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Forces, and
Fields
Electric Charges
Electric charge is a basic property of matter
Two basic charges
Positive and Negative
Each having an absolute value of
1.6 x 10-19 Coulombs
Experiments have shown that
Like signed charges repel each other
Unlike signed charges attract each other
For an isolated system, the net charge of the
system remains constant
Charge Conservation
Two basics type of materials
Conductors
Materials, such as metals, that allow the free
movement of charges
Insulators
Materials, such as rubber and glass, that don’t
allow the free movement of charges
Coulomb’s Law
Coulomb found that the electric force between
two charged objects is
Proportional to the product of the charges on
the objects, and
Inversely proportional to the separation of the
objects squared
q1q2
F k 2
r
k being a proportionality constant, having a value of 8.988 x 10 9
Nm2/c2
Electric Force
As with all forces, the electric force is a Vector
So we rewrite Coulomb’s Law as
q1q2
F12 k 2 r̂12
r
This gives the force on charged object 2 due to charged
object 1 q1 q2
F10 x 0 4
3 qo
F0 x F20 cos F20
2
F10
1 F0
q1 q2
Y-direction: F0 y F10 y F20 y
1 2 3 4 5 x (cm)
F0 y F10 F20 sin
Example Two -
Continued
y (cm)
Putting in the numbers . . .
4
cos 0.8 3 qo
F20
r10 3cm r20 5cm 2
F10
1 F0
F10 30 N F20 14.4 N q1 q2
1 2 3 4 5 x (cm)
We then get for the components
F0 x 11.52 N F0 y 38.64 N
The magnitude of F0 is F0 F02x F02y 40.32 N
At an angle given by
tan 1 F0 y F0 x tan 1 (38.64 / 11 .52) 73.40
Note on constants
k is in reality defined in terms of a more
fundamental constant, known as the
permittivity of free space.
1
k
4 0
2
12 C
with 0 8.854 x10 2
Nm
Electric Field
Two equal, but opposite charges are placed on the x axis. The
positive charge is placed at x = -5 m and the negative charge is
placed at x = +5m as shown in the figure above.
Q1 Q2 Q1 Q2 Q1 Q2
Electric Field Lines
Possible to map out the electric field in a
region of space
An imaginary line that at any given point
has its tangent being in the direction of the
electric field at that point
The spacing, density, of lines is related to
the magnitude of the electric field at that
point
Electric Field Lines
At any given point, there can be only one
field line
The electric field has a unique direction at
any given point
Electric Field Lines
Begin on Positive Charges
End on Negative Charges
Electric Field Lines
Electric Dipole
An electric dipole is a pair of point charges
having equal magnitude but opposite sign that
are separated by a distance d.
Fnet = 0
Torque on a Dipole
The individual forces acting on the dipole
may not necessarily be acting along the
same line.
If this is the case, then there will be a
torque acting on the dipole, causing the
dipole to rotate.
Torque on a Dipole
q dE
d is a vector pointing from the negative charge to the
positive charge
Potential Energy of a Dipole
Given a dipole in an external field:
Dipole will rotate due to torque
Electric field will do work
The work done is the negative of the
change in potential energy of the dipole
The potential energy can be shown to be
U q d E
Electric Field of a Dipole