Conductors

Electrostatics with Conductors

Conductors are materials in which electrons are completely free to move in response to applied
electric fields.

From the definition of electric potential and the condition of electrostatics, we are able to state
some general properties of charged isolated conductors:

ΔV = − ∫ E ⋅ ds
i

In a conductor, the electrons will move until they find a place where the field is zero. Therefore,
the field inside a conductor will always be zero. Any net charge will move to the surface of the
conductor.

Zero current requires E = 0 inside the conductor since free electrons would otherwise flow.

Gauss' Law then implies that all excess charge on the conductor resides on its surface.

E = 0 in the interior of the conductor means the surface of a conductor is an equipotential or

ΔV = 0 .

ΔV = 0 = − ∫ E ⋅ ds and E do not equal zero on the surface since the charge all resides there, so
i

we can conclude that E ⋅ d s = 0 is zero there due to the electric field being perpendicular to the

conductor’s surface.

Non-uniform conductors with sharp points or edges have higher E in these areas.

In a static external field, charges on a conductor redistribute to maintain E = 0 inside.

1 q
At distance r from a point charge, we have E = .
4πε 0 r 2

This is also true at a distance r from a spherically symmetric charge distribution. For a sphere
with net charge Q uniformly spread all over the surface, beyond and right down to the surface,
the field is the same as if all the charge is at the centre of the sphere.
If the charge density on the surface of the sphere is σ, and a sphere has surface area equal to
4π r 2 , then:

1 Q 1 σ 4π r 2 σ
E= = =
4πε 0 r 2
4πε 0 r 2
ε0

If the charge distribution is not uniform, we can expect that close to the surface we must have
σ local
E∝ . Hence, we get a large field where charge is concentrated near ends and corners on
ε0
the surface.

Charge will spread evenly across the surface of a conducting sphere, as every point is identical.
However, the charge is pushed into “corners” for any conductor which has these special places.
Therefore, the field is high near any sharp regions on the surface.

We can sketch the form of field lines in the space near conductors by noting that:

• lines emerge from positive charge areas and end by entering negative charge areas on
the conductors

• the number of field lines within an area is proportional to the magnitude of the charge in
that area

• since there is no field within the conductor, the field lines must meet the surface at right
angles

Capacitors

Capacitors are used to store electric charges. The simplest capacitor consists of two parallel
plates, i.e., a pair of large, flat metal surfaces of area A, separated by a small uniform distance d.
One plate stores positive (+) charges and the other stores negative (–) charges. A field and a
voltage are needed between the plates. The plates will hold an electrical charge as long as
potential difference is applied to create the static electric build up on the plates, or until the plates
are discharged by providing a path for the electrons to flow from one plate to the other.

σ
From, E ∝ , we get Q = ε 0 A E0 as the magnitude of charge on one plate, where E0 is the
ε0
uniform field between the plates.
 ΔV
Because E = − , when we apply this to our capacitor with a plate separation of d and an
Δd
ΔV
electric field of E0, we find E0 = − . Thus, the magnitude Q of the charge on a plate is related
d
to the size of the potential difference ΔV across the gap d by

⎛ A⎞
Q = ε 0 A E0 = ⎜ ε 0 ⎟ ΔV .
⎝ d⎠

A
The constant C = ε 0 is called the capacitance. Thus, we get the basic law of the capacitor:
d

Q = C ΔV

1 Q
For a spherical conductor of radius r, the surface potential due to a total charge Q is V =
4πε 0 r

Q
and so the capacitance of a sphere is C = = 4πε 0 r .
ΔV

Capacitance is measured in farads: 1 farad = 1 C / 1 V. One farad is a huge capacitance, so in

practice we use microfarad, μF (10-6 F), or picofarad, pF (10-12 F).

Energy Stored in a Capacitor

To charge a capacitor we need to move electrons form one plate to another. As electrons move
from one plate to the other, the capacitor becomes more charged. The first electron moves easily,
but the second is repelled by the first, and the third by the first two. It requires more and more
force to move electrons form one plate to the other since repulsion becomes higher and higher.
Since the process of separation of the charges involves moving them against the electrical field,
work must be done to charge the capacitor.

If a charge Q is transferred across ΔV, the work done and change in potential energy is Q ΔV. If
the charge is transferred in the same direction as the force acting due to the field present, the
potential energy is reduced. If the charge is moved against the force, the potential energy rises.
Thus, when a capacitor is charged up, the energy used to move the charge is stored within the
capacitor.

+q −q +q+dq −q−dq

V Transfer charge dq across the plate V

Since we know that W = qV , the work for the increment of charge is

 q
dW = Vdq = dq .
C

Therefore, to charge up a capacitor from zero charge to charge q, the amount of work which
needs to be done is:

1 q 1 q2
W = ∫ dW =
C ∫0
qdq = .
2C

The work done in charging the capacitor is stored as potential energy in the capacitor, so the
1 q2
potential energy in the capacitor is also U = . Because q = CV , the potential energy can
2C
1 1
also be expressed as U = C V 2 or as U = QV .
2 2

Capacitor with a Dielectric

Atoms getting within the field between charges become “polarized” and reduce the electric field

between the plates. The new electric field is E =

E0
, where κ is the dielectric constant. The
κ
dielectric constant is a dimensionless constant and has a value such that κ > 1 .

If a region of space is completely filled by a dielectric, all electrostatic equations containing the
permittivity constant of free space ε 0 are modified by replacing that constant with κ ε 0 .

For example, Coulomb’s Law states that

1 q1q2
F= .
4πε 0 r 2

If the equation is being applied inside an insulator, we replace the free space value ε 0 with the

1 q1q2
permittivity for the insulator, giving the equation F = .
4π κ ε 0 r 2

+q insulating material such as mineral oil or plastic

−q

When a dielectric material is inserted into the plates, there is a reduced field:

E0 E0 E0 d V0
E= , so V = Ed = ( )d = =
κ κ κ κ

Since the potential difference is smaller, the capacitance will be larger:

 Q Q Q
C= = = κ ( ) = κ C0
V V0 / κ V0

The capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor filled with a dielectric is:

A
C = κε 0
d
A Cylindrical Capacitor

r
b
a

Gaussian surface

In a cylindrical capacitor of length L with charge q, where the outer place is charged negatively
and the inner plate is charged positively, the electric field can be determined by Gauss’ Law:

q
ε 0 EA = ε 0 E ⋅ 2π rL = q , so E=
2πε 0 Lr

a
The potential difference between the plates is given by V = − ∫ E i d s . Since E points radially
b

outward from the positive inner plate to negative outer plate, and d s points radially inward from b

to a, E and d s are at an angle of 180° to each other, giving:

a a
V = − ∫ E id s = ∫ E ds
b b

q a dr q b
2πε 0 L ∫ b r
V =− = ln ,
2πε 0 L a

where we have used the fact that d s = − dr since we integrated radially inward.

q
Rearranging to determine the capacitance using C = , we have:
V

L
C = 2πε 0
ln(b / a )

and we can see that the capacitance depends only on geometrical factors such as L, b, a.
A Spherical Capacitor

In a spherical capacitor, the electric field through the capacitor can be calculated using Gauss’
law, and utilizing the fact that it has spherical symmetry. E radially outward
−q
ε 0 EA = ε 0 E ⋅ 4π r 2 = q
r
q
so E = a
4πε 0 r 2
+q
b
Integrating, as we did for the cylindrical capacitor, the potential difference and capacitance
become:

a q a dr q 1 1
V = ∫ Eds = − ∫ = ( − )
b 4πε 0 b r 2
4πε 0 a b

q ab
C= = 4πε 0
V b−a