Chapter 21

Electric Charge and

Electric Field

PowerPoint® Lectures for

University Physics, Twelfth Edition
– Hugh D. Young and Roger A. Freedman

Lectures by James Pazun Modified by P. Lam for 15th edition

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley
 Important Objectives for Chapter 21
• Recognize the importance of electro-magnetic interaction
in our daily lives

• Understand the atomic charge model – conductors,

insulators, electric dipole
• Learn the force law (Coulomb’s Law) for stationary
charges (You will learn later that the force law will be
different when the charges are moving)
• Learn the concept of electric field
• Learn to extract information from drawings of electric
field lines

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 Introduction
• As far as we know, there are only four fundamental forces
(interactions):
– 1. Gravitational force - arises from interaction between
masses
– 2. Electromagnetic force - arises from interaction between
stationary or moving charges (electric force arises whether
the charges are stationary or moving but the force laws for
both cases are different; magnetic force arises only when
the charges are moving). (Since whether a charge is
moving or not depends on the frame of reference, this
means that electric force and magnetic force are different
viewpoints of the same “force”!)
– 3. Strong nuclear force – binds nucleons together - not
covered in this course
– 4. Weak nuclear force – causes certain nuclear decays -
not covered in this course
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 Importance of electro-magnetic interaction
• Which fundamental interaction is responsible for the following?
– Friction,
– The “contact” force
– Tension in a rope
– Electric motor
– Radio wave
– Light

• If an interaction between matters is not gravitational nor nuclear

interactions, you can with great certainty to attribute it to the
electromagnetic interaction even though you may know how it
works. All matters contain charges.
• ** Aside: “Dark Matters” seem not to involve the
electromagnetic interaction but we don’t have a definitive theory
yet.
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 Topics for Chapter 21
• 21.1 - Atomic charge model

• 21.2 Conductors and insulators

• 21.3 Electrostatic force - Coulomb’s Law

• Intermission
• 21.4 Electric force and electric field

• 21.5 Calculation of electric field (generated by multiple

charges or continuous charge distribution – superposition
principle)
• 21.6 Electric field lines (drawings and interpretations)

• 21.7 Electric dipoles

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 21.1 Atomic Charge Model-Neutral vs. Charged Objects
• When you read this section in the
textbook, answer some of the following
questions:

• (1) Most materials are electrically

neutral. Does it means it contains no
charges or something else?
• (2) When two neutral objects are
“rubbed” against each other, one
becomes positively charged and one
becomes negatively charged. Did some
of the protons move from one object to
the other? Did some of the electrons
move from one object to the other?
• (3) Which fundamental interaction is
“rubbing”?

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 Charging by “rubbing” (electromagnetic interaction)
• Rubbing two materials is to force the atoms from the two materials
to be very close to each other; the material with higher “electron
affinity” will accept extra electrons while the other material with
lower “electron affinity” will give up some electrons (Electron
affinity can only be explained by quantum mechanics).

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 21.2 Conductors vs. Insulators
• A collection of atoms forms solid, the chemical
bonding determine whether the solid is a conductor
or insulator.
• Conductors are materials with weak chemical bonds
which allow the electrons to move from one atom to
another when subjected to a force conductors.
• Insulators are materials with strong chemical bond
which does not allow the electrons to move freely.
• In this section, learn about different charging
processes.

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 21.3 Coulomb’s Law
• Electrostatic force – qualitative:
• Like charges repel and unlike charges attract
• The force is stronger when 2 charges are close and weaker when they
are apart.
• (Use these qualitative behavior to explain how a charged object
attracts a neutral object)
• Electrostatic force – Quantitative
• Coulomb’s Law quantifies the electrostatic force between two stationary
point charges. Macroscopic object contains many charges. When we
are interested in the force on one particle (charge), we need to add up all
the forces acting on this charge by the other charges (Superposition
Principle)
Aside: It turns out that, as along as the relative velocity between the two
charges is much less than the speed of light then the Coulomb’s Law is
approximately valid.

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 Examples of electrostatic force - I
• A comparison of gravitational force to electrostatic force is shown
in Example 21.1 and Figure 21.11.
• Alpha particle=He2+ (Helium nucleus without the two electrons)
• Find the ratio of the electrostatic repulsion to the gravitational
attraction.

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 Examples of electrostatic force - II
• Consider Example 21.3 and Figure 21.13.
• See also Example 21.4 and Figure 21.14.

Find force vector on q3

Find force vector on Q.

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 Intermission

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 21.4 Electric force and electric field
• Coulomb’s Law states that charges can act on each other over long distances.
• Faraday came up with a field concept where he imagined that one charge
(source charge; Q) produces a web of electric force field (E(r))over all space;
the force it exerts on the second charge (q) at location r is simply q*E(r).
• If one measured the force on a positive test charge (qo) at all points relative to
source charge (or charges), one can map out the entire electric field generated by
the source charge(s).
• Go through the tutorial in MP for electric force and electric field

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 21.5 Calculation of electric field
• Go through the assigned tutorials in Mastering Physics
for electric force and electric field.

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 Practice calculating electric field I

Find the electric field at the location of q3 due to q1 & q2

Find the electric field at the

location of Q to q1 & q2.

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 Practice calculating electric field II
• Review Example 21.10 and Figure 21.24.
• Review Example 21.11 and Figure 21.25.

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 A field around a disk or sheet of charge
• Review Example 21.12 and Figure 21.26.
• Review Example 21.13 and Figure 21.27.

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 21.6 Electric field lines drawings

(1) What does the direction of the arrow mean?

(2) How is the electric field strength related to the spacing
between the lines?

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 Electric fields II—charges in motion within a field
• Consider Example 21.7.
• Consider Example 21.8 and Figure 21.21.

Note: Technically, this is not a electrostatic situation.

In principle, when the charge Q moves, it will affect the (source)
charges on the two plates thus altering the electric field.
As long as Q is small enough, the redistribution of source charges
are negligible.
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 21.7 Electric dipoles
• What is the difference
between permanent electric
dipole and induced electric
dipole?
• Water molecule has a
permanent electric dipole
and as a consequence it is a
good solvent, why?

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Consider the net force on a dipole due to an external E-field

• Regard Figure 21.32.

• Follow Example 21.14 and Figure 21.33.

Is there a net force on an electric dipole if the

electric field (produced by the source charges) is uniform?
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Consider the net torque on a dipole due to an external E-field

Is there a net torque on an electric dipole if the

electric field (produced by the source charges) is uniform?
If the electric dipole is free to rotate, what is its stable configuration?

Fig. 21.29 shows a demonstration of

electric field lines. Using what you
learn on this slide to explain how
the demonstration work.

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