Lecture PowerPoints
Chapter 21
Physics for Scientists and
Engineers, with Modern
Physics, 4th edition
Giancoli
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Chapter 21
Electric Charge and
Electric Field
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Units of Chapter 21 (1 of 2)
• Static Electricity; Electric Charge and Its
Conservation
• Electric Charge in the Atom
• Insulators and Conductors
• Induced Charge; the Electroscope
• Coulomb’s Law
• The Electric Field
• Electric Field Calculations for Continuous
Charge Distributions
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Units of Chapter 21 (2 of 2)
• Field Lines
• Electric Fields and Conductors
• Motion of a Charged Particle in an Electric
Field
• Electric Dipoles
• Electric Forces in Molecular Biology: DNA
• Photocopy Machines and Computer
Printers Use Electrostatics
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21-1 Static Electricity; Electric
Charge and Its Conservation (1 of 3)
Objects can be charged by rubbing
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21-1 Static
Electricity; Electric
Charge and Its
Conservation (2 of 3)
Charge comes in two
types, positive and
negative; like charges
repel and opposite
charges attract.
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21-1 Static Electricity; Electric
Charge and Its Conservation (3 of 3)
Electric charge is conserved – the
arithmetic sum of the total charge
cannot change in any interaction.
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21-2 Electric Charge in the Atom (1 of 2)
Atom:
Nucleus (small,
massive, positive
charge)
Electron cloud
(large, very low
density, negative
charge)
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21-2 Electric Charge in the Atom (2 of 2)
Polar molecule: neutral overall, but charge
not evenly distributed
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21-3 Insulators and Conductors
Conductor: Insulator:
Charge flows freely Almost no charge flows
Metals Most other materials
Some materials are semiconductors.
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21-4 Induced Charge; the
Electroscope (1 of 6)
Metal objects can be charged by conduction:
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21-4 Induced Charge; the
Electroscope (2 of 6)
They can also be charged by induction,
either while connected to ground or not:
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21-4 Induced Charge; the
Electroscope (3 of 6)
Nonconductors won’t become charged by
conduction or induction, but will experience
charge separation:
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21-4 Induced Charge; the
Electroscope (4 of 6)
The electroscope
can be used for
detecting charge.
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21-4 Induced Charge; the
Electroscope (5 of 6)
The electroscope can be charged either by
conduction or by induction.
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21-4 Induced Charge; the
Electroscope (6 of 6)
The charged electroscope can then be used
to determine the sign of an unknown charge.
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (1 of 10)
Experiment shows that the electric force
between two charges is proportional to the
product of the charges and inversely
proportional to the distance between them.
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (2 of 10)
Coulomb’s law:
This equation gives the magnitude of the
force between two charges.
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (3 of 10)
The force is along the line connecting the
charges, and is attractive if the charges are
opposite, and repulsive if they are the same.
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (4 of 10)
Unit of charge: coulomb, C.
The proportionality constant in Coulomb’s
law is then:
k = 8.99 109 N m 2 C 2 .
Charges produced by rubbing are typically
around a microcoulomb:
1C = 10−6 C .
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (5 of 10)
Charge on the electron:
e = 1.602 10−19 C .
Electric charge is quantized in units of
the electron charge.
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (6 of 10)
The proportionality constant k can also be
written in terms of 0 , the permittivity of free
space:
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (7 of 10)
Conceptual Example 21-1: Which charge
exerts the greater force?
Two positive point charges,Q1 = 50C
and Q2 = 1C , are separated by a
distance . Which is larger in magnitude,
the force that Q1 exerts on Q2 or the force
that Q2 exerts on Q1?
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (8 of 10)
Example 21-2: Three charges in a line.
Three charged particles are arranged in a line,
as shown. Calculate the net electrostatic force
on particle 3 ( the -4.0C on the right ) due to the
other two charges.
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (9 of 10)
Example 21-3: Electric force using vector
components.
Calculate the net electrostatic force on charge Q3
shown in the figure due to the charges Q1 and Q2 .
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21-5 Coulomb’s Law (10 of 10)
Conceptual
Example 21-4:
Make the force
on Q3 zero.
In the figure,
where could you
place a fourth
charge, Q4 = −50C,
so that the net
force on Q3 would be
zero.
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21-6 The Electric Field (1 of 9)
The electric field is defined as the force on a
small charge, divided by the magnitude of the
charge:
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21-6 The Electric Field (2 of 9)
An electric field surrounds every charge.
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21-6 The Electric Field (3 of 9)
For a point charge:
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21-6 The Electric Field (4 of 9)
Force on a point
charge in an
electric field:
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21-6 The Electric Field (5 of 9)
Example 21-5: Photocopy machine.
