Electrostatics

Charges, Forces, E-Fileds

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Electrostatics/Static Electricity

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Basic Structure of Atom

Crude representation of an atom showing positive

charges (protons) inside the nucleus, and negative
charges (electrons) orbiting around the nucleus.

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 Electric Charge

What is charge?
• basic property of matter (just like, say, mass)
• humans cannot directly sense charge but some animals can
• we can observe charge indirectly via its effects on matter
• customary symbol: q or Q, unit: [q] = C (Coulomb)
+ -
Two kinds of charge:

• like charges repel

• unlike charges attract

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 Electric Charge - Quantization

(Protons and neutrons are

made up of quarks, whose
charge is quantized in
multiples of e/3. Quarks
can’t be isolated.)

Charge Mass Diameter

electron -e 1 0
proton +e 1836 ~10-15m
neutron 0 1839 ~10-15m
positron +e 1 0 7
Conservation of Electric Charge
(a fact that you can use any time)

The total electric charge in the

universe is constant
Objects get charged by exchange of charge
with other objects (usually due to electron
transfer from one object to another).

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 Electric Force – Strength and Range

How does the Electric force compare

to the other fundamental forces?
•Gravity
•Strong force (Atomic nuclei)
•Weak force (Radioactivity, Star ‘fuel’)
•How strong?
•What Range?

E.M. Force dominates from 10e-10 to 1 m

E.M. Force is much stronger (x1035) than
Gravity

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 Conductors and Insulators

In materials such as wood or glass, all the

electrons are bound to nearby atoms and none
can move freely. These materials are called
insulators.

In many materials, such as copper and other

metals, some of the electrons are free to move
about the entire material. Such materials are
called conductors.

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 How to Charge Objects ?

1. Triboelectric Charging/charging by friction or rubbing

2. Charging by Conduction
3. Charging by Induction
4. Grounding - the Removal of a Charge

+ Static Build-up Tendency

SILK
+ - - -
+
+ - -
+
Glass Rod

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Charging by Conduction

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 Charging by induction
(a) Conductors in contact become oppositely charged when a charged
rod attracts electrons to the left sphere

(b) if the spheres are separated before the rod is removed, they
will retain their equal and opposite charges

(c) When the rod is removed and the spheres are far apart, the
distribution of the charge on each sphere approaches uniformity

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Grounding

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 Experiment contd.,

Now remove rod.

Continue until both spheres neutral
Charge on 1 and 2
equal, opposite.
Unstable equilibrium

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 Electric Charge

What is charge?
• basic property of matter (just like, say, mass)
• humans cannot directly sense charge but some animals can
• we can observe charge indirectly via its effects on matter
• customary symbol: q or Q, unit: [q] = C (Coulomb)
+ -
Two kinds of charge:

• like charges repel

• unlike charges attract

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Oscar

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Permittivity & Permeability
• Permittivity is a measure of how easy or difficult it is to form an
electric field inside of a medium.
• Likewise, permeability is a measure of the ability to form a magnetic
field inside of a medium.
 Permittivity
• Permittivity is determined by how much a medium can polarize in response to an electric field.
• In SI units, ε0 is the permittivity of free space and has the value ε0 ≈ 1.85 × 10-12 Farads/meter.
• Other materials, specifically dielectrics, have a permittivity that is related to their electric
susceptibility, χe, which is a measure of how polarizable a material is in the presence of an
electric field.
• The relationship is given by P = χeE, where P is the electric dipole moment per unit volume of the
dielectric.
• The permittivity is given by:
• ε = ε0(1 + χe) SI
• In SI units, the quantity (1 + χe) is also called the relative permittivity, εr.
• A value called the dielectric constant is defined as k = εr = ε/ε0. ε in cgs units is the same dimensionless
quantity as k in SI units.
• Physically, if a dielectric with a high value of ε or k is placed in an electric field, the electric field will be
greatly reduced inside.
• D = εE
 Permittivity
• Permittivity is a very important quantity in electromagnetism. Usually,
the materials having higher values of permittivity are highly polarizable.
The higher the permittivity of a medium, the more energy is stored in
the medium. So, high permittivity materials are used as dielectric
materials in capacitors.
Quantifying the Electric Flux Around Point Charges

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Quantifying the Electric Flux Around Point Charges

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Quantifying the Electric Flux Around Point Charges

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Quantifying the Electric Flux Around Point Charges

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Quantifying the Electric Flux Around Point Charges

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Derivation of Flux 𝐷 Around a Point Charge

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1 ⁄ 𝑹𝟐 Dependence

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Direction of Electric Flux 𝐷

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A More Useful Equation for 𝐷

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Electric Field Intensity 𝐸

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Problem

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Multiple Charges

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Total Electric Flux Density 𝐷

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Problem

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Force 𝐹 on a Point Charge 𝑄

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Example

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Coulomb’s Law

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Coulomb’s Law

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Direction of Force on 𝑄1 Due to 𝑄2

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Notes About Coulomb’s Law

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Example

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Coulomb’s Law for Multiple Point Charges

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Coulomb’s Law for Multiple Point Charges

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Coulomb’s Law for Multiple Point Charges

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Charge Distributions - Point

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Charge Distributions - Line

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Charge Distributions - Surface

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Charge Distributions - Volume

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Charge Distributions - Summary

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Uniform Finite Line Charge

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Uniform Infinite Line Charge

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Uniform Circular Plate Charge

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Uniform Infinite Plate Charge

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Uniform Spherical Charge

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Uniform Spherical Charge

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Uniform Spherical Charge

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Uniform Spherical Charge

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Uniform Spherical Charge

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Uniform Spherical Charge

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