Lecture 03

Electric field lines.
You must be able to draw electric field lines, and interpret diagrams that show
electric field lines.
A dipole in an external electric field.

You must be able to calculate the moment of an electric dipole, the torque on a
dipole in an external electric field, and the energy of a dipole in an external
electric field.
Electric flux.
You must be able to calculate the electric flux through a surface.
Gauss Law.
You must be able to use Gauss Law to calculate the electric field of a highsymmetry charge distribution.


electric field.
Electric flux.
Gauss Law.
Electric Field Lines

Electric field lines help us visualize the electric field and
predict how charged particles would respond to the
field.
http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/charges-and-fields/charges-and-field
Electric Field Lines
Example: electric field lines for isolated +2e and -e

charges.
Heres how electric field lines are related to the field:

The electric field vector E is tangent to the field
lines.
The number of lines per unit area through a
surface perpendicular to the lines is proportional to
the electric field strength in that region
The field lines begin on positive charges and end
on negative charges.
The number of lines leaving a positive charge or
approaching a negative charge is proportional to the
magnitude of the charge.
No two field lines can cross.
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~phys1/java/phys1/EField/EField.html
This applet has issues with calculating the correct number of field lines, but the idea is OK.
Example: draw the electric field lines for charges +2e

and -1e, separated by a fixed distance. View from
near the charges.
This applet has issues with calculating the correct number of field lines, but the idea is OK.
Example: draw the electric field lines for charges +2e

and -1e, separated by a fixed distance. This time you
are looking from far away.
Todays agenda:
Announcements.

electric field.
Electric flux.
Gauss Law.
Electric Dipole in an
External Electric Field
An electric dipole consists of two charges +q and -q,
equal in magnitude but opposite in sign, separated by a
fixed distance d. q is the charge on the dipole.
Earlier, I calculated the electric field along the
perpendicular bisector of a dipole (this equation gives
the magnitude only).
qd
E
.
3
4o r
Caution! This is not the general

expression for the electric field of a
dipole!
The electric field depends on the product qd. This is true

in general.
q and d are parameters that characterize the dipole; we

define the "dipole moment" of a dipole to be the vector
r
r
p qd,
caution: this p is not

momentum!
where the direction of p is from negative to positive

(NOT away from +).
+q
-q
p
To help you remember the direction of p, this is on the
equation sheet:
r
p q d, from to plus
A dipole in a uniform electric field experiences no net

force, but probably experiences a torque.
Apologies to the women in the audience: I do not mean to

imply that you are any less competent to deal with torques
than the males are.
A dipole in a uniform electric field experiences no net

force, but probably experiences a torque
p
F-
-q
+q
F+
There is no net force on the dipole:
r r r
r
r
F F F qE qE 0.
p
d sin
F-
-q
+q
F+
E
d sin
If we choose the midpoint of the dipole as the origin for

calculating the torque, we find
d sin
d sin
2 qE 2 qE qdE sin ,
and in this case the direction is into the plane of the
figure. Expressed as a vector,
r r r
p E.
Recall that the unit of

torque is Nm, which is not
a joule!
p
d sin
F-
-q
+q
F+
E
d sin
The torques magnitude is p E sin and the direction is

given by the right-hand rule.
What is the maximum torque magnitude? For

what angle is the torque a maximum?
Energy of an Electric Dipole in an

External Electric Field
p
F-
-q
+q
F+
If the dipole is free to rotate, the electric field does

work* to rotate the dipole.
W pE(cos initial cos final ).

The work depends only on the initial and final
coordinates, and not on how you go from initial to final.
Does that awaken vague memories of Physics 23?

If a force is conservative, you can define a potential
energy associated with it.
What kinds of potential energies did you learn about in
Physics 23?
Because the electric force is conservative, we can
define a potential energy for a dipole. The equation for
work
W pE(cos initial cos final )
suggests we should define
U dipole pE cos .
U dipole pE cos
p
F-
-q
+q
F+
With this definition, U is zero when =/2.

