Electric field and capacitors

Electric charges

There are two types of charge: positive charge (carried by particles such as protons) and negative charge (carried
by particles such as electrons). The unit of charge is the coulomb (C). Experiments strongly suggest that charge
comes in discrete packets - i.e. it is quantised. The smallest unit of charge is 1.6 × 10-19C- the size of the charge on
an electron or proton - and all other amounts appear to come in integral multiples of this.
EX: Calculate the number of protons which would have a charge of one coulomb.(Proton charge = +1.6 × 10 -19 C.)
Electric fields
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Representing electric fields

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Ex:Which of the three field diagrams in Figure
represents:
a two positive charges repelling each other?
b two negative charges?
c two opposite charges?

Electric field strength

The electric field strength at ..............................is defined as ...............................................acting on a
small ............................................................placed at that point.
stationary positive charge/ a point/ the force per unit charge

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Ex: Calculate the electric field strength at a point where a charge of 25 mC experiences a force vertically
downwards of 150 N.
Ex;An electric field strength at a point is 7000NC-1.Calculate the force acting on the following particles if they are
kept at the mention point.
a. 1C
b. 2C
c. An electron
d. Proton
e. An alpha particle
Uniform electric field strength

Ex1: The voltage between two parallel plates is 2.5V and the distance between them is 2cm.Calculte
a. The electric field between the plates
b. Force acting on an electron kept in between the plates
EX2: An electron is situated in a uniform electric field. The electric force that acts on it is 8 × 10-16 N. What is the
strength of the electric field?
Ex 3: What force will an electron feel when it is in the electric field of an X-ray machine which has a strength of
4.5 X 105 Vm-1 ?
Ex 4:An alpha particle enters the field between parallel plates 5mm apart; the bottom of which is held at 0V,while
the top plate is at 300V.Draw a diagram to show the path of the alpha particle through the plates and calculate
the force on the alpha particle.
Ex5: In Figure shown, two parallel plates are shown, separated by 25 cm.
a Draw field lines to represent the field between the plates.
b What is the potential difference between points A and B?
c What is the electric field strength at C, and at D?
d Calculate the electric force on a charge of +5μC placed at C. In which direction does the
force act?

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Ex 7: a. Calculate the vertical acceleration on an electron which enters parallel plates ,10cm long
,separated by 5mm with a P.D of 500V across them ,along the central horizontal axis.
b. Calculate how long it would take the electron to traverse the 2.5mm to the positive plate.
c. Show that if the electron enters the plates at 300ms-1, it will not emerge from the plates .but
will collide with the positive plate first.
(Me=9.11 x10-31kg ) Answer : 1.76 x 1016ms-2/5.3 x 10-10s

Equipotential lines
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The electron charge- Millikan’s experiment

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Ex: A negatively charged polystyrene sphere of mass 3.3 × 10-15kg is held at rest between two
parallel plates separated by 5.0 mm when the potential difference between them is 170 V. How
many excess electrons are on the sphere?
Answer:6 electrons

Coulomb's Law

1. what is the force of attraction between a uranium nucleus (atomic number 92) and electron at a distance of
1x 10-12m.
2. Calculate the force between two point charges of +100µC placed 125cm apart in a vacuum. State what
difference it would make to the force calculated if one of the charges was negative.
Electric field and Point charges
A "point charge" - i.e. a body with charge, but no size - does not really exist, but it is a useful approximation for
small charged particles such as electrons.

