Electrodynamics (18PHY303)

Lecture # 3- Electrostatics - III

Department of Physics
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus

Contact:
Dr. Sanjay K. Ram
Ph. No. +919643768829
Email: sanjayk.ram@gmail.com ;
sanjaykumarram@am.amrita.edu
Website: https://www.sanjaykram.com/
The flux through the planar surface below
(positive unit normal to left):

+q
n̂ -q
The total flux through the below spherical surface is

+q
Curl of E

To calculate the line integral of this field from some point a to

some other point b
 Apply Stokes’ theorem →

The principle of superposition states that the total field is a vector sum of their individual fields:
The electric field can be written as the gradient of a scalar potential→

The divergence and curl of E →

This is known as Poisson’s equation. In regions where there is no

charge, so ρ = 0, Poisson’s equation reduces to Laplace’s equation

What about the curl law?

▪ Notice that the potential is not zero inside the shell, even though the field is.

▪ V is a constant in this region, to be sure, so that ∇V = 0—that’s what matters.

▪ In problems of this type, you must always work your way in from the
reference point; that’s where the potential is “nailed down.”
Boundary Conditions
Three fundamental quantities of electrostatics: ρ, E, and V

Two experimental observations:

1) The principle of superposition—a broad general
rule applying to all electromagnetic forces
2) Coulomb’s law—the fundamental law of
electrostatics

What have we learnt?

▪ The electric field always undergoes a discontinuity
when we cross a surface charge σ.
▪ In fact, it is a simple matter to find the amount by
which E changes at such a boundary
Example 5. An infinite plane carries a uniform surface charge σ.
Find its electric field.
Gaussian
Solution: Draw a “Gaussian pillbox”, extending equal distances above pillbox
and below the plane (Fig. 22). Apply Gauss’s law to this surface:
 According to Gauss’s law
The sides of the pillbox contribute nothing to the flux, in
the limit as the thickness goes to zero →
Conclusion: The normal component of E is discontinuous by an
amount σ/0 at any boundary.
In particular, where there is no surface charge → E ⊥ is continuous,
as for instance at the surface of a uniformly charged solid sphere
Wafer-thin Gaussian pillbox, extending
just barely over the edge in each direction
where A is the area of the pillbox lid.
(If σ varies from point to point or the
surface is curved, we must pick A to be
extremely small.)
The tangential component of E, by contrast, is always continuous

The boundary conditions on E can

be combined into a single formula:
The potential, meanwhile, is continuous across any boundary

normal derivative of V (that is, the rate of change in

the direction perpendicular to the surface
 The Work It Takes to Move a Charge
How much work will you have to do to move a test
charge Q from point a to point b ?

At any point along the path, the electric force on Q is F = QE

▪ In words, the potential difference between points a and b is

equal to the work per unit charge required to carry a particle
from a to b.
▪ In particular, if you want to bring Q in from far away and If we set the reference point at infinity:
stick it at point r, the work you must do is :
 The Energy of a Point Charge Distribution
How much work would it take to assemble an entire
collection of point charges?
1) q1: This takes no work, since there is no field yet to fight against.
2) q2: q2V1(r2), where V1 is the potential due to q1, and r2 is the place we’re putting q2

3) q3: this requires work q3V1,2(r3), where V1,2 is the potential due to charges q1 and q2

4) q4:
General rule: Take the product of each pair of charges, divide by their separation distance,
and add it all up:

j > i is to remind you not to count the same pair twice

OR intentionally count each pair twice, and then

divide by 2
(a)

1 4

2 3
(b)
The Energy of a Continuous Charge Distribution
(a)
(b)