01 ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS

SYLLABUS: MARKS 16
Unit–I Electrostatics
Chapter–1: Electric Charges and Fields Chapter–2: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance
Unit-II Current Electricity Chapter–3: Current Electricity
Chapter–1: Electric Charges and Fields
Electric charges, Conservation of charge, Coulomb's law-force between two point charges, forces between multiple
charges; superposition principle and continuous charge distribution. Electric field, electric field due to a point charge,
electric field lines, electric dipole, electric field due to a dipole, torque on a dipole in uniform electric field. Electric flux,
statement of Gauss's theorem and its applications to find field due to infinitely long straight wire, uniformly charged
infinite plane sheet and uniformly charged thin spherical shell (field inside and outside)

ELECTRIC CHARGE Electric charge is a fundamental physical property that causes objects to experience an attractive or
repulsive force toward one another.
Thales of Miletus, Greece, around 600 BC discoved that amber rubbed with wool or silk cloth attracts light
objects.
The name electricity is coined from the Greek word elektron meaning amber.
Many such pairs of materials were known which on
rubbing could attract light objects.
1. If two glass rods rubbed with wool or silk cloth
are brought close to each other, they repel each
other
The two strands of wool or two pieces of
silk cloth, with which the rods were rubbed, also
repel each other.
The glass rod and wool attracted each other.
2. Two plastic rods rubbed with cat’s fur repelled each other but attracted the fur.
3. The plastic rod attracts the glass rod and repel the silk or wool with which the glass rod is rubbed. The glass rod
repels the fur.
The bodies like glass or plastic rods, silk, fur and pith balls gets electrified and acquire an electric charge on rubbing.
There are two kinds of electrification and we find that
(i) like charges repel and (ii) unlike charges attract each other.

Polarity of Charge The property which differentiates the two kinds of charges is called the polarity of charge.
When a glass rod is rubbed with silk, the rod acquires one kind of charge and the silk acquires the second kind of
charge. This is true for any pair of objects that are rubbed to be electrified.
If the electrified glass rod is brought in contact with silk, with which it was rubbed, they no longer attract each
other. They also do not attract or repel other light objects as they did on being electrified. Thus, the charges acquired
after rubbing are lost when the charged bodies are brought in contact.
This concludes that unlike charges acquired by the objects neutralise or nullify each other’s effect. Therefore,
the charges were named as positive and negative by the American scientist Benjamin Franklin.
By convention, the charge on glass rod or cat’s fur is called positive and that on plastic rod or silk is termed
negative.
If an object possesses an electric charge, it is said to be electrified or charged. When it has no charge it is said
to be electrically neutral.
like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other.

Electroscope
Electroscope is a simple apparatus used to detect charge on a body.
It consists of a vertical metal rod housed in a box, with two thin gold leaves
attached to its bottom end. When a charged object touches the metal knob at the top
of the rod, charge flows on to the leaves and they diverge. The degree of divergence
is an indicator of the amount of charge.
07 ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS JASVINDER SINGH
Origin of Charge All matter is made up of atoms and/or molecules. Normally the materials are electrically
neutral, they do contain charges; but their charges are exactly balanced.
To electrify a neutral body, we need to add or remove one kind of charge. When a body is charged, it has
excess charge or deficit of charge.
In solids, some of the electrons, being less tightly bound in the atom, are transferred from one body to the
other. A body can thus be charged positively by losing some of its electrons. Similarly, a body can be charged
negatively by gaining electrons.
When we rub a glass rod with silk, some of the electrons from the rod are transferred to the silk cloth. Thus
the rod gets positively charged and the silk gets negatively charged. No new charge is created in the process of
rubbing. Also the number of electrons, that are transferred, is a very small fraction of the total number of electrons in
the material body.

Conductors The substances which readily allow passage of electricity through them, are called conductors.
They have electric charges (electrons) that are comparatively free to move inside the material.
When some charge is transferred to a conductor, it readily gets distributed over the entire surface of the
conductor
EXAMPLE: Metals, human and animal bodies and earth are conductors

Insulators The substances which offer high resistance to the passage of electricity through them, are called
insulators.
Insulators are also called dielectrics
EXAMPLE: Glass, porcelain, plastic, nylon, wood etc.
If some charge is put on an insulator, it stays at the same place. That’s why a nylon or plastic comb gets
electrified on combing dry hair or on rubbing, but a metal article like spoon does not. The charges on metal leak
through our body to the ground as both are conductors of electricity. However, if a metal rod with a wooden or plastic
handle is rubbed without touching its metal part, it shows signs of charging.
Most substances fall into one of the two classes stated above.
.
Semiconductors Semiconductors, are the substances which offer resistance to the movement of charges which
is intermediate between the conductors and insulators.
EXAMPLE: Silicon, Germanium etc.

Point charges If the sizes of charged bodies are very small as compared to the distances between them, they are
called point charges.

BASIC PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC CHARGE All the charge content of the body is assumed to be concentrated at
one point in space.
The properties of the electric charge are as under:

1. Additivity of charges: Charges add up like real numbers or they are scalars like the mass of a body. If a system
contains two point charges q1 and q2, the total charge of the system is obtained simply by adding algebraically q1 and
q2,
If a system contains n charges q1, q2, q3, …, qn, then the total charge of the system is q1 + q2 + q3 + … + qn.
Charge has magnitude but no direction, similar to mass. However, there is one difference between mass and
charge. Mass of a body is always positive whereas a charge can be either positive or negative. Proper signs have to be
used while adding the charges in a system.
For example, the total charge of a system containing five charges +1, +2, –3, +4 and –5, in some arbitrary unit, is (+1) +
(+2) + (–3) + (+4) + (–5) = –1 in the same unit.

2. Charge is conserved: It is not possible to create or destroy net charge carried by any isolated system although the
charge carrying particles may be created or destroyed
When bodies are charged by rubbing, there is transfer of electrons from one body to the other, no new
charges are either created or destroyed.
When we rub two bodies, what one body gains in charge the other body loses. Within an isolated system
consisting of many charged bodies, due to interactions among the bodies, charges may get redistributed but the total
charge of the isolated system is always conserved.
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Conservation of charge has been established experimentally.
Sometimes nature creates charged particles: a neutron turns into a proton and an electron. The proton and
electron thus created have equal and opposite charges and the total charge is zero before and after the creation.

3. Quantisation of charge: Experimentally it is established that all free charges are integral multiples of a basic
unit of charge denoted by e.
Thus charge q on a body is always given by q = ne where n is any integer, positive or negative.
This basic unit of charge is the charge that an electron or proton carries.
By convention, the charge on an electron is taken to be negative; therefore, charge on an electron is written
as –e and that on a proton as +e.
The fact that electric charge is always an integral multiple of e is termed as quantisation of charge.
In the International System (SI) of Units, a unit of charge is called a coulomb and is denoted by the symbol C.
A coulomb is defined in terms the unit of the electric current as is the charge flowing through a wire in 1s if
the current is 1A (ampere),
In this system, the value of the basic unit of charge is e = 1.602192 × 10–19 C
Thus, there are about 6 × 1018 electrons in a charge of –1C.
In electrostatics, charges of this large magnitude are seldom encountered and hence we use smaller units
1 μ C (micro coulomb) = 10–6 C or 1 mC (milli coulomb) = 10–3 C.
If the protons and electrons are the only basic charges in the universe, all the observable charges have to be
integral multiples of e.
Thus, if a body contains n1 electrons and n2 protons, the total amount of charge on the body is
n2 × e + n1 × (–e) = (n2 – n1) e.
Since n1 and n2 are integers, their difference is also an integer.
Thus the charge on any body is always an integral multiple of e and can be increased or decreased also in steps of e.

Quantisation at the macroscopic level: The quantisation of charge has no practical consequence and can be ignored
at macroscopic level.
At the macroscopic level, we deal with charges of a few mC. At this scale the fact that charge of a body can
increase or decrease in units of e is not visible. In this respect, the grainy nature of the charge is lost and it appears to
be continuous.
This situation can be compared with the geometrical concepts of points and lines. A dotted line viewed from a
distance appears continuous to us but is not continuous in reality. As many points very close to each other normally
give an impression of a continuous line, many small charges taken together appear as a continuous charge
distribution.
At the macroscopic level, one deals with charges that are enormous compared to the magnitude of charge e.
Since e = 1.6 × 10–19 C, a charge of magnitude, say 1 mC, contains something like 1013 times the electronic charge.
At this scale, the fact that charge can increase or decrease only in units of e is not very different from saying
that charge can take continuous values. Thus, at the macroscopic level, the quantisation of charge has no practical
consequence and can be ignored.
However, at the microscopic level, where the charges involved are of the order of a few tens or hundreds of e,
i.e., they can be counted, they appear in discrete lumps and quantisation of charge cannot be ignored. It is the
magnitude of scale involved that is very important.

EXAMPLE 1.1 If 109 electrons move out of a body to another body every second, how much time is required to get a
total charge of 1 C on the other body?
Solution: In one second 109 electrons move out of the body. Therefore, the charge given out in one second is
1.6 × 10 × 10 C = 1.6 × 10–10 C.
–19 9

The time required to accumulate a charge of 1 C can then be estimated to be:

1 C ÷ (1.6 × 10–10 C/s) = 6.25 × 109 s = 6.25 × 109 ÷ (365 × 24 × 3600) years = 198 years.
Thus to collect a charge of one coulomb, from a body from which 109 electrons move out every second, we
will need approximately 200 years. One coulomb is, therefore, a very large unit for many practical purposes.
It is, however, also important to know what is roughly the number of electrons contained in a piece of one
cubic centimetre of a material. A cubic piece of copper of side 1 cm contains about 2.5 × 10 24 electrons.

Example 1.2 How much positive and negative charge is there in a cup of water?

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Solution: Let us assume that the mass of one cup of water is 250 g. The molecular mass of water is 18g. Thus,
one mole (= 6.02 × 1023 molecules) of water is 18 g. Therefore, the number of molecules in one cup of water is
(250/18) × 6.02 × 1023. Each molecule of water contains two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, i.e., 10 electrons
and 10 protons. Hence the total positive and total negative charge has the same magnitude. It is equal to (250/18) ×
6.02 × 1023 × 10 × 1.6 × 10–19 C = 1.34 × 107 C.