A photocopy machine works by arranging
positive charges (in the pattern to be copied)
on the surface of a drum, then gently
sprinkling negatively charged dry toner (ink)
particles onto the drum. The toner particles
temporarily stick to the pattern on the drum
and are later transferred to paper and
“melted” to produce the copy. Suppose each
toner particle has a mass of 9.0 10−16 Kg and
carries an average of 20 extra electrons to
provide an electric charge. Assuming that the
electric force on a toner particle must exceed
twice its weight in order to ensure sufficient
attraction, compute the required electric field
strength near the surface of the drum.
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21-6 The Electric Field (6 of 9)
Example 21-6: Electric field of a single point
charge.
Calculate the magnitude and direction of the
electric field at a point P which is 30 cm to the
right of a point charge Q=-3.0 10−6 C .
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21-6 The Electric Field (7 of 9)
Example 21-7: E at a point between two charges.
Two point charges are separated by a distance of 10.0 cm.
One has a charge of −25 C and the other +50 C
Determine the direction and magnitude of the electric
field at a point P between the two charges that is 2.0 cm
(
from the negative charge. (b) If an electron mass = 9.11 10−31 kg )
is placed at rest at P and then released, what will be its
initial acceleration (direction and magnitude)?
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21-6 The Electric Field (8 of 9)
→
Example 21-8: E
above two point
charges.
Calculate the total
electric field (a) at
point A and (b) at
point B in the
figure due to both
charges, Q1
and Q2 .
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21-6 The Electric Field (9 of 9)
Problem solving in electrostatics: electric
forces and electric fields
1. Draw a diagram; show all charges, with
signs, and electric fields and forces with
directions.
2. Calculate forces using Coulomb’s law.
3. Add forces vectorially to get result.
4. Check your answer!
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21-7 Electric Field Calculations for
Continuous Charge Distributions (1 of 7)
A continuous distribution of charge may be
treated as a succession of infinitesimal
(point) charges. The total field is then the
integral of the infinitesimal fields due to each
bit of charge:
Remember that the electric field is a vector;
you will need a separate integral for each
component.
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21-7 Electric Field Calculations for
Continuous Charge Distributions (2 of 7)
Example 21-9: A ring of charge.
A thin, ring-shaped object of radius a holds a
total charge +Q distributed uniformly around
it. Determine the electric field at a point P on
its axis, a distance x from the center. Let
be the charge per unit length (C/m).
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21-7 Electric Field Calculations for
Continuous Charge Distributions (3 of 7)
Conceptual Example 21-10: Charge at the
center of a ring.
Imagine a small positive charge placed at the
center of a nonconducting ring carrying a
uniformly distributed negative charge. Is the
positive charge in equilibrium if it is
displaced slightly from the center along the
axis of the ring, and if so is it stable? What if
the small charge is negative? Neglect
gravity, as it is much smaller than the
electrostatic forces.
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21-7 Electric Field Calculations for
Continuous Charge Distributions (4 of 7)
Example 21-11: Long line
of charge.
Determine the magnitude
of the electric field at any
point P a distance x from a
very long line (a wire, say)
of uniformly distributed
charge. Assume x is much
smaller than the length of
the wire, and let be the
charge per unit length
(C/m).
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21-7 Electric Field Calculations for
Continuous Charge Distributions (5 of 7)
Example 21-12: Uniformly charged disk.
Charge is distributed uniformly over a thin
circular disk of radius R. The charge per unit
are ( C m 2 ) is . Calculate the electric field at
a point P on the axis of the disk, a distance z
above its center.
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21-7 Electric Field Calculations for
Continuous Charge Distributions (6 of 7)
In the previous example, if we are very close
to the disk ( that is, if z<<R ) , the electric field is:
This is the field due to an infinite plane of
charge.
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21-7 Electric Field Calculations for
Continuous Charge Distributions (7 of 7)
Example 21-13: Two parallel plates.
Determine the electric field between two large parallel plates or
sheets, which are very thin and are separated by a distance d
which is small compared to their height and width. One plate
carries a uniform surface charge density and the other carries a
uniform surface charge density − as shown (the plates extend
upward and downward beyond the part shown).
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21-8 Field Lines (1 of 5)
The electric field can be represented by field
lines. These lines start on a positive charge
and end on a negative charge.
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21-8 Field Lines (2 of 5)
The number of field lines starting (ending) on
a positive (negative) charge is proportional
to the magnitude of the charge.
The electric field is stronger where the field
lines are closer together.
