Chapter 23

Electric Fields
Electric Charges

• There are two kinds of electric charges

• Called positive and negative
• Negative charges are the type possessed by electrons
• Positive charges are the type possessed by protons
• Charges of the same sign repel one another and charges with
opposite signs attract one another
• Electric charge is always conserved in an isolated system
• For example, charge is not created in the process of rubbing two
objects together
• The electrification is due to a transfer of charge from one object to
another
Conservation of Electric Charges

• A glass rod is rubbed

with silk
• Electrons are transferred
from the glass to the silk
• Each electron adds a
negative charge to the
silk
• An equal positive charge
is left on the rod
Quantization of Electric Charges

• The electric charge, q, is said to be quantized

• q is the standard symbol used for charge as a
variable
• Electric charge exists as discrete packets
• q = Ne
• N is an integer
• e is the fundamental unit of charge
• |e| = 1.6 x 10-19 C
• Electric: q = -e
• Proton: q = +e
Conductors

• Electrical conductors are materials in which

some of the electrons are free electrons
• Free electrons are not bound to the atoms
• These electrons can move relatively freely through
the material
• Examples of good conductors include copper,
aluminum and silver
• When a good conductor is charged in a small region,
the charge readily distributes itself over the entire
surface of the material
Insulators

• Electrical insulators are materials in which all of

the electrons are bound to atoms
• These electrons can not move relatively freely
through the material
• Examples of good insulators include glass, rubber
and wood
• When a good insulator is charged in a small region,
the charge is unable to move to other regions of the
material
Charging by Induction
• Charging by induction requires no contact with the object
inducing the charge
• Assume we start with a neutral metallic sphere
a)The sphere has the same number of positive and
negative charges
b)A charged rubber rod is placed near the sphere. It
does not touch the sphere
- The electrons in the neutral sphere are redistributed
c) The sphere is grounded
- Some electrons can leave the sphere through the
ground wire
d)The ground wire is removed
- There will now be more positive charges
-The positive charge has been induced in the sphere
e) The rod is removed
- The electrons remaining on the sphere redistribute
themselves
- There is still a net positive charge on the sphere
Charge Rearrangement in Insulators

• A process similar to
induction can take
place in insulators
• The charges within
the molecules of the
material are
rearranged
Coulomb’s Law
• The electrical force between two stationary
charged particles is given by Coulomb’s Law
• The force is inversely proportional to the square
of the separation r between the particles and
directed along the line joining them
• The force is proportional to the product of the
charges, q1 and q2, on the two particles
• The force is attractive if the charges are of opposite sign
• The force is repulsive if the charges are of like sign
• The force is a conservative force
• The term point charge refers to a particle of zero size that carries
an electric charge
• The electrical behavior of electrons and protons is well
described by modeling them as point charges
Coulomb’s Law, Equation

• Mathematically,

• The SI unit of charge is the coulomb (C)

• ke is called the Coulomb constant

• ke = 8.9875 x 109 N.m2/C2 = 1/(4πeo)

• eo is the permittivity of free space
• eo = 8.8542 x 10-12 C2 / N.m2
Coulomb's Law, Notes

• Remember the charges need to be in coulombs

• e is the smallest unit of charge
• except quarks
• e = 1.6 x 10-19 C
• So 1 C needs 6.24 x 1018 electrons or protons
• Typical charges can be in the µC range
• Remember that force is a vector quantity
 Vector Nature of Electric Forces
• In vector form,

• is a unit vector directed from q1 to q2

• Two point charges are separated by a
distance r
• The like charges produce a repulsive
force between them
• The unlike charges produce an
attractive force between them
• Electrical forces obey Newton’s Third Law
• The force on q1 is equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction to the force on q2
• F21 = -F12
The Superposition Principle

• The resultant force on any one charge equals the vector sum of
the forces exerted by the other individual charges that are
present
• Remember to add the forces as vectors
• The resultant force on q1 is the vector sum of all the forces
exerted on it by other charges: F1 = F21 + F31 + F41
Example 1:

Consider three point charges located at the corners of a right

triangle as shown in Figure, where q1 = q3 = 5.0 μC, q2 = -2.0 μC
and a = 0.10 m. Find the resultant force exerted on q3.

• The force exerted by q1 on q3 is F13

• The force exerted by q2 on q3 is F23
• The resultant force exerted on q3 is
the vector sum of F13 and F23
Example 2:

Three point charges lie along the x axis as shown in Figure. The positive
charge q1 = 15.0 μC is at x = 2.00 m, the positive charge q2 = 6.00 μCis at the
origin, and the resultant force acting on q3 is zero. What is the x coordinate of
q3?

• Where is the resultant force equal to

zero?
• The magnitudes of the individual
forces will be equal
• Directions will be opposite
• Will result in a quadratic
• Choose the root that gives the
forces in opposite directions
Example 3: Electrical Force with Other Forces
Two identical small charged spheres, each having a mass of 3.0 x 10-2 kg,
hang in equilibrium as shown in Figure. The length of each string is 0.15 m
and the angle θ is 5.0o. Find the magnitude of the charge on each sphere.