COULOMB’S LAW Coulomb’s law is a quantitative statement about the force between two point charges.
Coulomb measured the force between two point charges and found that it varied inversely as the square of
the distance between the charges and was directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of the two charges
and acted along the line joining the two charges.
Thus, if two point charges q1 , q2 are separated by a distance r in vacuum, the magnitude of the force (F)
|q1 q2 |
between them is given by F= k r2
Nm2 1
In SI units, the value of k is about 9 × 109 C2 The constant k in Eq. is usually put as k = 4πε
0
1 |q1 q2 |
so the Coulomb’s law is written as F= 4πε0 r2
ε0 is called the permittivity of free space.
–12 2 –1 –2
The value of ε0 in SI units is ε0 = 8.854 × 10 C N m

VECTOR FORM OF COULOMB’S LAW: Since force is a vector, Coulomb’s law is written in the vector notation.
Let the position vectors of charges q1 and q2 be r1 and r2 respectively We denote force on q1 due to q2 by
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F12 and force on q2 due to q1 by ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F21 .
The two point charges q1 and q2 have been numbered 1 and 2 and the vector leading from 1 to 2 is denoted by r⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 21
; r⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
21 = ⃗⃗⃗
r2 – ⃗⃗⃗
r1
In the same way, the vector leading from 2 to 1 is denoted by r12 ;
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ r⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
12 = ⃗⃗⃗
r1 – ⃗⃗⃗
r2
The magnitude of the vectors r⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
21 and r⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
12 is denoted by r21 and r12 , respectively (r 12 = r21).
The direction of a vector is specified by a unit vector along the vector. To
denote the direction from 1 to 2 (or from 2 to 1), we define the unit vectors:
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
r ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
r
r̂21 = |r21 r̂12 = |r12 | r̂21 = r̂12
21| 12
Coulomb’s force law between two point charges q1 and q2 located at r1 and
1 |q1 q2 |
r2 , respectively is then expressed as ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F21 = 2 r ̂21 4πε0 |r21 |
1 |q1 q2 | ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
r21 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
r12 1 |q1 q2 |
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F21 = 〈as r̂12 = 〉 = r⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
4πε0 |r21 | 2 |r21| |r12 | 4πε0 |r21 | 3 21
This Equation is valid for any sign of q1 and q2 whether positive or negative.
If q1 and q2 are of the same sign (either both positive or both negative), ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F21
is along r̂21 , which denotes repulsion, as it should be for like charges.
If q1 and q2 are of opposite signs, ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F21 is along – r̂21 (= r̂12 ), which denotes
attraction, as expected for unlike charges.
Thus, we do not have to write separate equations for the cases of like and
unlike charges.

COULOMB 1 C is the charge that when placed at a distance of 1 m from another charge of the same magnitude in
vacuum experiences an electrical force of repulsion of magnitude 9 × 109 N.
Nm2 |q1 q2 |
In SI units, the value of k is about 9 × 109 C2 Putting this value of k in Eq. F= k r2
and for q1 = q2 = 1C, r = 1 m F = 9 × 109 N

Example 1.3 Coulomb’s law for electrostatic force between two point charges and Newton’s law for gravitational
force between two stationary point masses, both have inverse-square dependence on the distance between the
charges and masses respectively.
(a) Compare the strength of these forces by determining the ratio of their magnitudes
(i) for an electron and a proton and (ii) for two protons.
(b) Estimate the accelerations of electron and proton due to the electrical force of their mutual attraction when they
are 1 Å (= 10-10 m) apart? (mp = 1.67 × 10–27 kg, me = 9.11 × 10–31 kg)
Solution:
(a) (i) The electric force between an electron and a proton at a distance r apart is:

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07 ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS JASVINDER SINGH
1 ex e 1 e2
Fe = - 4πε r2
F = - 4πε 2 where the negative sign indicates that the force is attractive.
0 0 r
𝑚𝑝 x 𝑚𝑒
The corresponding gravitational force (always attractive) is: FG = - G r2
where mp and me are the masses of a proton and an electron respectively.
1 e2
F − e2
4πε0 r2
|F e | = 𝑚𝑝 x 𝑚𝑒 =
4πε0 G𝑚𝑝 x 𝑚𝑒
= 2.4 x 1039
G − G 2 r
(ii) On similar lines, the ratio of the magnitudes of electric force to the gravitational force between two protons at a
F e2
distance r apart is: |F e | = 4πε0 G𝑚𝑝 x 𝑚𝑒
= 1.3 ×1036
G
However, the signs of the two forces are different. For two protons, the gravitational force is attractive in nature and
the Coulomb force is repulsive. The actual values of these forces between two protons inside a nucleus (distance
between two protons is ~ 10-15 m inside a nucleus) are Fe ~ 230 N, whereas, FG ~ 1.9 × 10–34 N.
The (dimensionless) ratio of the two forces shows that electrical forces are enormously stronger than the gravitational
forces.
⃗ exerted by a proton on an electron is same in magnitude to the force exerted by an electron
(b) The electric force F
on a proton; however, the masses of an electron and a proton are different. Thus, the magnitude of force is |F| =
1 e2
4πε0 r2
= 8.987 × 109 Nm2 /C2 × (1.6 ×10–19 C)2 / (10–10m)2 = 2.3 × 10–8 N
Using Newton’s second law of motion, F = ma, the acceleration that an electron will undergo is
a = 2.3×10–8 N / 9.11 ×10–31 kg = 2.5 × 1022 m/s2
Comparing this with the value of acceleration due to gravity, we can conclude that the effect of gravitational field is
negligible on the motion of electron and it undergoes very large accelerations under the action of Coulomb force due
to a proton.
The value for acceleration of the proton is 2.3 × 10–8 N / 1.67 × 10–27 kg = 1.4 × 1019 m/s2

Example 1.4 A charged metallic sphere A is suspended by a nylon thread. Another charged metallic sphere B held by
an insulating handle is brought close to A such that the distance between their centres is 10 cm, as shown in Fig. (a).
The resulting repulsion of A is noted (for example, by shining a beam of light and measuring the deflection of its
shadow on a screen). Spheres A and B are touched by uncharged spheres C and D respectively, as shown in Fig. (b). C
and D are then removed and B is brought closer to A to a distance of 5.0 cm between their centres, as shown in Fig.
(c). What is the expected repulsion of A on the basis of Coulomb’s law?
Spheres A and C and spheres B and D have identical sizes. Ignore the sizes of A and B in comparison to the separation
between their centres.
Solution: Let the original charge on sphere A be q and that on B be q′.
At a distance r between their centres, the magnitude of the electrostatic
force on each is given by
1 q q′
F = 4πε r2 neglecting the sizes of spheres, A and B in comparison to r.
0
When an identical but uncharged sphere C touches A, the charges
redistribute on A and C and, by symmetry, each sphere carries a charge q/2.
Similarly, after D touches B, the redistributed charge on each is q/2.
Now, if the separation between A and B is halved, the magnitude of the
electrostatic force on each is
q q′ qq′
1 2 2 1 4 1 q q′
F’ = r = = =F
4πε0 ( )2 4πε0 r 2 4πε0 r2
2 4
Thus the electrostatic force on A, due to B, remains unaltered.

FORCES BETWEEN MULTIPLE CHARGES

Principle of Superposition: According to this principle, the force on any
charge due to a number of other charges is the vector sum of all the forces
on that charge due to the other charges, taken one at a time. The individual
forces are unaffected due to the presence of other charges.
Consider a system of three charges q1, q2 and q3, as shown in Fig. (a). The force on one charge, say q1 , due to
two other charges q2 , q3 can therefore be obtained by performing a vector addition of the forces due to each one of
these charges.

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07 ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS JASVINDER SINGH
1 q1 q2
Thus, if the force on q1 due to q2 is denoted by F12, F12 is given by Eq. ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F12 = r̂
4πε0 r12 2 12
1 q1 q3
In the same way, the force on q1 due to q3 , denoted by F13, is given by ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F13 = r̂
4πε0 r13 2 13
which again is the Coulomb force on q1 due to q3, even though other charge q2
is present.
Thus the total force F1 on q1 due to the two charges q2 and q3 is given as
1 q q 1 q q
⃗⃗⃗⃗
F1 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F12 + ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F13 = 4πε r1 22 r̂12 + 4πε r1 23 r̂13
0 12 0 13
The above calculation of force can be generalised to a system of
charges more than three, as shown in Fig. (b).
The principle of superposition says that in a system of charges q1 , q2 ,
..., qn , the force on q1 due to q2 is the same as given by Coulomb’s law, i.e., it
is unaffected by the presence of the other charges q3 , q4 , ..., qn . The total
force F1 on the charge q1 , due to all other charges, is then given by the vector
sum of the forces ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ F12 , ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F13 , ..., ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F1n :
i.e., ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F1 = F12 + F13 + ….. + ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ F1n

1 q1 q2 1 q1 q3 1 q1 qn
=4πε r̂
r12 2 12
+ r̂
4πε0 r13 2 13
+ ….. + 4πε r̂
r1n 2 1n
0 0

1 q1 q2 q1 q3 q1 qn 1 q
= 4πε [ r̂
r12 2 12
+ r̂
r13 2 13
+ …..+ r̂ ]
r1n 2 1n
= 4πε ∑𝑛𝑖=2 r i 2 r̂1i
0 0 1i

The vector sum is obtained as usual by the parallelogram law of addition of

vectors.

Example 1.5 Consider three charges q1, q2 , q3 each equal to q at the

vertices of an equilateral triangle of side l. What is the force on a charge Q
(with the same sign as q) placed at the centroid of the triangle, as shown in Fig.?
Solution: In the given equilateral triangle ABC of sides of length l, if we draw a
perpendicular AD to the side BC, AD = AC cos 30º = (√3 /2) l and the distance AO of
the centroid O from A is (2/3) AD = (1/√3 ) l.
By symmetry AO = BO = CO.
3 Qq
Thus, Force ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F1 on Q due to charge q at A = 2 along AO
4πε0 l
3 Qq
Force ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F2 on Q due to charge q at B = 4πε l2
along BO
0
3 Qq
Force ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F3 on Q due to charge q at C = 4πε l2 along CO
0
3 Qq
The resultant of forces ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F2 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F3 is along OA, by the parallelogram law.
4πε0 l2
3 Qq
Therefore, the total force on Q = 𝑟̂ − 𝑟̂ = 0, where 𝑟̂ is the unit vector along OA.
4πε0 l2
It is clear also by symmetry that the three forces will sum to zero.
Suppose that the resultant force was non-zero but in some direction.

