ELECTROSTATICS

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WHAT IS ELECTROSTATICS?
This is the study of electric fields due to static (non-moving) charges.
On the other hand, Electrodynamics is the behaviour of moving "charges" and forms
the fundamental basis of electrical engineering.

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 Electrostatics
Electrostatics is the branch of electromagnetics dealing with the
effects of electric charges at rest.
The fundamental law of electrostatics is Coulomb’s law.

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Electric Charge
Electrical phenomena caused by friction are part of our
everyday lives, and can be understood in terms of
electrical charge.
The effects of electrical charge can be observed in
the attraction/repulsion of various objects when
“charged.”
Charge comes in two varieties called “positive” and
“negative.”

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Electric Charge
§ Unlike charges attract, unlike charges repel
§Objects carrying a net negative charge attract those
carrying a net positive charge and repel those carrying
a net negative charge.
§On an atomic scale, electrons are negatively charged
and nuclei are positively charged.

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Electric Charge
Electric charge is inherently quantized such that the
charge on any object is an integer multiple of the
smallest unit of charge which is the magnitude of the
electron charge
e = 1.602 � 10-19 C.
On the macroscopic level, we can assume that charge
is “continuous.”

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§A parallel plate capacitor charged with one plate positive
and the other negative, will develop an electric field
between the plates.
§If an electron is placed between the plates, a force will act
on the electron tending to push it away from the negative
plate towards the positives plate.
§Similarly, a positive charge placed in the same field will
experience a force tending to push it away from the
positive plate towards the negative plate.

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The region between the two plates in which an
electric charge experiences a force, is called an
Electrostatic field .
The direction of the field is the direction of the
force on a positive charge that is placed on the
field.

A ++++++++
+ E
B _______

Fig.1Electrostatic field

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Such a field may be represented in magnitude and direction by lines
of electric force drawn between the charged surfaces.
The closeness of the lines is an indication of the field strength.
When a p.d is established between any two points, an electric field
will always be established.

+
+ _

a. Isolated point charge

b. Adjacent charges of opposite polarities
Fig 2. Typical field patterns
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Electric field lines of force (flux lines) are continuous
and start and finish on point charges.
Also, field lines cannot cross each other.
When a charged body is placed close to an uncharged
body, an induced charge of opposite sign appears on
the uncharged body.
This induced charge is due to the field lines of a
charged body that terminate on the surface of the
uncharged body.

3/28/2023 EE101 UZ 2015

 VOLTAGE AND CURRENT
When there is a charge differential between two points, energy is
stored. This stored energy is called ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL or VA
VOLTAGE DIFFERENTIAL (DV) + +
{units = volts, V} A -+ POSITIVE

DV = VA - VB
When there is a voltage differential between two points in a conductive
material, charged particles will be forced to move. DV + I
Movement of charge is an ELECTRICAL CURRENT’

CURRENT (I) {units = amperes, A}: is the RATE of charge flow.

--
B -+ NEGATIVE
I = dq / dt

Where q = amount of charge {units = coulombs, Q} VB

and t = time {units = seconds, s}

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 Law

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If there are multiple point charges, the forces add together by superposition

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 The Electric
Field
§A charge is surrounded by an electric field that exerts a force on any
charges in the field by attracting or repelling them. The arrows represent
electric field lines

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 V = potential difference between plates

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 Electrostatic Potential (Potential Difference)
Electrostatic potential is the amount of work needed to move a unit
charge from a reference point to a specific point inside the field without
producing an acceleration.

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 Current
Density
§Electric current can be defined as the flow of electrically charged particles
§Current density is the amount of current travelling per unit cross sectional area

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Flux and Flux Density

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Obviously, if the charges are the source of flux, then we should get more flux if there is more
charge. Then the amount of flux must be proportional to the amount of charge.
This leads to Gauss' Law.
Gauss’ Law
In words, it states that: the total flux streaming through a closed surface is equal to the
amount of charge enclosed by that surface.
Quantitatively, Gauss’ Law is expressed as:

where q is the charge enclosed by area A.

When Gauss’ Law is applied to the point charge we obtain the electric flux density related to
electric field intensity by:

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Alternatively:

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Boundary conditions
Conductor Surface (Conducting shell)

Air

Conductor

At the surface of the conductor:

• Tangential fields are zero.
• Normal electric flux densities equal.

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Perfect Dielectric to Dielectric
boundary
Region 1
Boundary
Region 2

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In free space

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Capacitors and Capacitance

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Types of capacitors

Ceramic

Electrolytic

Variable
Plastic film

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A capacitor stores energy in the form of an electric field that is
established by the opposite charges on the two plates. The energy of
a charged capacitor is given by the equation

where

W = the energy in joules

C = the capacitance in farads
V = the voltage in volts
Capacitor Properties summary

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Concentric Cable
A concentric cable is a cable which contains more than one conductors (cylinders).
An example is a coaxial cable.

The distribution of the electric field between the two concentric cylinders is shown in figure
below.

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Tutorial Questions

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