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Equipotential lines around point charge

Ex1: What is the strength of the electric field caused by a gold nucleus (atomic number 79) at a distance of 1 x
10-12 m from the center of the nucleus?
Ex 2: What is the force of repulsion between an alpha particle and a gold nucleus when the alpha particle passes by
the nucleus at a distance of 1pm.
Ex3: Two charge particles of +8nC and-8nC are kept 6 cm away from each other .Calculate the electric field
strength of a point,
a. The center of two charges
b. 4cm from +8nC and 2cm away from -8nCcharge
c. If both the charges re +8nC what would be the electric field strength at the half way thought the charges
d. Calculate the electric field strength 4cm away from the midpoint
Ex4: In a simplified model of the hydrogen atom, the electron is at a distance of 5.3 × 10 −11m from the proton. The
proton charge is +1.6 × 10−19C. Calculate the electric field strength of the proton at this distance. Assuming that
the field is radial,
EX5: Two point charges of +2.4 µC and -2.9µC are placed at points A and B respectively in a vacuum. The distance
AB is 0.15 m, as shown in Figure. It is required to find a point P at which the resultant electric field due to these
two charges is zero. Deduce the point p.

Ex6: Calculate the electric field strenth t X due to the chrges shown in the following figure.

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Graph E against Distance (Radial and uniform)

1. The diagram shows a simplified version of the apparatus used in an experiment to determine
the charge on an electron.

Negatively charged oil drops are sprayed into a region above two parallel metal plates.
The plates are separated by a distance d. The oil drops are allowed to enter the region
between the two plates.
A potential difference V is applied which causes an electric field to be set up between the plates.
a. The diagram shows one oil drop falling between the plates.
Add lines to the diagram to show the electric field between the plates.

b. V is gradually increased. At a particular value of V, the oil drop stops falling and remains stationary between
the plates. Explain this observation.
c. The oil drop has mass m and charge Q and stops falling when V = 5000 V. Show that Q/m for this oil drop is
about 50 μC kg-1
d = 2.5 cm
d. The oil drop is close to another oil drop that has the same charge and mass. The oil drops can be considered to
act as point charges 2.2 mm apart. Calculate the electrostatic force between the two drops. mass of each drop
= 1.0 × 10−13 kg
(2016 AL)

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 2.
a) Coulomb’s law for the force F between point charges Q1 and Q2, which are a distance r apart, is
given by

Express the unit of ε0 in base units.

b) Electric fields are caused by both point charges and by parallel plates with a potential
difference across them. Describe the difference between the electric field caused by a point
charge and the electric field between parallel plates. Your answer should include a diagram of each
type of field and reference to electric field strength.
(5)
c) Two small spheres L and M are attached to non-conducting threads and suspended
from a point P. Each sphere is given an equal positive charge of 4.0 × 10–7 C. The
spheres hang in equilibrium as shown in the diagram.
The mass of each sphere is 2.7 g.

By considering the forces acting on one of the spheres, calculate the tension in the
thread and the angle θ.
2015 June

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 Electric potential and Electric potential energy
What is electrical potential ?
Electric potential is defined as the potential energy per unit positive charge. The symbol for
potential is V, and its unit is the volt. If a point charge Q has potential energy EPA at a
point A, the electric potential at that point is ,
VA = EPA/Q

Only differences in potential energy are measurable. We need to specify a convenient reference point to
act as a zero of potential energy and potential. In dealing with gravitational energy we often take the
floor of the laboratory or the Earth’s surface as zero, and measure mgh from one of these. Similarly, in
electrical problems, it is often convenient to take earth potential as zero, especially if part of
the circuit is earthed. But the ‘official’ definition of the zero of electric potential is the potential of a
point an infinite distance away. This means that

The electrical potential at a point in an electric field is defined as the work done per
unit positive charge in bringing a small test charge from infinity to the point.

Energy and potential in a radial field

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EX:Calcualte the electrical potentoal 0.4m away from a charge of Q of +30C.Then calculate the amount
of work must be done in order to bring a charge of +2C of charge to the point mention.

1.4 J
Ex;A charge of Q of 40C is kept in a vaccume.
a. A point A is 0.3cm away from the charge Q ,calculate the Potental at 0.3cm away from
the charge Q
b. A point B is 0.5cm away from the charge Q ,calculate the potental at 0.5cm away from
the charge Q
c. Calculate the amount of work has to be done in oder to move an electron from point B
to A

Ex. Two point charges A and B each have a charge of +6.4 × 10−19C. They are separated in a vacuum by a
distance of 12.0µm, as shown in Fig.