Example 1.6 Consider the charges q, q, and –q placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, as shown in Fig.
What is the force on each charge?
Solution: The forces acting on charge q at A due to charges q at B and
–q at C are F12 along BA and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ F13 along AC respectively, as shown in Fig..
By the parallelogram law, the total force F1 on the charge q at A is given by:
⃗⃗⃗⃗
F1 = F r̂1 where r̂1 is a unit vector along BC.
The force of attraction or repulsion for each pair of charges has the same
q2
magnitude F=
4πε0 l2
The total force F2 on charge q at B is thus ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F2 = F r̂2 , where r̂2 is a unit
vector along AC.
Similarly the total force on charge –q at C is ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F3 = √3 F 𝑛̂ , where 𝑛̂ is the unit
vector along the direction bisecting the ∠BCA.
The sum of the forces on the three charges is zero, i.e., ⃗⃗⃗⃗ F1 + ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F2 + ⃗⃗⃗⃗
F3 = 0
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ELECTRIC FIELD The electric field due to a charge Q at a point in space may be defined as the force that a unit positive
charge would experience if placed at that point.
The charge Q, which is producing the electric field, is called a source charge and the charge q, which tests the
effect of a source charge, is called a test charge.

ELECTRIC FIELD DUE TO A POINT CHARGE Consider a point charge Q placed in vacuum, at the origin O. If we
place another point charge q at a point P, where OP = r, then the charge Q will exert a force on q as per Coulomb’s
law.
The charge Q produces an electric field everywhere in the surrounding. When another charge q is brought at
some point P, the field there acts on it and produces a force.
The electric field produced by the charge Q at a point r is given as ⃗ (r) = 1 Q2q 𝑟̂
E
4πε0 r
Where 𝑟̂ = r/r, is a unit vector from the origin to the point r.
Thus, above Eq. specifies the value of the electric field for each value of the position vector r.
The word “field” signifies how some distributed quantity (which could be a scalar or a vector) varies with position.
⃗ exerted by a charge Q on a charge q, is
The force F ⃗ = 1 Q 2q 𝑟̂
F 4πε r0
The charge q also exerts an equal and opposite force on the charge Q.
The electrostatic force between the charges Q and q is an interaction between charge q and the electric field of Q and
vice versa.
If we denote the position of charge q by the vector 𝑟, it experiences a force F ⃗ equal to the charge q multiplied by the
⃗ at the location of q.
electric field E Thus, ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F(r) = q , E(r)
This Equation defines the SI unit of electric field as N/C.
Some important remarks:
(i) From Eq. ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
F(r) = q , ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E(r) , we can infer that if q is unity, the electric field due to a charge Q is
numerically equal to the force exerted by it.
Thus, the electric field due to a charge Q at a point in space may be defined as the force that a unit positive charge
would experience if placed at that point. The charge Q, which is producing the electric field, is called a source charge
and the charge q, which tests the effect of a source charge, is called a test charge.
The source charge Q must remain at its original location. However, if a charge q is brought at any point around
Q, Q itself is bound to experience an electrical force due to q and will tend to move.
A way out of this difficulty is to make q negligibly small. The force F is then negligibly small but
⃗⃗⃗
F
the ratio F/q is finite and defines the electric field: E = lim ( 𝑞 )
𝑞→0
(ii) The electric field E due to Q, though defined operationally in terms of some test
charge q, is independent of q. This is because F is proportional to q, so the ratio F/q does not
depend on q.
The force F on the charge q due to the charge Q depends on the particular location of charge q
which may take any value in the space around the charge Q.
Thus, the electric field E due to Q is also dependent on the space coordinate r.
For different positions of the charge q all over the space, we get different values of electric field
E. The field exists at every point in three-dimensional space.
(iii) For a positive charge, the electric field will be directed radially outwards from the
charge and for negative charge, the electric field vector, at each point, points radially inwards.
(iv) Since the magnitude of the force F on charge q due to charge Q depends only on
the distance r of the charge q from charge Q, the magnitude of the electric field E will also
depend only on the distance r. Thus at equal distances from the charge Q, the magnitude of its
electric field E is same.
The magnitude of electric field E due to a point charge is thus same on a sphere with
the point charge at its centre; in other words, it has a spherical symmetry.

ELECTRIC FIELD DUE TO A SYSTEM OF CHARGES Consider a system of charges q1 , q2 , ..., qn with position vectors ⃗⃗⃗ r1 ,
r2 … ⃗⃗⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗ rn relative to some origin O.
Like the electric field at a point in space due to a single charge, electric field at a point in space due to the
system of charges is defined to be the force experienced by a unit test charge placed at that point, without disturbing
the original positions of charges q1, q2, ..., qn.

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Using Coulomb’s law and the superposition principle the electric field is determined at point P. denoted by
position vector r.
⃗⃗⃗⃗1 at r due to q1 at ⃗⃗⃗
Electric field E ⃗⃗⃗⃗1 = 1
r1 is given by E
q1
2 r
̂1p
4πε0 r1p
wherer̂1p is a unit vector in the direction from q1 to P, and r1P is the distance between q1 and P.
⃗⃗⃗⃗2 at r due to q2 at ⃗⃗⃗
Electric field E r2 is ⃗⃗⃗⃗2 = 1
E
q2
2 r
̂2p
4πε0 r2p
wherer̂2p is a unit vector in the direction from q2 to P and r2P is the distance between q2 and P.
Similar expressions can be obtained for fields E ⃗⃗⃗⃗3 , E ⃗⃗⃗⃗4 , ..., ⃗⃗⃗⃗
En due to charges q3 , q4 , ..., qn .
⃗
By the superposition principle, the electric field E at r due to the system of
charges is (as shown in Fig.) is ⃗E(r) = E
⃗⃗⃗⃗1 (r) + E ⃗⃗⃗⃗2 (r) + … + ⃗⃗⃗⃗ En (r)
1 q1 1 q2 1 qn 1 q
⃗E(r) =
4πε r 2 1p
r̂ + 4πε r 2 r̂2p + … + 4πε r 2 r̂np = 4πε ∑𝑛𝑖=1 r i2 r̂ip
0 1p 0 2p 0 np 0 ip
⃗E is a vector quantity that varies from one point to another point in space and is
determined from the positions of the source charges.

PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ELECTRIC FIELD For electrostatics, the concept of

electric field is convenient, but not really necessary. Electric field is an elegant way of characterising the electrical
environment of a system of charges.
Electric field at a point in the space around a system of charges tells us the force a unit positive test charge
would experience if placed at that point (without disturbing the system). ⃗F(r) =qo ⃗E(r)
Electric field is a characteristic of the system of charges and is independent of the test charge that we place at
a point to determine the field.
The term field in physics generally refers to a quantity that is defined at every point in space and may vary
from point to point.
Electric field is a vector field, since force is a vector quantity.
The concept of field was first introduced by Faraday and is now among the central concepts in physics.

EXAMPLE 1.7 An electron falls through a distance of 1.5 cm in a uniform electric field of magnitude 2.0 × 104 N C–1
[Fig. (a)]. The direction of the field is reversed keeping its magnitude
unchanged and a proton falls through the same distance [Fig. (b)]. Compute
the time of fall in each case. Contrast the situation with that of ‘free fall under
gravity’.
Solution: In Fig. (a) the field is upward, so the negatively charged
electron experiences a downward force of magnitude e E where E is the magnitude of the electric field.
The acceleration of the electron is ae = e E/me where me is the mass of the electron.
Starting from rest, the time required by the electron to fall through a distance h is given by
2h 2h me
te=√ a = √ eE
e
For e = 1.6 × 10–19C, me = 9.11 × 10–31 kg, E = 2.0 × 104 N C–1 , h = 1.5 × 10–2 m, te = 2.9 × 10–9s
In Fig. (b), the field is downward, and the positively charged proton experiences a downward force of magnitude eE.
The acceleration of the proton is ap = eE/mp where mp is the mass of the proton
2h 2h mp
mp = 1.67 × 10–27 kg. The time of fall for the proton is tp=√a =√ eE
= 1.3 × 10–7 s
p

Thus, the heavier particle (proton) takes a greater time to fall through the same distance.
This is in basic contrast to the situation of ‘free fall under gravity’ where the time of fall is independent of the mass of
the body.

Example 1.8 Two point charges q1 and q2 , of magnitude +10–8 C and –10–8 C, respectively, are placed 0.1 m apart.
Calculate the electric fields at points A, B and C shown in Fig.
Solution: The electric field vector ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E1A at A due to the positive charge q1 points
towards the right and has a magnitude
9 2 −2 −8
⃗⃗⃗⃗1 = (9 x 10 Nm C )2 x (10 C) = 3.6 × 104 N C–1
E
(0.05m)
The electric field vector ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E2A at A due to the negative charge q2 points towards the right and
has the same magnitude.
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Hence the magnitude of the total electric field EA at A is
EA = E1A + E2A = 7.2 × 104 N C–1
EA is directed toward the right.
The electric field vector ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E1B at B due to the positive charge q1 points towards the left and has a magnitude
(9 x 109 Nm2 C−2 ) x (10−8 C )
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E1B = 2 = 3.6 × 104 N C–1
(0.05m)
The electric field vector ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E2B at B due to the negative charge q2 points towards the right and has a magnitude
(9 x 109 Nm2 C−2 ) x (10−8 C )
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E 2B = 2 = 4 × 103 N C–1
(0.15m)
The magnitude of the total electric field at B is EB = E1B – E2B = 3.2 × 104 N C–1
⃗⃗⃗⃗
EB is directed towards the left.
The magnitude of each electric field vector at point C, due to charge q1 and q2 is
9 2 −2 −8
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ (9 x 10 Nm C )2 x (10 C ) = 9 × 103 N C–1
1C = E2C = (0.10m)
The directions in which these two vectors point are indicated in Fig.
The resultant of these two vectors is EC = E1C cos π/3 + E2C cos π/3 = 9 × 103 N C–1
EC points towards the right.

