Unit+11 Electrostatics
Unit+11 Electrostatics
ELECTROSTATICS
CHARGE
It is the inherent property of certain fundamental particles. It
accompanies them wherever they exist. Commonly known
charged particles are proton and electron. The charge of a
proton is taken as positive and that of electron is taken as
negative. It is represented by symbol e.
e = 1.6 × 10–19 coulomb
Positive and negative sign were arbitrarily assigned by
Benzamin Franklin. This does not mean that charge of proton is
greater than charge of electron.
Quantization of Charge
Electric charges appear only in discrete amounts, it is said to be
quantized.
Conservation of Charge
For an isolated system, the total charge remains constant, charge
is neither created nor destroyed, and it is transferred from one
body to the other.
COULOMB’S LAW
1
The force of interaction of two stationary point charges in
vacuum is directly proportional to the product of these charges
and inversely proportional to the square of their separation
kq1 q 2
F=
r2
k = 9 109 Nm2C-2
ELECTRIC FIELD
.
The electric field strength ( E ) at a point is defined as the force
per unit charge experienced by a test charge qt, placed at that
point.
F
E =
qt
2
LINES OF FORCE
The electric fieldlines or lines of force are helpful in
visualizing field patterns. They provide the following basic
information:
(a) The direction of the field is along the tangent to a line of
force.
(b) The strength or magnitude of the field is proportional to
the number of lines that cross a unit area perpendicular to
the line.
GAUSS’ LAW
1
The net flux of E through a closed surface equals 0
times
3
+q r P E
x
E = 1
2 o 2
x R
2
+
+ +
+ E|| = 0
++ R +
Where is the surface
++
++
++ +
+ + ++ + x P E 0
++ + + charge density
+ + +
+ +
+
+
where is the surface
E|| = 0
+ + + charge density
+
+ + +
+
+ + +
x P E 0
+
+ +
+
4
E|| = 0 where is the linear
+
+
+
+ charge density
+
+
x P E 0
+
+
r R 3
E = r̂
3 o r
5
POTENTIAL
V =
Wext
q
Now Wext= Fext .ds
6
Table 2 Electric Potential V due to Various Charge
Distribution
1. Isolated Charge 1 q
V= 4o r
+q r P
2. A Ring of Charge 1 q
V = 4
o R2 x2
+ + q
+ +
+ R +
+ +
+ x P
+
+ +
+ +
+ +
3. A Disc of Charge
+
+ +
+
++ R +
++
V=
2 o
R 2
x2 x
++
++ +
+ + ++ + x P
++ + +
+ + +
+ +
+
+
++ + R 2 r2
3 2
+
+ ++ R + ++ V=
+ + + + + 6 o R
+ ++ ++ +
+ ++ + + + r P
+ + + +
++ + +
+ + Outside
rR
7
R 3 1
V=
3 o r
x x
2kp
E ||
x3 The E is parallel to p .
8
2. Electric Potential Due to a Dipole Moment
V = 0 E
The E is anti-parallel to p
(i) Torque
If a dipole is oriented at E
+ E
q
an angle to an uniform d
qE -
electric field as shown in
p
the figure, the charges
E
experience equal and An electric dipole experiences a torque in
an electric field.
opposite forces. So there
is no net force on the
dipole. However, there is
a net torque on the dipole.
τ pE (20)
9
= pEsin
CAPACITORS
A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy. The
capacitance of the capacitor is defined as the magnitude of
the charge on one plate divided by the magnitude of the
potential difference V between them
q
C=
V
10
1. Parallel Plate Capacitor A
+ + + + + +q
= q
A E
d
q
E=
o o A
q
qd Parallel plate capacitor
V = Ed = o A
q o A
C=
V d
2. Spherical Capacitor
+ q
q 1 1 b
V= a +
4o a b
+
+ +
E
q 4o 4o +
C =
V 1 1 1 1
a b a b
Spherical capacitor
4 o ab
or C=
ba
3. Cylindrical Capacitor
E= 2 o r
ar b -
+
V = VaVb= E dr
a
b
l
Cylindrical capacitor
11
b
or V= ln
2o a
q l 2o l
C= (26)
V V b
ln
a
The charge moves through the wires, not across the gap
between the plates.
The total work done to transfer charge Q is
Q
q Q 2 QV 1
W= C dq 2C 2 2 CV
2
12