Points P and Q are situated on the line AB.Point P is 3.0µm from charge A and point
Q is 3.0µm from charge B.
a Calculate the force of repulsion between the charges A and B. [3]
b Explain why, without any calculation,when a small test charge is moved from point P to point Q, the net
work done is zero. [2]
c Calculate the work done by an electron in moving from
the midpoint of line AB to point P. [4]

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 Capacitors

A capacitor is simply two pieces of metal near each other,

separated by an insulator or air. A capacitor is used to store charge
and energy.

Although a capacitor can be made from any two conductors close

to each other, we have considered the simplest case where the
The symbol for a capacitor is simply:
conductors are two parallel metal plates. You should also note that

The symbol for a capacitor is simply: the plates are separated by an insulator, in this case air. The
insulating material is called the dielectric. Because the dielectric is
an insulator it is clear that a steady d.c. current cannot pass through
a capacitor and this is why we only get the brief pulse of charge
referred to above.

How Does a Capacitor Work ?

When two conducting plates are connected to a
battery electrons move towards one plate. The
positive plate loses electrons as well,
eventually leave both plates with equal and
opposite charge, +Q and -Q. When a capacitor is
charged (i.e. electrons are ‘no longer’ moving) we
say that the capacitor has charge Q (even
though the overall charge is zero).

The charges make an E-field, which means a voltage difference between the plates. The "voltage V on a
capacitor" always means the voltage difference V between the plates.

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The relationship between voltage and charge of a capacitor(Capacitance)

Measure the charge stored in the capacitor for various potential differences ,

Combining capacitors in parallel and series

Remember: for capacitors in parallel, the potential difference across each capacitor is the same.

Remember: for capacitors in series, the charge on each capacitor must be the same and the applied
potential is divided.

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Energy stored in a capacitor

1. Calculate the charge on a 220µF capacitor charged up to 15 V. Give your answer in micro coulombs
(µC) and in coulombs (C).
2. A charge of 1.0 × 10−3 C is measured on a capacitor with a potential difference across it of 500 V.
Calculate the capacitance in farads (F), microfarads (µF) and Pico farads (pF).
3. Calculate the average current required to charge a 50µF capacitor to a p.d. of 10 V in a time
interval of 0.01 s.
4. A 2000µF capacitor is charged to a p.d. of 10 V. Calculate the energy stored by the capacitor
5. Calculate the energy stored in the following capacitors:
a a 5000µF capacitor charged to 5.0 V
b a 5000 pF capacitor charged to 5.0 V
c a 200µF capacitor charged to 230 V.
6. Which involves more charge, a 100µF capacitor charged to 200 V or a 200µF capacitor charged to
100 V? Which stores more energy?
7. A 10 000µF capacitor is charged to 12 V, and then connected across a lamp rated at ‘12 V, 36 W’.
a Calculate the energy stored by the capacitor.
b Estimate the time the lamp stays fully lit.
Assume that energy is dissipated in the lamp at a steady rate.
8. In a simple photographic flashgun, a 0.20 F capacitor is charged by a 9.0 V battery. It is then
discharged in a flash of duration 0.01 s. Calculate:
a the charge on and energy stored by the capacitor
b the average power dissipated during the flash
c the average current in the flash bulb
d the approximate resistance of the bulb.
Two capacitors of 5µF and 2µF are connected in parallel and a d.c. supply of 50 volts applied to the
combination. Calculate:
(i) the charge on each,
(ii) the total charge stored,
(iii) the total capacitance of the combination,
(iv) the charge stored on the combination
Two capacitors of 16µF and 48µF are on connected in series and a d.c. supply of 40 volts applied to the
combination.
Calculate
(i) the total capacitance
(ii) the total charge stored
(iii) the charge on each capacitor
(iv) the potential difference across each capacitor.
A 10µF capacitor, initially uncharged, is connected to a 2 volt
supply. Calculate

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(i) the charge transferred from the supply to the capacitor
(ii) the energy taken from the supply
(iii) the energy stored in the capacitor.