ELECTRIC FIELD LINES An electric field line is, a curve drawn in such a way that the tangent to it at any point
represent the direction of the net field at that point.
Electric field lines are a way of pictorially mapping the electric field around a configuration of charges.
An arrow on the curve is drawn to specify the direction of electric field from the two possible directions
indicated by a tangent to the curve.
A field line is a space curve, i.e., a curve in three dimensions. Figure shows the field lines around some simple
charge configurations.
The field lines of a single positive charge are radially outward while those of a single negative charge are
radially inward.
The field lines around a system of two
positive charges (q, q) give a pictorial description of
their mutual repulsion, while those around the
configuration of two equal and opposite charges (q,
–q), a dipole, show the mutual attraction between
the charges.

Properties Of Field Lines

(i) Field lines start from positive charges and end at negative charges.
If there is a single charge, they may start or end at infinity.
(ii) In a charge-free region, electric field lines can be taken to be continuous curves without any breaks.
(iii) Two field lines can never cross each other.
(If they did, the field at the point of intersection will not have a unique direction, which is not possible.)
(iv) Electrostatic field lines do not form any closed loops.
(v) Tangent to the electric field line at any point gives the direction of electric field intensity at that point.
(vi) The electric field lines are always normal to the surface of a conductor,

The magnitude of the field is represented by the density of field lines Electric field is a vector quantity and
can be represented like vectors.
Consider a point charge be placed at the origin. Draw vectors pointing along the direction of the electric field
with their lengths proportional to the strength of the field at each point.
Since the magnitude of electric field at a point decreases inversely as the square of the
distance of that point from the charge, the vector gets shorter as one goes away from the
origin, always pointing radially outward.
In the given figure, each arrow indicates the electric field, i.e., the force acting on a unit
positive charge, placed at the tail of that arrow.
Connect the arrows pointing in one direction and the resulting figure represents a field
line. We thus get many field lines, all pointing outwards from the point charge.
The magnitude of the field is represented by the density of field lines.

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E is strong near the charge, so the density of field lines is more near the charge and the lines are closer. Away
from the charge, the field gets weaker and the density of field lines is less, resulting in well-separated lines.
Since the electric field decreases as the square of the distance from a point charge and the area enclosing the
charge increases as the square of the distance, the number of field lines crossing the enclosing area remains constant,
whatever may be the distance of the area from the charge.
The relative density (i.e., closeness) of the field lines at different points indicates the relative strength of
electric field at those points. The field lines crowd where the field is strong and are spaced apart where it is weak.
Imagine two equal and small elements of area placed at points R and S normal to the field lines. The number
of field lines in given picture cutting the area elements is proportional to the magnitude of field at these points.
The picture shows that the field at R is stronger than at S.
Let a small transverse line element ∆l be placed at a distance r from a point O. Then
the angle subtended by ∆l at O is ∆θ = ∆l/r.
Likewise, in three-dimensions the solid angle subtended by a small perpendicular
plane area ∆S, at a distance r, can be written as ∆Ω = ∆S /r2.
In a given solid angle, the number of radial field lines is the same.
In Fig. for two points P1 and P2 at distances r 1 and r 2 from the charge, the element
of area subtending the solid angle ∆Ω
at P1 is r12∆Ω and at P2 is r22∆Ω,
The number of lines (say n) cutting these area elements are the same.
The number of field lines, cutting unit area element is therefore n/( r12∆Ω ) at P1 and n/( r22∆Ω) at P2 ,
respectively.
Since n and ∆Ω are common, the strength of the field has a 1/r2 dependence.
The picture of field lines was invented by Faraday to develop an intuitive non-mathematical way of visualising
electric fields around charged configurations. Faraday called them lines of force. This term is somewhat misleading,
especially in case of magnetic fields. The more appropriate term is field lines (electric or magnetic).

ELECTRIC FLUX Electric flux ∆ϕ through an area element ∆S is defined as the total number of electric field lines
crossing the area element. Electric flux E . ∆S⃗⃗ = E∆S cos θ
∆ϕ = ⃗⃗⃗
Electric flux is proportional to the number of field lines cutting the area element.
The angle θ here is the angle between E ⃗⃗⃗ and ∆S⃗⃗ .
The unit of electric flux is NC–1 m2
The number of electric field lines crossing a unit area, placed normal to the field
at a point is a measure of the strength of electric field at that point. This means that if
we place a small planar element of area ∆S normal to ⃗⃗⃗ E at a point, the number of field
⃗⃗⃗
lines crossing it is proportional to E ∆S.
Now suppose we tilt the area element by angle q, the number of field lines
crossing the area element will be smaller. The projection of the area element normal to
E is ∆S cos θ. Thus, the number of field lines crossing ∆S is proportional to E ∆S cos θ.
When θ = 90°, field lines will be parallel to ∆S and will not cross it at all
The magnitude as well as the orientation of area element is important, thus an area
element is treated as a vector. It has a magnitude as well as a direction.
The normal to the plane specifies the orientation of the plane. Thus the direction of a
planar area vector is along its normal.
Imagine we divide the surface into a large number of very small area elements. Each
small area element may be treated as planar and a vector associated with it.
The direction of an area element is along its normal. But a normal can point in two
directions. We choose as the direction of the vector associated with the area element by
following convention.
For the case of a closed surface, the vector associated with every area element of a
closed surface is taken to be in the direction of the outward normal. Thus, the area element
vector ∆S at a point on a closed surface equals ∆S n̂ where ∆S is the magnitude of the area
element and n̂ is a unit vector in the direction of outward normal at that point.
For a closed surface, with the convention stated already, θ is the angle between ⃗⃗⃗E and
the outward normal to the area element.
The expression E ∆S cos θ can be considered in two ways:

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07 ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS JASVINDER SINGH
1. E (∆S cos θ ) i.e., E times the projection of area normal to E⃗⃗⃗ ,
2. E┴ ∆S, i.e., component of E ⃗⃗⃗ along the normal to the area element times the magnitude of the area element.
The basic equation of electric flux can be used, to calculate the total flux through any given surface. All we
have to do is to divide the surface into small area elements, calculate the flux at each element and add them up. Thus,
the total flux ϕ through a surface S is ϕ ~ ∑ ⃗⃗⃗E . ∆S⃗⃗
The approximation sign is put because the electric field E ⃗⃗⃗ is taken to be constant over the small area element.
This is mathematically exact only when we take the limit ∆S → 0 and the sum in Eq. is written as an integral.

ELECTRIC DIPOLE An electric dipole is a pair of equal and opposite point charges q and –q, separated by a
distance 2a.
The line connecting the two charges defines a direction in space.
By convention, the direction from –q to q is said to be the direction of the dipole.
The mid-point of locations of –q and q is called the centre of the dipole.
The total charge of the electric dipole is zero. This does not mean that the field of the electric dipole is zero.

The field of an electric dipole It is the space around the dipole up to which the electric effect of the dipole can be
experienced.
The electric field of the pair of charges (–q and q) at any point in space can be found out from Coulomb’s law
and the superposition principle.
In an electric dipole, the charge q and –q are separated by some distance, the electric fields due to them,
when added, do not exactly cancel out. However, at distances much larger than the separation of the two charges
forming a dipole (r >> 2a), the fields due to q and –q nearly cancel out.
The electric field due to a dipole therefore falls off, at large distance, faster than like 1/r2 (the dependence on r
of the field due to a single charge q).
The electric field at any general point P is obtained by adding the electric fields E–q due to the charge –q and
E+q due to the charge q, by the parallelogram law of vectors.
(I) THE FIELD OF AN ELECTRIC DIPOLE ON A POINT ON THE DIPOLE AXIS
Consider a point P be at distance r from the centre of the dipole on the side of the charge q, as shown in Fig.
q
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
ThenE −q =
̂
P
4πε0 (r+a)2

̂ is the unit vector along the dipole axis (from –q to q).

where P
q
Also ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E+q = 4πε 2
̂
P
0 (r−a)
q q
The total field at P is ⃗ = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E E−q + ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E−q = 4πε 2
̂+
P 2
̂
P
0 (r+a) 4πε 0 (r−a)

q 1 1 q (r+a)2 −(r−a)2 q (r2 +a2 +2ar)− (r2 +a2 −2ar)

=4πε [(r−a)2 − (r+a)2 ] ̂P = 4πε [ (r−a)2 (r+a)2 ] ̂P = 4πε [ (r−a)(r−a)(r+a)(r+a)
] ̂P
0 0 0

q r2 +a2 +2ar − r2 − a2 +2ar q 4ar q 4ar

= [ ] ̂P = [(r2 − a2 ) (r2 − a2 )] ̂P = [(r2 − a2 )2 ] ̂P
4πε0 (r−a)(r+a)(r−a)(r+a) 4πε0 4πε0

For r >> a, higher powers of a can be neglected in denominator being very very small, we can write
q 4ar q 4ar 4 qa
⃗E = [ ] ̂P = [ ] ̂P = ̂P (r >> a)
4πε0 (r2 )2 4πε0 r4 4πε0 r3

Thus, the dipole field at large distances does not involve q and a separately; it depends on the product q a. This
suggests the definition of dipole moment.
The dipole moment vector P ⃗ of an electric dipole is defined by P
⃗ = q × 2a P
̂
It is a vector whose magnitude is charge q times the separation 2a (between the pair of charges q, –q) and the
direction is along the line from –q to q.
In terms of ⃗P, the electric field of a dipole at large distances takes simple forms:
4 qa 2 ⃗P
At a point on the dipole axis ⃗ =
E ̂P(r >> a) = (r >> a)
4πε0 r3 4πε0 r3
(II) THE FIELD OF AN ELECTRIC DIPOLE ON A POINT ON THE EQUATORIAL PLANE OF THE DIPOLE, i.e., on a plane
perpendicular to the dipole axis through its centre.
Consider a point P on the equatorial plane of the dipole

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The magnitudes of the electric fields due to the two charges +q and –q at P are given by
q q
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ̂
E−q = 4πε (r2 + a2 )2 P ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ̂
E+q = 4πε (r2 + a2 )2 P
0 0

These two fields are equal.