U is maximum when cos=-1, or = (a point of
unstable equilibrium).
U is minimum when cos=+1, or =0 (stable
equilibrium).
Recall thatenergy
the unit of energy
It is better to express the dipole
as is
r r potential
U dipole p E.
the joule, which is a Nm, but is

not the same as the Nm of
torque!
Summary:
r r r
p E
U dipole
pE sin
max pE
r r
p E pE cos
U max pE
Units are Nm, but not

joules!
Units are Nm = joules!
p +q
-q
The information on this slide is enough to work homework problems involving

torque.
Quiz time
(maybe for points, maybe just for

practice!)
Todays agenda:
Announcements.

electric field.
Electric flux.
Gauss Law.
Electric Flux
We have used electric field lines to visualize electric
fields and indicate their strength.
We are now going to count* the
number of electric field lines
passing through a surface, and
use this count to determine the
electric field.
*There are 3 kinds of people in this world: those who can count, and those who
cant.
The electric flux passing through a surface is the

number of electric field lines that pass through it.
Because electric field lines are

drawn arbitrarily, we quantify
electric flux like this: E=EA,
except that
If the surface is tilted, fewer lines

cut the surface.
Later well learn about magnetic flux,
which is why I will use the subscript E on
electric flux.
The green lines miss!
We define A to be a vector
having a magnitude equal to the
area of the surface, in a direction
normal to the surface.
The amount of surface

perpendicular to the electric field
is A cos .
Therefore, the amount of surface area effectively cut
through by the electric field is A cos .
AEffective = A cos so E = EAEffective = EA
cos .
r r
Remember the dot product from Physics 23?
E E A
If the electric field is not uniform, or the surface is not

flat
divide the surface
into infinitesimal
surface elements
and add the flux
through each
r
r
dA
A
E lim
A i 0
E A
i
r r
E E dA
Remember, the direction of
dA is normal to the
surface.
If the surface is closed (completely encloses a volume)
E
dA
we count* lines going

out as positive and
lines going in as
negative r r
E
E dA
a surface integral, therefore a

double integral
For a closed surface, dA is
normal to the surface and
always points away from the
inside.
*There are 10 kinds of people in this world: those who can count in binary, and those
who cant.
What the is this
thing?
Nothing to panic about!

The circle just reminds
you to integrate over a
closed surface.
Question: you gave me five different equations for

electric flux. Which one do I need to use?
Answer: use the simplest (easiest!) one that
works.
E EA
Flat surface, E A, E constant over surface.

Easy!
E EA cos
Flat surface, E not A, E constant over

surface.
r r
E E A
r r
E E dA
r r
E
E dA
Flat surface, E not A, E constant over

surface.
Surface not flat, E not uniform. Avoid, if
possible.
Closed surface. Most general. Most complex.
If the surface is closed, you may be able to break it up

into simple segments and still use E=EA for each
segment.
Example: Calculate the electric flux through a cylinder

with its axis parallel to the electric field direction.
To be worked at the blackboard
Possible Homework Hint!
(not applicable every semester)
If you know E and A for each surface enclosing a

volume, the simplest way to calculate the total E
r r
might be to calculate
E E A
for each surface, and add up all the Es.
+
-
If there were a + charge inside the cylinder, there would

be more lines going out than in.
If there were a - charge inside the cylinder, there would
be more lines going in than out
which leads us to
Todays agenda:
Announcements.

electric field.
Electric flux.
Gauss Law.
Gauss Law
Mathematically*, we express the idea of the last two
slides as
r r q enclosed
E
E dA o
Gauss Law
Always true, not always useful.
We will find that Gauss law gives a simple way to

calculate electric fields for charge distributions that
exhibit a high degree of symmetry
and we will save more complex charge distributions
for advanced classes.
*Mathematics is the Queen of the Sciences.Karl Gauss
To see how this works, lets do an example.

