UNIT 04

ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS

TOPIC 06A

Menuka Suwinda
BELVOIR COLLEGE INTERNTIONAL
 6A Electric fields

1.Electric fields
Electric field is a region in space in which a charged object experiences a force.
To visualize the force caused by the field, we draw electric field line which show the
direction in which a positively charged particle will be pushed by the force the field
produces. Like all field patterns the closer the lines are together, the stronger the field
is.

The force that a charge particle will feel is the electric field strength (E) multiplied
by the amount of charge in coulombs (Q), as given by the equation,

F = E x Q
From this force equation, we can also quickly calculate how a charge would accelerate.
Newton’s second law states that F = ma, so we can equate the equations for force:

F= EQ = ma
So,

𝑬𝑸
𝒂=
𝒎
Electric field strength E is a vector quantity. The direction of E is the same as the direction
of the electric force F, which is defined as the force on a positive charge.

Ex: -

a). What force will an electron experience when it is in an electric field generated by an X-
ray machine’s electric field which has a strength of 4.5x105 Vm-1 ?

b). How fast will the electron be travelling if this field accelerates it from rest and it is
within the field for a distance of 10 cm ?

2. Potential difference and electric fields

For a charge particle moving in an electric field, the change in its kinetic energy is
provided in a transfer from the electric potential energy the electron had by virtue of its
location within the electric field. Every location within a field has a certain potential. The
different between the potential at an electron’s original location and the potential at a
new location is the potential difference through which the electron moves.

Potential difference is defined as the energy transferred per coulomb of charge

passing through the device. In an electric field, we can follow exactly the same idea in order

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to find out how much kinetic energy a charged particle will gain by moving within the field.
This is given by the equation:

Ek= VxQ
Where Ek is kinetic energy, V is potential difference and Q is charge of the particle

Ex: -

a). What is the kinetic energy of the electron in part (b) of the previous worked example
above ?

b). What is the kinetic energy gained by an electron as it is accelerated through a potential
difference of 45kV ?

3. Uniform electric fields

An electric field exists between any objects which are at a different electric
potential. Two oppositely charged plates placed parallel to each other produce a uniform
electric field between. In a uniform electric field, the electric lines of force are equally
spaced. When you move a small charged object around in a uniform electric field, the force
𝐹
on it remains constant. Because 𝐸 = ′ , this means that the value of E is the same
𝑄
everywhere.

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The strength of a uniform electric field is measure of how rapidly the potential
changes. The equation which describes this divides the potential difference by the distance
over which the potential difference exits:

𝑉
𝐸=
𝑑
Where “V” is the potential difference between the oppositely charged parallel plates or
surfaces producing the electric field and “d” is the separation of the surfaces.

Ex: -

In the X ray machine, there is a potential difference of 45000V between a cathode and an
anode. These electrode plates are 10cm apart. What is the electrical field strength between
the plates?

4.Equipotentials
As we move through an electric field, the electrical potential changes from place to
place. Those locations which all have the same potential can be connected by lines called
equipotential. The field will always be perpendicular to the equipotential lines, as a field is
defined as a region which changes the potential. Remember that field lines never cross
each other.

5. Millikan’s oil drop experiment

Between 1909 and 1910 the American physicist Robert Millikan conducted a series of
oil – drop experiments. BY comparing applied electric force with changes in the motion of the
oil drops, he was able to determine the electric charge on each top. He found that all of the
drops had charges that were simple multiples of a single number, the fundamental charge of
the electron.

When oil is squirted into the upper chamber from the vaporizer(atomizer), friction
gives the droplets an electrostatic charge. This will be some (unknown) multiple of the
charge on an electron, because electrons have been added or removed due to friction. As the
drops fall under gravity, some will go through the anode and enter the uniform field created
between the charged plates. If the field is switched off, they will continue to fall at their
terminal velocity.

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For Millikan’s oil drops, the density of air in the chamber is so low that its upthrust is
generally insignificant (although we would have to consider it if we wanted to do really
accurate calculations). Under terminal velocity, the weight equals the viscous drag force:

𝑚𝑔 = 6𝜋𝜂𝑣𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑟
Where 𝜂 is the viscosity of air, and r is the radius of the drop.

When held stationary by switching on the electric field and adjusting the potential, V, until
drop stands still.

Weight = electric force

𝑽𝑸
𝒎𝒈 = 𝑬𝑸 =
𝒅
By eliminating the weight from two situations, this means that:

𝑉𝑄
6𝜋𝜂𝑣𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑟 =
𝑑
6𝜋𝜂𝑣𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑟𝑑
Or, 𝑄=
𝑉
Millikan could not measure r directly, so he had to eliminate it from the equations. Further
development of Stokes’ law tells us a small drop falling at alow terminal velocity will follow
the equation:

2𝑟 2 𝑔(𝜌𝑜𝑖𝑙 − 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 )
𝑣𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 =
9𝜂
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Which if we again ignore the low density of air, rearranges to:

9𝜂𝑣𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 1
𝑟=( )2
2𝑔𝜌𝑜𝑖𝑙
Overall, then:

𝟔𝝅𝜼𝒗𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒅 𝟗𝜼𝒗𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 1
𝑸= ×( )2
𝑽 𝟐𝒈𝝆𝒐𝒊𝒍
Millikan did the experiment several hundred times, including repeated measurements
on each drop. Many times, he let the drop fall, before halting it with an electric field, and
then lifting it up again with a stronger field, before letting it fall again. From this data, he
found that the charges on the droplets were always a multiple of 1.59 x 10-19C, which is less
than 1% away from the currently accepted value od 1.602 x 10-19 C.

6.Radial Fields
In the region around a positive charged sphere, or a point charge like proton, the
electric field will act onwards in all directions away from the centre of the sphere. The
arrows in the diagram get further apart as you move further away from the sphere,
indicating that the field strength reduces as you move away from the centre. This means
that the distance between equipotential also increases. The field is means by which the
potential changes, so if it is weaker, then the potential changes less quickly.

5.Combination Electric fields

In a region where there are electric fields caused by more than one charged object,
the overall field is the vector sum at each point of the contributions from each field.

Charge is particularly concentrated in regions around spikes or points on charged

objects. The lines are close together at these places and the field will be strong around

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them. HSW – This is why lightning conductors are spiked. The concentrated charge at then
point will attract the lightning more strongly.

Complex fields still have their equipotential perpendicular to the field lines at all points

6. Charge particle Interactions – Coulomb’s Law

The attraction between a proton and an electron can be imagined as the proton
creating an electric field because of its positive charge, and electron feeling a force
produced by the proton’s field.

The Basic law describing the size of the force F between two point charges Q1 and Q2 ,
which are separated by a distance r, is described by Coulomb’s law and is given by the inverse
square law relationship:

𝑘𝑄1 𝑄2
𝐹=
𝑟2

1
Where 𝑘 = = 8.99 x 109 N m2 C -2. Here 𝜀0 is a constant known as the permittivity of
4𝜋𝜀0
space, which is a measure of how easy it is for an electric field to pass through space.

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7.Radial field calculations
We have seen that an electric field can be defined as a region of space which will
produce a force on a charged particle. This definition allows us to come up with an expression
for the strength of a radial electric field using the expressions for force on a charged
particle met earlier;

𝑘𝑄1 𝑄2
𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 = 𝐸1 𝑄2 =
𝑟2
Thus, the radial field strength at a distance ‘r’ from charge ‘Q’ is given by

𝑘𝑄1
𝐸=
𝑟2

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