Electrostatics

Basic electrostatic phenomena

 Charge

Some objects can attract or repel others after rubbing

Charge – ebonite with fur, glass with leather

[Q]=1C

Insulator, conductor

Electroscope
Elementary charge

e = 1.6·10-19 C

A glass rod and piece of silk are both electrically neutral. Then the rod is
rubbed with the silk. If 4.0 × 109 electrons are transferred from the
glass to the silk and no ions are transferred, what are the net charges of
both objects?
Coulomb’s law
Coulomb’s law gives the electric force acting between two point
charges. The strength of the force is proportional to the inverse square
of the separation r between the two point charges. The strength of the
force is also proportional to the magnitude of each of the two charges.
The magnitude of the electric force that each of two charges exerts on
the other is given by

k is a constant:
Magnitude of charges

What is the force exerted by a 1 C charge on another 1 C charge from a

1 m distance?

What can be the order of magnitude of the charges we produced by

rubbing the plastic rod?
Calculation problems

1. Two point charges q and 2q lie on the x-axis. Where is the point
where the electric force exerted by them on a third point charge q is
zero?
Calculation problems

2. Suppose three point charges are arranged as shown in the figure. A

charge q1= +1.2 μC is located at the origin of an (x, y) coordinate system; a
second charge q2= −0.60 μC is located at (1.20 m, 0.50 m) and the third
charge q3= +0.20 μC is located at (1.20 m, 0). What is the force on q2 due to
the other two charges?
Q1
Two charged particles attract each other with a force of magnitude F
acting on each. If the charge of one is doubled and the distance
separating the particles is also doubled, the force acting on each of the
two particles has magnitude

(a) F/2 (b) F/4 (c) F (d) 2 F (e) 4 F (f) None of

the above.
Q2
Which of these statements comparing electric and gravitational forces is
correct?

(a) The direction of the electric force exerted by one point particle on
another is always the same as the direction of the gravitational force
exerted by that particle on the other.
(b) The electric and gravitational forces exerted by two particles on one
another are inversely proportional to the separation of the particles.
(c) The electric force exerted by one planet on another is typically stronger
than the gravitational force exerted by that same planet on the other.
(d) none of the above
The electric field
If a point charge q is in the vicinity of other charges, it experiences an
electric force F. The electric field strength at any point is calculated as:

The magnitude of the electric field strenght equals to the electric force
per unit charge at that point.

[E]= 1 N/C
Electric Field due to a Point Charge

If Q is positive, then a positive test

charge would be repelled, so the
field vector points away from Q (or
radially outward ). If Q is negative,
then the field vector points toward Q
( radially inward ).
Calculation problem

Two point charges are located on the x-axis. Charge q1 = +0.60 μC is

located at x = 0; charge q2 =−0.50 μC is located at x = 0.40 m. Point P is
located at x = 1.20 m. What is the magnitude and direction of the
electric field at point P due to the two charges?
 Electric Field Lines
Visual representation of the electric field is a
sketch of the electric field lines, a set of continuous
lines that represent both the magnitude and the
direction of the electric field vector as follows:

• The direction of the electric field vector at any

point is tangent to the field line passing through
that point and in the direction indicated by arrows
on the field line.
• The electric field is strong where field lines are
close together (as in P) and weak where they are Elektromos mező - YouTu
be
far apart (like in R).
Rules for Sketching Field
Lines
• The field lines always start on positive charges
and always end on negative charges.
• The number of lines starting on a positive
charge (or ending on a negative charge) is
proportional to the magnitude of the charge.
• Field lines never cross. The electric field at any
point has a unique direction; if field lines
crossed, the field would have two directions at
the same point.

14
Electric Field due to
a Dipole

The electric field vector at a

point P is tangent to the field line
through that point and is the
sum of the fields due to each of
the two point charges.

15
Checkpoint

(a) What is the direction of

the electric field at point A?
(b) At which point, A or P, is
the magnitude of the field
weaker?
Q1

The electric field at a point in space is a measure of

(a) the total charge on an object at that point.
(b) the electric force on any charged object at that point.
(c) the charge-to-mass ratio of an object at that point.
(d) the electric force per unit mass on a point charge at that point.
(e) the electric force per unit charge on a point charge at that point.
Q2
In the figure, put points 1–4 in
order of increasing field
strength.
(a) 2, 3, 4, 1
(b) 2, 1, 3, 4
(c) 1, 4, 3, 2
(d) 4, 3, 1, 2
(e) 2, 4, 1, 3