t = 0 the charge
on the capacitor is 10 μC and the current is 20mA. The maximum charge on the capacitor (in
microcoulombs) is: [17 uC]