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Lecture On Introductory Electrostatics

This document provides an overview of today's physics lecture topics: 1) More on Gauss's law, which can be used to obtain the electric field for highly symmetric charge distributions like spherical, cylindrical, and planar geometries. 2) Electric potential energy and electric potential. Electric potential energy is defined as the work required to assemble point charges. Electric potential is the work required per unit charge to move a test charge between two points, and can be calculated from the electric field. 3) Methods for calculating electric potential and electric field, including integration, Gauss's law, and taking the gradient of the electric potential. Examples of calculating these quantities for point charges and continuous charge distributions are provided.

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Richita Ghosh
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118 views

Lecture On Introductory Electrostatics

This document provides an overview of today's physics lecture topics: 1) More on Gauss's law, which can be used to obtain the electric field for highly symmetric charge distributions like spherical, cylindrical, and planar geometries. 2) Electric potential energy and electric potential. Electric potential energy is defined as the work required to assemble point charges. Electric potential is the work required per unit charge to move a test charge between two points, and can be calculated from the electric field. 3) Methods for calculating electric potential and electric field, including integration, Gauss's law, and taking the gradient of the electric potential. Examples of calculating these quantities for point charges and continuous charge distributions are provided.

Uploaded by

Richita Ghosh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physics 202, Lecture 4

Todays Topics

More on Gausss Law

Electric Potential (Ch. 23)


Electric Potential Energy and Electric Potential
Electric Potential and Electric Field

Gausss Law: Review


! ! q
! E = " E idA = encl
#0
spherical

(point charge, uniform


sphere, spherical shell,)

Use it to obtain E field for highly


symmetric charge distributions.

cylindrical

(infinite uniform line of


charge or cylinder)

planar

(infinite uniform sheet


of charge,)

Method: evaluate flux over carefully chosen Gaussian surface

Spherical Symmetry: Examples


Spherical symmetry: choose a spherical Gaussian surface, radius r

Then:

"! EidA = E4" r

qencl
#0

E=

qencl
4!" 0 r 2

Example 1 (last lecture): uniformly charged sphere (radius a, charge Q)

!
Er >a =

Q
r
4!" 0 r 2

!
Er <a =

Qr
r
4!" 0 a 3

Example 2: Thin Spherical Shell


Find E field inside/outside a uniformly charged thin
spherical shell, surface charge density , total charge q

Gaussian Surface
for E(outside)

qencl = q

Er >a =

q
4!" 0 r 2

Gaussian Surface
for E(inside)

qencl = 0

Er <a = 0

Trickier examples: set up


(holes, conductors,)
22.29-31, 22.54 (board)

Cylindrical symmetry: Examples


Cylindrical symmetry.

E indep of

z, !, in radial direction

Gaussian surface: cylinder of length L

! !
q
Eid
"# A = E(r)2! rL = "encl0
qencl
E=
2! rL" 0

Then:

Example: infinite uniform line of charge

!
E(r) =

!
r
2"# 0 r

Similar examples: infinite uniform cylinder, cylindrical shell

Text examples (board): 22.34-35

Planar Symmetry: Examples


Planar symmetry.

Example: infinite uniform sheet of charge.


E indep of x,y, in z direction

!
x

Gaussian surface: pillbox, area of faces=A

" EidA = 2EA =

!
z

qencl # A
=
!0
!0

!
!
E=
z
2" 0

Examples: multiple charged sheets, infinite slab (hmwk)

Text example (board): 22.24 (parallel plate)

Electric Potential Energy and Electric Potential


Review: Conservation of Energy (particle)
Kinetic Energy (K). Potential Energy U: for conservative forces
(can be defined since work done by F is path-independent)

K=

1 2
mv
2

U(x, y, z)

If only conservative forces present in system,


conservation of mechanical energy: K + U = constant
Conservative forces:
U = kspring x 2 2
Springs: elastic potential energy
Gravity: gravitational potential energy
Electrostatic: electric potential energy (analogy with gravity)
Nonconservative forces
Friction, viscous damping (terminal velocity)

Electric Potential Energy


Given two positive charges q and q0: initially very far apart,
q

q0

choose U i = 0
q

q0

To push particles together requires work (they want to repel).


Final potential energy will increase! !U = U " U = !W
f

If q fixed, what is work needed to move q0 a distance r from q?


q

q0

r
r
! !
! !
kqq
kqq0
!W = # Fus i dl = $ # Fe i dl = $ # 2 0 dr % =
r%
r
"
"
"
r

Note: if q negative, final potential energy negative


Particles will move to minimize their final potential energy!

Electric Potential Energy


Electric potential energy between two point charges:

U(r) =

kq0 q
r

q
r

U is a scalar quantity, can be + or convenient choice: U=0 at r=


SI unit: Joule (J)

q0

Electric potential energy for system of multiple charges:


sum over pairs:
kqi q j
U(r) = ! !
rij
i< j j
This is the work required to assemble charges.

Text example: 23.54

Electric Potential
Charge q0 is subject to Coulomb force in electric field E.
Work done by electric force:

W=

!
! !
f !
F i dl = q0 ! E i dl = " #U
i

independent of q0

Electric Potential Difference:

!V "

!
B !
!U
= # $ E i dl = VB # VA
A
q0

Units: Volts
(1 V = 1 J/C)

Often called potential V, but meaningful only as potential difference


Customary to choose reference point V=0 at r =
(OK for localized charge distribution)

Electric Potential and Point Charges


For point charge q shown below, what is VB -VA ?

# 1 1&
dr
= kq % ! (
2
r
$ rB rA '
A

VB ! VA = ! " E(r)dr = !kq "


A

independent of path b/w A and B!

rB
A

rA

Potential of point charge:

V (r) =

kq
r

Many point charges: superposition

V (r) = k !
i

qi
ri

Equipotentials:lines of constant potential

Electric Potential: Continuous Distributions


Two methods for calculating V:
1. Brute force integration (next lecture)

dV = k

dq
,V = ! dV
r

2. Obtain from Gausss law and definition of V:

!
r !
V (r) = ! " E i dl
ref

Examples (today or next lecture) : 23.19, parallel plate

Obtaining the Electric Field From


the Electric Potential
Three ways to calculate the electric field:
Coulombs Law
Gausss Law
Derive from electric potential
Formalism

!
B !
!V = " # E i dl
A

! !
dV = ! E i dl = !Ex dx ! Ey dy ! Ez dz
"V
Ex = !
"x

"V
, Ey = !
"y

"V
,Ez = !
"z

or

!
E = !#V

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