The directions of E+q and E–q are as shown in Fig.
The components normal to the dipole axis, E-q sin θ cancels E+q sin θ
The components along the dipole axis E-q cos θ adds E+q cos θ
The total electric field is opposite to P ̂=
⃗ = (E+q cos θ + E-q cos θ) -P
E ̂
= -(E+q + E-q) cos θ P̂
q q q+q
̂ +
= 4πε (r2 + a2 )2 cos θ P ̂ =
cos θ P ̂
cos θ P
0 4πε (r2 + a2 )2
0 4πε (r2 + a2 )2 0
2q OB 2q a 2qa 2qa
= ̂
( BP ) P = ( ̂
)P = ̂
P = ̂
P
4πε0 (r2 + a2 )2 4πε0 (r2 + a2 )2 √r2 + a2 4πε0 (r2 + a2 )2+1/2 4πε0 (r+a)3/2
At large distances (r >> a), higher powers of a can be neglected in denominator being very very small, we can write
⃗ = 2 q a3 P
E ̂ (r >> a)
4πε r 0
Thus, the dipole field at large distances does not involve q and a separately; it depends on the product qa. This
suggests the definition of dipole moment.
The dipole moment vector ⃗P of an electric dipole is defined by ⃗P = q × 2a P̂
It is a vector whose magnitude is charge q times the separation 2a (between the pair of charges q, –q) and the
direction is along the line from –q to q.
In terms of P⃗ , the electric field of a dipole at large distances takes simple forms:
⃗P
At a point on the equatorial plane ⃗ =
E (r >> a)
4πε0 r3
Thus the dipole field at large distances falls off not as 1/r2 but as1/r3.
The magnitude and the direction of the dipole field depends not only on the distance r but also on the angle between
the position vector r and the dipole moment p.

POINT DIPOLE A dipole whose size 2a approaches zero and the charge q approaches infinity in such a way that the
product p = q × 2a is finite is referred to as a point dipole.

PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DIPOLES In most molecules, the centres of positive charges and of negative charges lie
at the same place. Therefore, their dipole moment is zero.
Example: CO2 and CH4
Such molecules develop a dipole moment when an electric field is applied.
In some molecules, the centres of negative charges and of positive charges do not coincide. Therefore, they
have a permanent electric dipole moment, even in the absence of an electric field. Such molecules are called polar
molecules.
Example: Water molecules,

Example 1.9 Two charges ±10 μC are placed 5.0 mm apart. Determine the electric field at
(a) a point P on the axis of the dipole 15 cm away from its centre O on the side of the positive
charge, as shown in Fig. (a),
(b) a point Q, 15 cm away from O on a line passing through O and normal to the axis of the
dipole, as shown in Fig. (b).
Solution:
(a) Field at P due to charge +10 mC
q 4ar ⃗
⃗ =
E [ 2 2 2 ] ̂ = q [ 22Pr2 2 ] along BP
P ̂=P
(as q × 2a P ⃗ )
4πε0 (r − a ) 4πε0 (r − a )
10−5 𝐶 1
= 4π x 8.854 x 10 −12 C2 N−1 m−2
x (15−0.25)2 x 10 −4 m2
= 4.13 × 106 N C–1 along BP
Field at P due to charge -10 mC
10−5 C 1
= 4π x 8.854 x 10 −12 C2 N−1 m−2
x (15 + 0.25)2 x 10 −4 m2
= 3.86 × 106 N C–1 along PA
The resultant electric field at P due to the two charges at A and B = 2.7 × 105N C–1 along BP.
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10−5 C 1
(b) Field at Q due to charge + 10 mC at B = 4π x 8.854 x 10 −12 C2 N−1 m−2
x (15)2 +(0.25)2 x 10 −4 m2
= 3.99 × 106 N C–1 along BQ
10−5 C 1
Field at Q due to charge –10 mC at A = 4π x 8.854 x 10 −12 C2 N−1 m−2
x (15)2 +(0.25)2 x 10 −4 m2
= 3.99 × 106 N C–1 along QA.
Clearly, the components of these two forces with equal magnitudes cancel along the direction OQ but add up along
the direction parallel to BA.
Therefore, the resultant electric field at Q due to the two charges at A and B is
2 x 0.25
= 2 2
x 3.99 x 106 N C-1 along BA = 1.33 × 105 N C–1 along BA.
√15 + (0.25)

⃗ exists irrespective of electric field ⃗E. The

PERMANENT DIPOLE Permanent dipole is a dipole whose dipole moment p
permanent dipole is not induced by ⃗E.)

DIPOLE IN A UNIFORM EXTERNAL FIELD Consider a permanent dipole of dipole moment 𝐩 ⃗ in a uniform external field ⃗E,
as shown in Fig.
There is a force qE ⃗ on q and a force –qE ⃗ on –q. The net force on the dipole is zero, since
⃗E is uniform. However, the charges are separated, so the forces act at different points, resulting
in a torque on the dipole.
When the net force is zero, the torque (couple) is independent of the origin. Its magnitude equals the
magnitude of each force multiplied by the arm of the couple (perpendicular distance between the two antiparallel
forces).
Magnitude of torque = q E × 2 a sin θ = 2 q a E sin θ
Its direction is normal to the plane of the paper, coming out of it.
The magnitude of p ⃗ × ⃗E = p ⃗E sin θ and its direction is normal to the paper, coming out of it.
Thus torque produced, τ⃗ = p ⃗ ×E⃗
The direction of τ⃗ is given by right handed screw rule and is perpendicular to p ⃗ and ⃗E, ie., perpendicular to the
plane of the paper and outwards.
This torque will tend to align the dipole with the field ⃗E.
When p ⃗ is aligned with ⃗E, the torque is zero.
If the field is non uniform, the net force will be non-zero. In addition, there will, in
general, be a torque on the system as before.
Consider the simpler situations when p ⃗ or antiparallel to E
⃗ is parallel to E ⃗ . In
⃗
either case, the net torque is zero, but there is a net force on the dipole if E is not
uniform.
It is easily seen in fig. that
(a). When p is parallel to ⃗E, the dipole has a net force in the direction of increasing
field.
(b). When p is antiparallel to ⃗E, the net force on the dipole is in the direction of
decreasing field.
In general, the force depends on the orientation of p with respect to ⃗E.
This brings us to a common observation in frictional electricity. A comb run through dry hair attracts pieces of
paper. The comb, as we know, acquires charge through friction. But the paper is not charged, the charged comb
‘polarises’ the piece of paper, i.e., induces a net dipole moment in the direction of field. Further, the electric field due to
the comb is not uniform. This non-uniformity of the field makes a dipole to experience a net force on it. In this situation,
it is easily seen that the paper should move in the direction of the comb.

CONTINUOUS CHARGE DISTRIBUTION

1. SURFACE CHARGE DENSITY (σ): Consider an area element ∆S on the surface of the
conductor (which is very small on the macroscopic scale but big enough to include a very large
number of electrons) and specify the charge ∆Q on that element.
∆Q
The surface charge density σ at the area element is defined as σ = ∆S

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We can do this at different points on the conductor and thus arrive at a continuous function σ, called the
surface charge density.
The surface charge density σ so defined ignores the quantisation of charge and the discontinuity in charge
distribution at the microscopic level
σ represents macroscopic surface charge density, which in a sense, is a smoothed out average of the
microscopic charge density over an area element ∆S which, is large microscopically but small macroscopically.
The units for σ are C/m2.

∆𝐐
2. LINEAR CHARGE DENSITY (λ) The linear charge density λ of a wire is defined by λ = ∆𝐥
Where ∆l is a small line element of wire on the macroscopic scale that, however, includes a
large number of microscopic charged constituents, and ∆Q is the charge contained in that line
element.
The units for λ are C/m.

3. VOLUME CHARGE DENSITY The volume charge density (sometimes simply called charge density) is defined in as
∆𝐐
ρ = ∆𝐕 where ∆Q is the charge included in the macroscopically small volume
element ∆V that includes a large number of microscopic charged constituents.
The units for ρ are C/m3 .

CONTINUOUS CHARGE DISTRIBUTION: Suppose a continuous charge distribution in space has

a charge density ρ, origin O and the position vector of any point in the charge distribution be r.
The charge density ρ may vary from point to point, i.e., it is a function of r.
Divide the charge distribution into small volume elements of size ∆V. The charge in a volume element ∆V is ρ
∆V.
Now, consider any general point P (inside or outside the distribution) with position vector ⃗R
1 ρ ∆V ̂
Electric field due to the charge ρ ∆V is given by Coulomb’s law: 𝑟′ where r’ is the distance between the
4πε0 𝑟 2
charge element and P, and 𝑟′ ̂ is a unit vector in the direction from the charge element to P.
By the superposition principle, the total electric field due to the charge distribution is obtained by summing over
electric fields due to different volume elements:
⃗ = 1 ∑𝑎𝑙𝑙 ∆ 𝑣 ρ ∆V
E ̂
2 𝑟′
̂ all can vary from point to point.
ρ, r’, 𝑟′
4πε0 𝑟

q
GAUSS’S LAW Gauss’s law states that Electric flux through a closed surface S is equal to ε
0
Where q = total charge enclosed by S.
The law implies that the total electric flux through a closed surface is zero if no charge is enclosed by the surface.
Consider the total flux through a sphere of radius r, which encloses a point charge q at its centre.
Divide the sphere into small area elements, as shown in fig.
The flux through an area element ∆S is ∆ϕ = ⃗E . ∆S⃗
Using Coulomb’s law for the electric field due to a single charge q
q
∆ϕ = ⃗
2 𝑟̂ ∆S
4πε0 𝑟
The unit vector 𝑟̂ is along the radius vector from the centre to the area element.
Since the normal to a sphere at every point is along the radius vector at that point, the
area element ∆S⃗ and 𝑟̂ have the same direction.
q
Therefore, ∆ϕ = 4πε 𝑟2 ∆S⃗
0
since the magnitude of a unit vector is 1.
The total flux through the sphere is obtained by adding up flux through all the different area elements:
q
ϕ =∑𝑎𝑙𝑙 ∆ 𝑣 2 ∆S
4πε0 𝑟
Since each area element of the sphere is at the same distance r from the charge,
q q
ϕ = 4πε 𝑟2 ∑all ∆ v ∆S = 4πε 𝑟2 S where S, the total area of the sphere, equals 4πr2 .
0 0
q q
Thus, ϕ = x 4πr2 Or, ϕ =
4πε0 𝑟 2 ε0
This proves Gauss’s law.

