CHAPTER 1

ELECTRIC FORCES AND FIELDS

1.1 EVIDENCE FOR ELECTRIC FORCES: THE OBSERVATIONAL FACTS

The discovery of electricity is generally credited to the Greeks and is thought to have occurred around
2500 years ago. The Greeks found that after amber is rubbed with a piece of animal fur, the amber can
attract small pieces of dust.

Greek word for amber, “electron,” is the origin of the terms electricity and electron.

There are two types of electric charge, called positive and negative. The subatomic particle called a
proton has a positive charge, and an electron has a negative charge.

Like charges repel each other; unlike charges attract.

(Photo retrieved at: What are the Three Ways to Charge an Object - A Plus Topper)

Charge is conserved. The total charge on an object is the sum of all the individual charges carried by the
object.

What is Electric Charge?

Charge is a fundamental property of matter: the amount of charge that is “on” or “carried by” a particle
determines how the particle reacts to electric and magnetic fields.

-The mass of a particle is a measure of the amount of matter it carries, whereas the charge of a particle
is a measure of the amount of “electric-ness” it carries.

-In the SI system of units, charge is measured in coulomb (C) in honor of French physicist Charles de
Coulomb.

-The charge on a single electron is -1.60 x 10 -19 C and the charge on a single proton is +1.60 x 10 -19 C. The
symbol e denotes the magnitude of the charge on an electron or proton. Symbol q denote charge in
general.
(Photo retrieved at: How does the mass of an electron compare to the mass of a proton? | Socratic)

1.2 ELECTRIC FORCES AND COULOMB’S LAW

(Photo retrieved at: The Coulomb’s Law (wordpress.com))

-Electric force is the force exerted by two charged objects.

Coulomb’s Law – “The magnitude of the force of interaction between two-point charges is directly

proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.”

Superposition principle

Coulomb’s law explains the interaction between two-point charges. If there are more than two charges,
the force on one charge due to all the other charges needs to be calculated. Coulomb’s law alone does
not give the answer. The superposition principle explains the interaction between multiple charges.

According to this superposition principle, the total force acting on a given charge is equal to the vector
sum of forces exerted on it by all the other charges.
Classifications of material according to its ability to allow the flow of charge:

 Conductor – It allows the flow of charge and consist of freer electron. It has low resistance to
the flow of current. Ex. Copper, silver
 Insulator – Glass, plastics, rubber, and wood are all examples of insulators. These materials
which refuse to carry an electric current. They are used as insulating materials to prevent ---
shorting together or giving an electric shock.
 Semiconductor – Its property is in between of insulator and conductor. It conducts a little bit, it
will carry electric current but not as easily as conductor. Ex. Silicon
 Super conductor – They are artificially made. Exist in the laboratory setting by controlling
temperature and pressure.

1.3 WAYS THAT OBJECTS CAN BE CHARGED

Most objects are electrically neutral. This means that they have an equal positive and negative charge,
each canceling the other out. In order to charge an object you have to alter the balance of negative and
positive one way or the other. There are three ways to do this.

1. Charging by friction

Friction involves rubbing on material with another, resulting in electrons moving from one surface to
another. Most people have experimented with this form of charging an object, either rubbing a balloon
on a jumper to make it cling or by shuffling their feet over a carpeted surface to build up an electrical
charge to shock someone. Friction is useful for charging insulators, which are materials that aren't good
conductors.

2. Charging by induction

Other way to charge an object is by induction and is, again, best for conductive materials. The
uncharged conductive material is grounded on any neutrally charged material and the charged object is
held near it. The charge will flow between the two objects and the uncharged conductor will develop an
opposite charge to the original charged object.

3. Charging by conduction

Conduction on the other hand is used to charge things that are good conductors, such a metal. A
charged object is touched to the conductive material and some of the charge, whether it is positive or
negative, will be transferred.
1.4 ELECTRIC FIELD

 An electric field is a region of space around an electrically charged particle or object in which an
electric charge would feel force.

FORMULA: E = F/q or E = kq/r2

(Photo retrieved at: Electric Field: Definition, Properties, Examples & Problems (sciencefacts.net))

 If q is positive, the force in the test charge is directed away from q.

 For the positive source charge, the electric field at P points radially outward from q.
 If q is negative, the force in the test charge is directed towards q.
 For the negative source charge, the electric field at P points radially inward from q.

If many charges are present in each region, each charge contributes to the electric field at a known
point. The Net electric field is the vector sum of all the fields of the charges that is,

ET = E1 + E2 + E3 +……….EN

 A point charge q produces an electric field at all points in space. The field strength decreases
with increasing distance.

Electric Field Lines

 Is an imaginary line or curve drawn through a region of space and is represented by drawing
lines.
 Michael Faraday first introduced the concept of field lines. He called them “lines of force” but
“field lines” is more appropriate.
1.5 ELECTRIC FLUX AND GAUSS LAW

(Photo Retrieved at: Electric Flux and Gauss’s Law - How To Mechatronics)

 The flux through a surface of fixed area has a maximum value when the surface is perpendicular
to the field.
 The flux is less than maximum but more than minimum if the surface is tilted with some angle.
 The flux is zero when the surface is parallel to the field.

-The total number of electric field lines passing a given area in a unit of time is defined as the electric
flux.

 If the plane is normal to the flow of the electric field, the total flux is given as:
ΦE = EA
Where:

- E is the magnitude of the electric field

-A is the area of the surface through which the electric flux is to be calculated

 When the same plane is tilted at an angle θ, the projected area is given as Acosθ, and the total
flux through this surface is given as:
ΦE = EA cos θ
Where:

-E is the magnitude of the electric field

-A is the area of the surface through which the electric flux is to be calculated

-θ is the angle made by the plane and the axis parallel to the direction of flow of the electric field

Flux of a non-uniform electric field

 If the electric field is not uniform but varies from point to point over the area A, then we divide
A into many small elements dA.
 (Photo retrieved at: PPT - Ch. 27 : GAUSS’ LAW PowerPoint Presentation, free download -
ID:6847686 (slideserve.com))

 The electric field at the location of this element as an angle theta sub I, with the vector delta Ai.

ϕE=∫E⋅dA
Flux through a closed surface
 A closed surface is defined as the surface that divides space into an inside and an outside region
so that one cannot move from one region to the other without crossing the surface.
Gauss’s Law
 Gauss law states that the total electric flux through any closed surface is proportional to the
total net electric charge inside the surface.
 Flux is proportional to the number of electric field lines passing through a surface.
 The net flux through any closed surface surrounding a point charge q is given by q/ε o and is
independent of the shape of the surface.
 The net electric flux through a closed surface that surrounds no charge is zero.
 The net electric flux through any closed surface depends only on the charge inside that surface.