• The spheres are in

equilibrium
• Since they are separated,
they exert a repulsive
force on each other
• Charges are like charges
• Proceed as usual with
equilibrium problems,
noting one force is an
electrical force
 Electric Field
• The electric force is a field force
• Field forces can act through space
• The effect is produced even with no physical contact between objects
• Faraday developed the concept of a field in terms of electric
fields
• An electric field is said to exist in the region of space around a
charged object
• This charged object is the source charge
• When another charged object, the test charge, enters this
electric field, an electric force acts on it

• The electric field is defined as the electric force on the test charge
per unit charge
• The electric field vector, E, at a point in space is defined as the
electric force F acting on a positive test charge, qo placed at that
point divided by the test charge: E = Fe / qo
Electric Field, Notes

• E is the field produced by some charge or

charge distribution, separate from the test
charge
• The existence of an electric field is a property
of the source charge
• The presence of the test charge is not necessary for
the field to exist
• The test charge serves as a detector of the field
Relationship Between F and E

• Fe = qE
• This is valid for a point charge only
• One of zero size
• For larger objects, the field may vary over the size of
the object
• If q is positive, F and E are in the same
direction
• If q is negative, F and E are in opposite
directions
 Electric Field Notes, Final

• The direction of E is that of

the force on a positive test
charge
• The SI units of E are N/C
• We can also say that an
electric field exists at a
point if a test charge at
that point experiences an
electric force
Electric Field, Vector Form

• Remember Coulomb’s law, between the source and test

charges, can be expressed as

• Then, the electric field will be

 More About Electric
Field Direction
• a) q is positive, F is
directed away from q
• b) The direction of E is
also away from the
positive source charge
• c) q is negative, F is
directed toward q
• d) E is also toward the
negative source charge
Superposition with Electric Fields

• At any point P, the total electric field due to a group of source

charges equals the vector sum of electric fields of all the
charges
Example: A charge q1 = 7.0 μC is located at the origin and a second
charge q2 = -5.0 μC is located on the x axis, 0.30 m from the origin. Find
the electric field at the point P, which has coordinates (0, 0.40) m.

• Find the electric field due

to q1, E1
• Find the electric field due
to q2, E2
• E = E1 + E2
• Remember, the fields add
as vectors
• The direction of the
individual fields is the
direction of the force on a
positive test charge
Electric Field Lines

• Field lines give us a means of representing the

electric field pictorially
• The electric field vector E is tangent to the
electric field line at each point
• The line has a direction that is the same as that of
the electric field vector
• The number of lines per unit area through a
surface perpendicular to the lines is
proportional to the magnitude of the electric
field in that region
 Electric Field Lines, Positive Point
Charge
• The field lines radiate
outward in all directions
• In three dimensions, the
distribution is spherical
• The lines are directed
away from the source
charge
• A positive test charge would be
repelled away from the positive
source charge
 Electric Field Lines, Negative Point
Charge
• The field lines radiate
inward in all directions
• The lines are directed
toward the source
charge
• A positive test charge
would be attracted toward
the negative source charge
Electric Field Lines – Dipole

• The charges are

equal and opposite
• The number of field
lines leaving the
positive charge
equals the number of
lines terminating on
the negative charge
 Electric Field Lines – Like Charges

• The charges are equal

and positive
• The same number of
lines leave each charge
since they are equal in
magnitude
• At a great distance, the
field is approximately
equal to that of a single
charge of 2q
 Electric Field Lines, Unequal Charges

• The positive charge is twice

the magnitude of the
negative charge
• Two lines leave the positive
charge for each line that
terminates on the negative
charge
• At a great distance, the field
would be approximately the
same as that due to a
single charge of +q
Electric Field Lines – Rules for Drawing

• The lines must begin on a positive charge and

terminate on a negative charge
• In the case of an excess of one type of charge, some
lines will begin or end infinitely far away
• The number of lines drawn leaving a positive
charge or approaching a negative charge is
proportional to the magnitude of the charge
• No two field lines can cross
 Motion of Charged Particles

• When a charged particle is placed in an electric field, it

experiences an electrical force
• If this is the only force on the particle, it must be the net force
• The net force will cause the particle to accelerate according to
Newton’s second law
• Fe = qE = ma
• If E is uniform, then a is constant
• If the particle has a positive charge, its acceleration is in the direction of the
field
• If the particle has a negative charge, its acceleration is in the direction
opposite the electric field
• Since the acceleration is constant, the kinematic equations can be used
Example: An electron enters a region of a uniform electric field as shown in
Figure with vi = 3.00 x 106 m/s and E = 200 N/C. the horizontal length of
the plates is l = 0.100 m.

• The electron is projected

horizontally into a uniform
electric field
• The electron undergoes a
downward acceleration
• It is negative, so the
acceleration is opposite E
• Its motion is parabolic
while between the plates