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FLUX THROUGH CYLINDRICAL SURFACE
Considering a closed cylindrical surface, with its axis parallel to the uniform field ⃗E.
The total flux ϕ through the surface is ϕ = ϕ1 + ϕ2 + ϕ3, where ϕ1 and ϕ2 represent the flux through the surfaces 1
and 2 (of circular cross-section) of the cylinder and ϕ3 is the flux through the curved cylindrical part of the closed
surface.
The normal to the surface 3 at every point is perpendicular to E ⃗ , so by definition of flux, ϕ3 = 0.
The outward normal to 2 is along E ⃗ while the outward normal to 1 is opposite to E ⃗.
Therefore, ϕ1 = –E ⃗ S1 , ϕ2 = +E
⃗ S2 ,
S1 = S 2 = S where S is the area of circular cross-section.
Thus, the total flux is zero, as expected by Gauss’s law.
Thus, whenever the net electric flux through a closed surface is zero, the total charge contained in the closed surface is
zero.
q
SIGNIFICANCE OF GAUSS’S LAW The great significance of Gauss’s law ϕ = is that it is true in general, and
ε0
not only for the simple cases.
Some important points regarding this law:
(i) Gauss’s law is true for any closed surface, no matter what its shape or size.
q
(ii) The term q on the right side of Gauss’s law, ϕ = ε includes the sum of all charges enclosed by the surface. The
0
charges may be located anywhere inside the surface.
(iii) In the situation when the surface is so chosen that there are some charges inside and some outside, the electric
q
field [whose flux appears on the left side of Eq. ϕ = ε is due to all the charges, both inside and outside S.
0
The term q on the right side of Gauss’s law, however, represents only the total charge inside S.
(iv) The surface that we choose for the application of Gauss’s law is called the Gaussian surface. The Gaussian surface
cannot pass through any discrete charge. This is because electric field due to a system of discrete charges is not well
defined at the location of any charge.
However, the Gaussian surface can pass through a continuous charge distribution.
(v) Gauss’s law is often useful towards a much easier calculation of the electrostatic field when the system has some
symmetry. This is facilitated by the choice of a suitable Gaussian surface.
(vi) Gauss’s law is based on the inverse square dependence on distance contained in the Coulomb’s law. Any violation
of Gauss’s law will indicate departure from the inverse square law.

Example 1.10 The electric field components in Fig. 1.24 are Ex = αx 1/2 , Ey = Ez = 0, in which α = 800 N/C m1/2.
Calculate
(a) the flux through the cube, and (b) the charge within the cube. Assume
that a = 0.1 m.
Solution:
(a) Since the electric field has only an x component, for faces perpendicular to x
direction, the angle between E ⃗ and ∆S⃗ is ± π/2. Therefore, the flux ϕ = E⃗ .∆S⃗ is
separately zero for each face of the cube except the two shaded ones.
The magnitude of the electric field at the left face is EL = x1/2
= αa1/2 (x = a at the left face).
The magnitude of electric field at the right face is ER = α x 1/2
= α (2a)1/2 (x = 2a at the right face).
The corresponding fluxes are
EL .∆S⃗ = ∆S ⃗⃗⃗⃗
ϕL = ⃗⃗⃗⃗ EL n̂L =EL ∆S cosθ = – EL ∆S (θ= 180o) = –EL a2
ϕR = E⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗R .∆S⃗ = ∆S E
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗R n̂R =ER ∆S cosθ = ER ∆S ( θ= 0o) = ER a2
Net flux through the cube = ϕR + ϕL = ER a2 – EL a2 = (ER – EL) a2 = α a2 [(2a)1/2 – a1/2]
2 5/2 2 –1
= α a (√2a– 1) = 800 (0.1) ( √2– 1) = 1.05 N m C
(b) using Gauss’s law we find the total charge q inside the cube.
q
We have ϕ = or q = ϕε0
ε0
Therefore, q = 1.05 × 8.854 × 10–12 C = 9.27 × 10–12 C.

Example 1.11 An electric field is uniform, and in the positive x direction for positive x, and uniform with the same
⃗ = 200 𝐢̂ N/C for x > 0 and 𝐄
magnitude but in the negative x direction for negative x. It is given that 𝐄 ⃗ = –200 𝐢̂ N/C for x
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< 0. A right circular cylinder of length 20 cm and radius 5 cm has its centre at
the origin and its axis along the x-axis so that one face is at x = +10 cm and
the other is at x = –10 cm
(a) What is the net outward flux through each flat face?
(b) What is the flux through the side of the cylinder?
(c) What is the net outward flux through the cylinder?
(d) What is the net charge inside the cylinder?
Solution:
(a) We can see from the figure that on the left face E ⃗ and ∆S⃗ are parallel. Therefore, the outward flux is ϕL
⃗⃗⃗⃗
= EL .∆S⃗ ⃗
= – 200 î∆S = + 200 ∆S, since î∆⃗S = =- ∆S
2 2 –1
= + 200 × π (0.05) = + 1.57 N m C
On the right face, E ⃗ and ∆S⃗ are parallel and therefore ϕR = ⃗⃗⃗⃗
EL .∆S⃗ = + 1.57 N m2 C–1 .
(b) For any point on the side of the cylinder E⃗ is perpendicular to ∆S⃗ and hence E ⃗ . ∆S⃗⃗ = 0.
Therefore, the flux out of the side of the cylinder is zero.
(c) Net outward flux through the cylinder ϕ = 1.57 + 1.57 + 0 = 3.14 N m2 C–1
(d) The net charge within the cylinder can be found by using Gauss’s law which gives
q = ε0 ϕ = 3.14 × 8.854 × 10–12 C = 2.78 × 10–11 C

APPLICATIONS OF GAUSS’S LAW

1 Field due to an infinitely long straight uniformly charged wire Consider an infinitely long thin straight wire with
uniform linear charge density λ. The wire is an axis of symmetry. Suppose we take the radial vector from O to P and
rotate it around the wire. The points P, P’, P’’ so
obtained are completely equivalent with respect to
the charged wire.
This implies that the electric field must have
the same magnitude at these points. The direction of
electric field at every point must be radial (outward
if λ > 0, inward if λ < 0).
Consider a pair of line elements P1 and P2 of
the wire, as shown. The electric fields produced by
the two elements of the pair when summed give a
resultant electric field which is radial (the
components normal to the radial vector cancel).
This is true for any such pair and hence the
total field at any point P is radial. Finally, since the
wire is infinite, electric field does not depend on the position of P along the length of the wire.
The electric field is everywhere radial in the plane cutting the wire normally, and its magnitude depends only
on the radial distance r.
To calculate the field, imagine a cylindrical Gaussian surface, as shown in the Fig. (b). Since the field is
everywhere radial, flux through the two ends of the cylindrical Gaussian surface is zero. At the cylindrical part of the
surface, ⃗E is normal to the surface at every point, and its magnitude is constant, since it depends only on r.
The surface area of the curved part is 2 π rl, where l is the length of the cylinder.
Flux through the Gaussian surface = flux through the curved cylindrical part of the surface = E × 2 π rl
The surface includes charge equal to λ l. Gauss’s law then gives E × 2 π rl = λ l/ε0 i.e., ⃗E = λ
2πε0 𝑟
λ
⃗ at any point is given by
Vectorially, E ⃗ =
E 𝑛̂
2πε0 𝑟
where 𝑛̂ is the radial unit vector in the plane normal to the wire passing through the point.
⃗ is directed outward if λ is positive and inward if λ is negative.
E

2. Field Due To A Uniformly Charged Infinite Plane Sheet Let σ be the uniform surface charge density of an infinite
plane sheet.
We take the x-axis normal to the given plane. By symmetry, the electric field will not depend on y and z
coordinates and its direction at every point must be parallel to the x-direction.
We can take the Gaussian surface to be a rectangular parallelepiped of cross-sectional area A, as shown.
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As seen from the figure, only the two faces 1 and 2 will contribute to the
flux; electric field lines are parallel to the other faces and they, therefore, do not
contribute to the total flux.
The unit vector normal to surface 1 is in –x direction while the unit
vector normal to surface 2 is in the +x direction. Therefore, flux ϕ =
⃗ .∆S⃗ through both the surfaces are equal and add up.
E
Therefore, the net flux through the Gaussian surface is 2 EA.
The charge enclosed by the closed surface is σ A. Therefore, by Gauss’s law
σ
2 EA = σ A/ ε0 or, E = σ /2ε0 Vectorically, ⃗⃗⃗E = 2ε n̂
0
where 𝑛̂ is a unit vector normal to the plane and going away from it.
⃗E is directed away from the plate if σ is positive and toward the plate if σ is negative.

3. Field Due To A Uniformly Charged Thin Spherical Shell

Let σ be the uniform surface charge density of a thin spherical shell of radius R. The symmetry is spherical.
The field at any point P, outside or inside, can depend only on r (the radial distance from the centre of the
shell to the point) and must be radial (i.e., along the radius vector).
(I) FIELD OUTSIDE THE SHELL: Consider a point P outside the shell with radius vector
r. To calculate 𝐄 ⃗ at P, we take the Gaussian surface to be a sphere of radius r and
with centre O, passing through P.
All points on this sphere are equivalent relative to the given charged
configuration.
The electric field at each point of the Gaussian surface, has the same
magnitude E and is along the radius vector at each point.
Thus, 𝐄⃗ and ∆𝐒 at every point are parallel and the flux through each element is ϕ = 𝐄 ⃗ .∆𝐒 .
2
Summing over all ∆𝐒, the flux through the Gaussian surface is E × 4π r .
𝛔
The charge enclosed is σ × 4π r2. By Gauss’s law E × 4π r2 = 𝛆 4π R2
𝟎
𝛔 𝐑𝟐 𝐪 2
Or, E = 𝛆𝟎 𝐫 𝟐
= 𝟒π 𝛆 𝐫 𝟐 where q = 4 π R σ is the total charge on the spherical shell.
𝟎
𝐪
⃗ =
Vectorially, 𝐄 𝐫̂ The electric field is directed outward if q > 0 and inward if q < 0.
𝟒π 𝛆𝟎 𝐫 𝟐
This, however, is exactly the field produced by a charge q placed at the centre O. Thus for points outside the
shell, the field due to a uniformly charged shell is as if the entire charge of the shell is concentrated at its centre.
(II) FIELD INSIDE THE SHELL: Consider a point P inside the shell with radius vector r. To calculate 𝐄 ⃗ at P, we take the
Gaussian surface to be a sphere of radius r and with centre O, passing through P.
All points on this sphere are equivalent relative to the given charged configuration. The electric
field at each point of the Gaussian surface, has the same magnitude E and is along the radius
vector at each point.
Thus, E⃗ and ∆S⃗ at every point are parallel and the flux through each element is ϕ =
⃗ .∆S⃗ .
E
Summing over all ∆S⃗, the flux through the Gaussian surface is E × 4π r2 .
The Gaussian surface encloses no charge.
Thus by Gauss’s law E × 4π r2= 0 i.e., E = 0 (r < R )
that is, the field due to a uniformly charged thin shell is zero at all points inside the shell

EXAMPLE 1.12 An early model for an atom considered it to have a positively charged point nucleus of charge Ze,
surrounded by a uniform density of negative charge up to a radius R. The atom as a whole is
neutral. For this model, what is the electric field at a distance r from the nucleus?
Solution: The charge distribution for this model of the atom is as shown in Fig.
The total negative charge in the uniform spherical charge distribution of radius R
must be –Z e, since the atom (nucleus of charge Z e + negative charge) is neutral.
This immediately gives the negative charge density r, as
4π R3 3ze
3
ρ= Ze or ρ = 4π R3
To find the electric field ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E (r) at a point P which is a distance r away from the nucleus, we use Gauss’s law.