Charging and discharging

Charging curves

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Discharging curves
Charge reaming in the capacitor and time

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When capacitor is discharge, The remaining charge in the capacitor is decreased exponentially.The remaining
charge in the capacitor is given by

Where
Q =...........................................Q0=..............................................................

T=................................................R=............................................................

C =.......................................................................................................................

EX: Calculate the initial charge of the capacitor given above

Calculate the charge remaining in the capacitor after 2ms and 4ms by using the equation

Use the graph given to confirm your answers

Time constant –RC
Derived the base unit of RC
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Calculate the time constant of the capacitor given above

Calculate the charge remaining in the capacitor after RC time

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Half life
If you want to find the time taken for the remaining charge in the capacitor to be half of the initial
charge,

Calculate the half time of capacitor given above by the equation and check with the graph

Discharging curves –voltage across the capacitor Vs time

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Ex:In recent years there has been a development of ultracapacitors which have much higher capacitance than
traditional capacitors. Capacitors store energy due to charge in an electric field whereas batteries store energy
due to a chemical reaction. There are several applications where ultracapacitors have an advantage over batteries;
for example storing energy from rapidly fluctuating supplies or delivering charge very quickly
I. A typical ultracapacitor has a capacitance of 1500 F and a maximum operating potential difference of 2.6 V.
Show that the charge on this capacitor when fully charged is about 4000 C.

II. Complete the graph on the axes below to show how the potential difference varies with charge for this
capacitor.

III. The graph below shows how the current varies with time as the capacitor is discharged through a circuit.

IV. Calculate the resistance of the circuit.

1st method

2nd method

3rd method

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 R = 0.00050 Ω – 0.00058 Ω

Ex:

Calculate the charge on C1 60 seconds after closing S

1. Some lights are designed to dim gradually after being switched off. This can be done
using a capacitor in a timer circuit. The circuit diagram shows how a potential difference (p.d.) can be
supplied across a resistor for a limited time.

(a) When the switch is at position A, the capacitor charges.

(i) In terms of the movement of electrons, explain what happens to the capacitor as it
becomes fully charged.
(ii) Calculate the energy stored in the charged capacitor.
(b) The switch is moved to position B and the capacitor discharges through the resistor.
(i) Describe what happens to the current through the resistor.
(ii) For the circuit shown ,the p.d across the capacitor falls to 10% of the supply p.d after 25 s.
Calculate the resistance of the resistor in the circuit.
2016 Jan(IAL)
2. A student is investigating capacitance. She sets up the circuit shown.

(a) When the switch is closed there is a maximum current, which decreases to zero over
a period of time as the capacitor charges. Explain why.
(b) The student discharged the capacitor. She set the variable resistor to its maximum
resistance and closed the switch. As the capacitor charged, the student decreased
the resistance of the variable resistor so that the current remained constant until the

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 capacitor was fully charged.
A graph of current against time is shown.

(i) Determine the capacitance of the capacitor.

(ii) Hence determine the energy stored by the capacitor when it is fully charged.
(c) Capacitance can also be determined by measuring the current I at regular time
intervals, as a capacitor discharges through a resistor, and plotting a graph of ln I
against time.

(i) Explain how capacitance can be determined using this graph.

(ii) A capacitor was discharged through a 390 Ω resistor. The capacitance of the
capacitor was calculated as 2200 µF.
Explain why the data for the graph for this circuit would be difficult to obtain
using an ammeter. Your answer should include a calculation.

2016 June(IAL)

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