Example: use Gauss Law to calculate the electric field
from an isolated point charge q.
To apply Gauss Law, we construct a Gaussian Surface
enclosing the charge.
The Gaussian surface must have the a symmetry
appropriate for the charge distribution.
For this example, choose for our Gaussian surface a
sphere of radius r, with the point charge at the center.
Ill work the rest of the example on the blackboard.
Homework Hint!
For tomorrows homework, you may not apply the
equation for the electric field of a point charge
kq
E 2
r
to a distribution of charges. Instead, use Gauss Law.
Later I may give you permission to use the point charge
equation for certain specific charge distributions.
q1q 2
You may recall that I said you could use

F k 2
12
r12
charge distributions.
kq
E 2 .
But I never said you could use
r
for spherically-symmetric
Strategy for Solving Gauss Law

Problems
Select a Gaussian surface with symmetry that
matches the charge distribution.
r
E of on the Gaussian
Use symmetry to determine the direction
surface. r
E
r r
E dA in
E dA
You want
to be constant
magnitude and everywhere
r
r
perpendicular to the surface, so that
E dA 0
or else everywhere parallel to the surface so that
Evaluate the surface integral (electric flux).

Determine the charge inside the Gaussian surface.
Solve for E.
Example: calculate the electric field outside a long

cylinder of finite radius R with a uniform volume charge
density spread throughout the volume of the cylinder.
The cylinder being long and the radius finite are
code words that tell you to neglect end effects from
the cylinder (i.e., assume it is infinitely long).
Know how to interpret code words when exam time
comes!
Lets go through this a step at a time (work to be shown at board; skip to
here).
Select a Gaussian surface with symmetry that
matches the charge distribution.
Pick a cylinder of length L and radius r, concentric with
the cylinder of the problem.
Draw the Gaussian surface

so thatrat rall points on the
r r
Eor
dA 0
E dA E dA
Gaussian surface either
.
Already done!
Use symmetry to determine the direction of E on the
Gaussian surface.
Electric field points radially away from cylinder, and
magnitude does not depend on direction.
Evaluate the surface integral (electric flux).
Surface integral is just E times the curved area.
Determine the charge inside the Gaussian surface.

The charge inside is just the volume of charged cylinder
inside the Gaussian surface, times the charge per
volume.
Solve for E.
R2
2 0 r
More details of the calculation shown here:

http://campus.mst.edu/physics/courses/24/Handouts/charged_cylind
er.pdf
Homework Hint (may not apply every semester)
r r
E E dA is the definition of electric flux through a
surface.
r r
If appropriate, you should use
E E A
the other simpler versions.
valid.
or one of
I wont make that an OSE because it is not always

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Electric field lines.

A dipole in an external electric field.

Electric field lines.

A dipole in an external electric field.

Electric Field Lines

Electric Field Lines

Example: electric field lines for isolated +2e and -e

Heres how electric field lines are related to the field:

Example: draw the electric field lines for charges +2e

Example: draw the electric field lines for charges +2e

A dipole in an external electric field.

Caution! This is not the general

The electric field depends on the product qd. This is true

q and d are parameters that characterize the dipole; we

caution: this p is not

where the direction of p is from negative to positive

A dipole in a uniform electric field experiences no net

Apologies to the women in the audience: I do not mean to

A dipole in a uniform electric field experiences no net

There is no net force on the dipole:

If we choose the midpoint of the dipole as the origin for

Recall that the unit of

The torques magnitude is p E sin and the direction is

What is the maximum torque magnitude? For

Energy of an Electric Dipole in an

If the dipole is free to rotate, the electric field does

W pE(cos initial cos final ).

Does that awaken vague memories of Physics 23?

W pE(cos initial cos final )

suggests we should define

With this definition, U is zero when =/2.

the joule, which is a Nm, but is

Units are Nm, but not

Units are Nm = joules!

The information on this slide is enough to work homework problems involving

(maybe for points, maybe just for

A dipole in an external electric field.

The electric flux passing through a surface is the

Because electric field lines are

If the surface is tilted, fewer lines

The green lines miss!

The amount of surface

If the electric field is not uniform, or the surface is not

If the surface is closed (completely encloses a volume)

we count* lines going

a surface integral, therefore a

What the is this

Nothing to panic about!

Question: you gave me five different equations for

Flat surface, E A, E constant over surface.

Flat surface, E not A, E constant over

Flat surface, E not A, E constant over

If the surface is closed, you may be able to break it up

Example: Calculate the electric flux through a cylinder

To be worked at the blackboard

Possible Homework Hint!

(not applicable every semester)

If you know E and A for each surface enclosing a

for each surface, and add up all the Es.