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Because of the spherical symmetry of the charge distribution, the magnitude of the electric field ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
E (r) depends only
on the radial distance, no matter what the direction of r.
Its direction is along (or opposite to) the radius vector r from the origin to the point P.
The Gaussian surface is a spherical surface centred at the nucleus.
Consider the following two situations:
(i) r < R: The electric flux ϕ enclosed by the spherical surface is ϕ = E(r) × 4πr2
where E (r) is the magnitude of the electric field at r.
This is because the field at any point on the spherical Gaussian surface has the same direction as the normal to
the surface there, and has the same magnitude at all points on the surface.
The charge q enclosed by the Gaussian surface is the positive nuclear charge and the negative charge within
4π r3
the sphere of radius r, i.e., q = Z e + 3
ρ
r3
Substituting for the charge density ρ obtained earlier, we have q=Ze- R3
ze 1 𝑟
According to Gauss’s law E(r) = 4π ε r2
- R3
r<R
0
The electric field is directed radially outward.
(ii) r > R: In this case, the total charge enclosed by the Gaussian spherical surface is zero since the atom
is neutral.
Thus, from Gauss’s law, E(r) × 4πr2 = 0 or E (r ) = 0 r>R
At r = R, both cases give the same result: E = 0.

NCERT EXERCISES
Q1.1 What is the force between two small charged spheres having charges of 2 × 10–7C and 3 × 10–7C placed 30 cm
apart in air?
Ans: The Charge on the 1st sphere q1 = 2 x 10-7 C The Charge on the 2nd sphere q2 = 3 x 10-7 C
1
The distance between two charges r = 30cm = 0.3m 4πε
= 9 x 109 Nm2C-2
0
1 q1 q2 2 x 10−7 C x 3 x 10−7 C
Using the relation: F =4πε 𝑟2
= 9 x 109 Nm2C-2 (0.3)2
= 6 x 10-3 N
0

The force between the charges will be repulsive as they have the same nature.

Q1.2 The electrostatic force on a small sphere of charge 0.4 μC due to another small sphere of charge –0.8 μC in air
is 0.2 N.
(a) What is the distance between the two spheres?
(b) What is the force on the second sphere due to the first?
Ans: (a) Given, q1 = 0.4 µC or 0.4 × 10-6 C q2 = - 0.8 × 10-6C
The electrostatic force on the 1st sphere is given by F = 0.2N.
1 q q
Electrostatic force between the spheres is given by the relation: F = 4πε 1𝑟2 2
0
1 q q −6 −6
2 -2 0.4 x 10 C x 8 x 10 C
Or r 2
= 4πε 1𝐹 2 9
= 9 x 10 Nm C 0.2 N
= 144 x 10-4 m
0

Or, r = √144 x 10−4 m = 12 x 10-2 = 0.12 m

Therefore, the distance between the two spheres = 0.12 m
(b) Since the spheres have opposite charges, the force on the second sphere due to the first sphere will also
be equal to 0.2N.

Q1.3 Check that the ratio ke2 /G me mp is dimensionless. Look up a Table of Physical Constants and determine the
value of this ratio. What does the ratio signify?
𝑘𝑒 2
Ans: The ratio to be determined is given as G me mp
where G is the gravitational constant in N m2 kg-2 me and mp is the masses of electron and proton in kg.
e is the electric charge (unit – C)
ke2 [Nm2 C−2 ] [C2 ]
Therefore, the unit of given ratio, G m = [Nm2 kg2 ] [kg] [kg] = M0L0T0
e mp
So, the given ratio is dimensionless.
Given, e = 1.6 x 10-19 C G = 6.67 x 10-11 N m2 kg-2 me = 9.1 x 10-31 kg mp = 1.66 x 10-27 kg

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ke2 9 x 109 x (1.6 x 10−19 )2
We get G me mp
= 6.67 x 10−11 x 9.1 x 10−31 (1.67 x 10−27 ) = 2.3 x 1039
So, the above ratio is the ratio of the electric force to the gravitational force between a proton and an electron when
the distance between them is constant.

Q1.4 (a) Explain the meaning of the statement ‘electric charge of a body is quantised’.
Ans: The ‘electric charge of a body is quantized’ means that only integral (1, 2, …n) numbers of electrons can be
transferred from a body to another. Charges cannot get transferred in fractions. Hence, the total charge possessed by
a body is only in integral multiples of electric charge.
(b) Why can one ignore quantisation of electric charge when dealing with macroscopic i.e., large scale charges?
Ans: In the case of large scale or macroscopic charges, the charge which is used over there is comparatively too
huge to the magnitude of the electric charge. Hence, on a macroscopic level, the quantization of charge is of no use
Therefore, it is ignored and the electric charge is considered to be continuous

Q1.5 When a glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth, charges appear on both. A similar phenomenon is observed with
many other pairs of bodies. Explain how this observation is consistent with the law of conservation of charge.
Ans: When two bodies are rubbed against each other, a charge is developed on both bodies. These charges are
equal but opposite in nature. And this phenomenon of inducing a charge is known as charging by friction. The net
charge on both of the bodies is 0 and the reason behind it is that an equal amount of charge repels it. When we rub a
glass rod with a silk cloth, charge with opposite magnitude is generated over there. This phenomenon is in consistence
with the law of conservation of energy. A similar phenomenon is observed with many other pairs of bodies.

Q1.6 Four point charges qA = 2 μC, qB = –5 μC, qC = 2 μC, and qD = –5 μC are located at the
corners of a square ABCD of side 10 cm. What is the force on a charge of 1 mC placed at the
centre of the square?
Ans: In the above picture, we have shown the square mentioned in the question. Whose
side is 10 cm and four charges are placed at the corners of the squares and O is the centre of
the square.
Sides AB = BC = CD = DA = 10 cm Diagonals AC=BD=10√2 cm AO+OC+DO+OB=5√2 cm
At the centre point O, we have placed a charge of 1 μC
The repulsive force between the corner A and the centre O is same in magnitude with the repulsive force by
the corner C to the centre O, but these forces are opposite in direction. Hence, these forces will cancel each other and
from A and C no forces are applied on the centre O.
Similarly, from the corner C the attractive force is applying on to the centre O and another force with the
same magnitude is applying on the centre O, also these two forces are opposite in direction hence they are also
opposing each other.
Therefore, the net force applying to the centre is zero. Because all the forces here are being cancelled by each
other.

Q1.7 (a) An electrostatic field line is a continuous curve. That is, a field line cannot have sudden breaks. Why not?
Ans: When a charge is placed in an electrostatic field then it experiences a continuous force. Therefore, an
electrostatic field line is a continuous curve. And a charge moves continuously and does not jump from on point to the
other. So, the field line cannot have a sudden break.
(b) Explain why two field lines never cross each other at any point?
Ans: if two field lines will cross each other at any point then at that point the field intensity will start shooing two
directions at the same point which is impossible. Therefore, two field lines can never cross each other.

Q1.8 Two point charges qA = 3 μC and qB = –3 μC are located 20 cm apart in vacuum.

(a) What is the electric field at the midpoint O of the line AB joining the two charges?
(b) If a negative test charge of magnitude 1.5 × 10–9 C is placed at this point, what is the force experienced by the test
charge?
Ans: (a) The figure given below shows the situation given to us, in which AB is a line and O is the midpoint.
Distance between two charges, AB = 20 cm Therefore, AO = OB = 10 cm Total electric field at the centre is (Point O) = E
Electric field at point O caused by +3 μC charge

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07 ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS JASVINDER SINGH
1 3 x 10−6 1 3 x 10−6
E1 = 4πε OA2
= 4πε (10 x 10−2 )2
NC-1 along OB
0 0

Electric field at point O caused by -3 μC charge

1 −3 x 10−6 1 3 x 10−6
E2 = 4πε OB2
= 4πε (10 x 10−2 )2
NC-1 along OB
0 0

1 3 x 10−6
Total field E – E1 + E2 = 4πε −2 )2 NC-1 along OB
0 (10 x 10

3 x 10−6
= 2 x 9 x 109 x (10 x 10−2 )2
NC-1 = 5.4 x 106 NC-1 along OB

Therefore, the electric field at mid-point is 5.4 x 106 NC-1 along OB

(b) A test charge with a charge potential of 1.5 x 10-9 C is placed at mid-point O
Let the force experienced by the test charge be F or F = q E = 1.5 x 10-9 C X 5.4 x 106 = 8.1 x 10-3 N
The force is directed along the line OA because the negative test charge is attracted towards point A and is
repelled by the charge placed at point B. As a result, the force experienced by the test charge is q = 8.1 x 10-3 N along
OA

Q1.9 A system has two charges qA = 2.5 × 10–7 C and qB = –2.5 × 10–7 C located at points A: (0, 0, –15 cm) and B: (0,0,
+15 cm), respectively. What are the total charge and electric dipole moment of the
system?
Ans: The charges which are located at the given points are shown in the co-ordinate
system as shown in the fig.
At point A, total charge qA = 2.5 × 10–7 C
At point B, total charge qB = –2.5 × 10–7 C
Total charge of the system = qA + qB = 2.5 × 10–7 C – 2.5 × 10–7 C =0
Distance between two charges at points A and B, d = 15 + 15 = 30 cm = 0.3 m Electric dipole moment of the system is
given by,
P = qA x d = q A x d =2.5 × 10–7 C x 0.3 = 7.5 × 10–8 Cm along positive z axis
Therrefore, the electric dipole moment of the system is 7.5 × 10–8 Cm along positive z axis

Q1.10 An electric dipole with dipole moment 4 × 10–9 C m is aligned at 30° with the direction of a uniform electric
field of magnitude 5 × 104 NC–1 . Calculate the magnitude of the torque acting on the dipole.
Ans: p = 4 × 10–9 C m θ= 30° E = 5 × 104 NC–1
Using Ʈ =pE sin θ =4 × 10–9 C m x 5 × 104 NC–1 x sin 30o = 20 × 10–5 x ½ N m = 10–4 N m

Q1.11 A polythene piece rubbed with wool is found to have a negative charge of 3 × 10 –7 C.
(a) Estimate the number of electrons transferred (from which to which?)
Ans: (a) Since the wool is positively charged and the polythene is negatively charged, so we can say that few
amounts of electrons are transferred from wool to polythene.
Charge on polythene q = 3 × 10–7 C
Charge on electron e = -1.6 × 10–19 C
Let number of electrons transferred from wool to polythene be n So, by using the given equation we can calculate the
−3 x 10 −7
value of n, using q = ne or n= q/e = = 1.87 × 1012
−1.6 x 10 −19
(b) Is there a transfer of mass from wool to polythene?
Ans: Yes, Mass is also transferred as an electron is transferred from wool to polythene and an electron particle have
some mass.
Mass of electron me = 9.1 × 10–31
Total mass transferred m = me x n = 9.1 × 10–31 x 1.87 × 1012 = 1.701 × 10–18 kg
This value is very less and can be neglected.

Q1.12 (a) Two insulated charged copper spheres A and B have their centres separated by a distance of 50 cm. What
is the mutual force of electrostatic repulsion if the charge on each is 6.5 × 10 –7 C? The radii of A and B are negligible
compared to the distance of separation.
Ans: Here, q1 =q2 =6.5 x 107 C, r=0.5m

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07 ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS JASVINDER SINGH
1 q1 q2 6.5 x 10−7 x 6.5 x 10−7
Using F =4πε 𝑟2
9 x 109 x (0.5)2
= 1.52 x 10-2
0
(b) What is the force of repulsion if each sphere is charged double the above amount, and the distance
between them is halved?
Ans: If charge is doubled and the distance between them is halved
1 q1 q2 2 X 6.5 x 10−7 x 2 x 6.5 x 10−7
Using F =4πε 𝑟2
9 x 109 x 1 = 16 x 1.52 x 10-2 = 0.243 N
0 ( x 0.25)2
2
Q1.13 Figure shows tracks of three charged particles in a uniform electrostatic field. Give the signs of the three
charges. Which particle has the highest charge to mass ratio?
Ans: The particles 1 and 2 are moving in the direction of the
positive charge and the opposite charge attracts each other
and the same charge repels each other. So, the charged
particles 1 and 2 which are going towards the charged particle
are negatively charged.
The particle 3 is being attracted towards the negative charge. So, the particle 3 will be the positively charged
particle. The EMF or charge to mass ratio is directly proportional to the amount of depletion or depletion at a given
velocity. Here we can see that the particle 3 is depleting more as compared to the other two. Therefore, it will have a
higher charge to mass ratio.

Q1.14 Consider a uniform electric field E = 3 × 103 î N/C.

(a) What is the flux of this field through a square of 10 cm on a side whose plane is parallel to the yz plane?
Ans: Electric field intensity, E = 3 × 103 î N / C Magnitude of electric field intensity, | E | = 3 × 103 N / C
Side of the square, s = 10 cm = 0.1 m Area of the square, A = s2 = 0.01 m2
The plane of the square is parallel to the y – z plane. Hence, angle between the unit vector normal to the plane and
electric field, θ = 0 ° Flux (φ ) through the plane is given by the relation,
φ = | E |A cos θ = 3 × 103 × 0.01 × cos 0 ° = 30 N m2 /C

(b) What is the flux through the same square if the normal to its plane makes a 60° angle with the x-axis?
Ans: Plane makes an angle of 60 ° with the x – axis. Hence, θ = 60°
Flux, φ = | E |A cos θ = 3 × 103 × 0.01 × cos 60° = 30 x 0.5 = 15 N m2 /C

Q1.15 What is the net flux of the uniform electric field of Exercise 1.14 through a cube of side 20 cm oriented so that
its faces are parallel to the coordinate planes?
Ans: All the faces of a cube are parallel to the coordinate axes. Therefore, the number of field lines entering the
cube is equal to the number of field lines piercing out of the cube. As a result, net flux through the cube is zero.

Q1.16 Careful measurement of the electric field at the surface of a black box indicates that the net outward flux
through the surface of the box is 8.0 × 103 Nm2 /C.
(a) What is the net charge inside the box?
Ans: Net outward flux through the surface of the box = φ = 8.0 × 103 Nm2/C
For a body containing net charge q, flux is given by the relation
q
ϕ = q= ϕ x ε0 = 8.0 × 103 Nm2/C x 8.854 × 10-12= 0.07 μC
ε0
Thus the total charge inside the box is 0.07 μC

(b) If the net outward flux through the surface of the box were zero, could you conclude that there were no
charges inside the box? Why or Why not?
Ans: No, Net flux piercing out through a body depends on the net charge contained in the body.
If net flux is zero, then it can be inferred that net charge inside the body is zero.
The body may have equal amount of positive and negative charges.

Q1.17 A point charge +10 mC is a distance 5 cm directly above the centre of a square of side 10 cm, as shown in Fig.
1.31. What is the magnitude of the electric flux through the square? (Hint: Think of the square as one face of a cube
with edge 10 cm.)
Ans: The square can be considered as one face of a cube of edge 10 cm with a centre where charge q is placed.
q
According to Gauss’s theorem for a cube, total electric flux is through all its six faces. ϕTOTAL = ε
0

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Hence, electric flux through one face of the cube i.e., through the square is
ϕTOTAL 1 𝑞 1 10 x 10−6
ϕ = 6
= 6 ε0
= 6 8.854x 10−12
= 1.88 x 105Nm2C-1
Therefore, the electric flux through the square is 1.88 x 105Nm2C-1
Q1.18 A point charge of 2.0 mC is at the centre of a cubic Gaussian surface 9.0 cm on
edge. What is the net electric flux through the surface?
𝐪
Ans: Net electric flux ( φNet ) through the cubic surface is given by ϕNET = 𝛆
𝟎
2 x 10−6 5 2 -1
= = 2.26 x 10 Nm C
8.854x 10−12
Q1.19 A point charge causes an electric flux of –1.0 × 103 Nm2 /C to pass through a spherical Gaussian surface of
10.0 cm radius centred on the charge.
(a) If the radius of the Gaussian surface were doubled, how much flux would pass through the surface?
Ans: Electric flux, φ = – 1.0 × 103 N m2 /C Radius of the Gaussian surface, r = 10.0 cm
Electric flux penetrating through a surface depends on the net charge enclosed inside the body.
It does not depend on the size of the body.
If the radius of the Gaussian surface is doubled, then the flux passing through the surface remains the same
i.e., = – 103 N m2 /C.
Thus, flux depends only on charge q present inside the surface.
(b) What is the value of the point charge?
q
Ans: ϕTOTAL = ε
0
q = total charge contained enclosed by the spherical surface = φ ε0
q = – 1.0 x 103 x 8.854 x 10– 12 = – 8.854 x 10– 9 C = – 8.854 n C
Therefore, the value of the point charge is – 8.854 n C.
Q1.20 A conducting sphere of radius 10 cm has an unknown charge. If the electric field 20 cm from the centre of the
sphere is 1.5 × 103 N/C and points radially inward, what is the net charge on the sphere?
Ans: Electric field intensity ( E ) at a distance ( d ) from the centre of a sphere containing net charge q is given by
1 𝑞
the relation, E =4πε d2
Or, q = E x 4π ε0 d2 = 9 x 109 x 0.2m x 0.2m x 1.5 x 103 = 6.67nC
0

Q1.21 A uniformly charged conducting sphere of 2.4 m diameter has a surface charge density of 80.0 mC/m 2 .
(a) Find the charge on the sphere.
Ans: The diameter of the sphere, d = 2.4 m The radius of the sphere, r = 1.2 m
Surface charge density, σ = 80.0 μC /m2 = 80 × 10 – 6 C/m2
The total charge on the surface of the sphere can be calculated as follows,
Q = Charge density × Surface area = σ × 4πr2 = 80 × 10– 6 × 4 × 3.14 × (1.2)2 = 1.447 × 10– 3 C
Therefore, the charge on the sphere is 1.447 × 10– 3C
(b) What is the total electric flux leaving the surface of the sphere?
Q 1.45 x 10−3
Ans: ϕTOTAL = ε0
Or, = 8.85 x 1012
= 1.6 × 108 NC-1m2
Q1.22 An infinite line charge produces a field of 9 × 104 N/C at a distance of 2 cm. Calculate the linear charge
density.
Ans: Electric field produced by the infinite line charges at a distance d having linear charge density λ is given by the
λ 1
relation E = 2πε Or λ = E x 2πε0d = 2 x 9 x 109 x 2x 10-2 x 9 x 104 = 10-7 x Cm-1
0d
Q1.23 Two large, thin metal plates are parallel and close to each other. On their inner faces, the plates have surface
charge densities of opposite signs and of magnitude 17.0 × 10–22 C/m2. What is E:
(a) in the outer region of the first plate,
(b) in the outer region of the second plate, and
(c) between the plates?
Ans: Parallel plates A and B are placed close to each other as shown in the figure.
The region between plates A and B is labelled as II, and outer region of plate A is labelled as I, outer region of plate B is
labelled as III.
The charge density of plate A can be calculated as, σ = 17.0 × 10– 22 C/m2
The charge density of plate B can be calculated as, σ = – 17.0 × 10– 22 C/m2
In regions, I and III, electric field E is zero. This is because the charge is not enclosed by the respective plates.
σ 17.0 X 10−22
Electric field E in region II is given by the relation, E = ε = 8.854 x 10−12 = 1.92 × 10 –10 NC
0

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