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21-8 Field Lines (3 of 5)
Electric dipole: two equal charges, opposite
in sign:
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21-8 Field Lines (4 of 5)
The electric field between
two closely spaced,
oppositely charged
parallel plates is constant.
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21-8 Field Lines (5 of 5)
Summary of field lines:
1.Field lines indicate the direction of the
field; the field is tangent to the line.
2.The magnitude of the field is proportional
to the density of the lines.
3.Field lines start on positive charges and
end on negative charges; the number is
proportional to the magnitude of the charge.
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21-9 Electric Fields and
Conductors (1 of 3)
The static electric field inside a conductor is
zero – if it were not, the charges would move.
The net charge on a conductor resides on its
outer surface.
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21-9 Electric Fields and
Conductors (2 of 3)
The electric field is perpendicular to the
surface of a conductor – again, if it were not,
charges would move.
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21-9 Electric Fields and
Conductors (3 of 3)
Conceptual
Example 21-14:
Shielding, and
safety in a storm.
A neutral hollow
metal box is placed
between two
parallel charged
plates as shown.
What is the field like
inside the box?
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21-10 Motion of a Charged Particle in
an Electric Field (1 of 3)
The force on an object of charge q in
→
an electric field E is given by:
→ →
F = qE
Therefore, if we know the mass and charge
of a particle, we can describe its subsequent
motion in an electric field.
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21-10 Motion of a Charged Particle in
an Electric Field (2 of 3)
Example 21-15: Electron
accelerated by electric field.
An electron mass m=9.11 10 kg →( −31
)
is accelerated in the uniform field E
( E = 2.0 104 N C between two parallel)
charged plates. The separation of the
plates is 1.5 cm. The electron is
accelerated from rest near the negative
plate and passes through a tiny hole in
the positive plate. (a) With what speed
does it leave the hole? (b) Show that the
gravitational force can be ignored.
Assume the hole is so small that it does
not affect the uniform field between the
plates.
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21-10 Motion of a Charged Particle in
an Electric Field (3 of 3)
→
Example 21-16: Electron moving perpendicular to E .
Suppose an electron traveling →with speed v0 = 1.0 10 m s
7
enters a uniform electric field E , which is at right angles to
v0 as shown. Describe its motion by giving the equation of
its path while in the electric field. Ignore gravity.
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21-11 Electric Dipoles (1 of 4)
An electric dipole consists of two charges Q,
equal in magnitude and opposite in sign,
separated→by a distance .The dipole
moment p = Q , points from the negative
to the positive charge.
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21-11 Electric Dipoles (2 of 4)
An electric dipole in a uniform electric field
will experience no net force, but it will, in
general, experience a torque:
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21-11 Electric Dipoles (3 of 4)
The electric field created by a dipole is the sum
of the fields created by the two charges; far from
the dipole, the field shows a 1 r 3 dependence:
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21-11 Electric Dipoles (4 of 4)
Example 21-17: Dipole in a field.
The dipole moment of a water molecule is
6.1 10−30 C m . A water molecule is placed
in a uniform electric field with magnitude
2.0 105 N / C . (a) What is the magnitude of
the maximum torque that the field can exert
on the molecule? (b) What is the potential
energy when the torque is at its maximum?
(c) In what position will the potential energy
take on its greatest value? Why is this
different than the position where the torque
is maximum?
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21-12 Electric Forces in Molecular
Biology; DNA (1 of 3)
Molecular biology is the
study of the structure and
functioning of the living
cell at the molecular level.
The DNA molecule is a
double helix:
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21-12 Electric Forces in Molecular
Biology; DNA (2 of 3)
The A-T and G-C
nucleotide bases
attract each other
through
electrostatic forces.
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21-12 Electric Forces in Molecular
Biology; DNA (3 of 3)
Replication: DNA is in a “soup” of A, C, G,
and T in the cell. During random collisions, A
and T will be attracted to each other, as will G
and C; other combinations will not.
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21-13 Photocopy Machines and
Computer Printers Use
Electrostatics (1 of 3)
Photocopy machine:
• drum is charged positively
• image is focused on drum
• only black areas stay charged and therefore
attract toner particles
• image is transferred to paper and sealed by
heat
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21-13 Photocopy Machines and
Computer Printers Use
Electrostatics (2 of 3)
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21-13 Photocopy Machines and
Computer Printers Use
Electrostatics (3 of 3)
Laser printer is similar, except a computer
controls the laser intensity to form the image
on the drum.
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Summary of Chapter 21 (1 of 3)
•Two kinds of electric charge – positive and
negative.
• Charge is conserved.
• Charge on electron:
e=1.602 10−19 C .
• Conductors: electrons free to move.
• Insulators: nonconductors.
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Summary of Chapter 21 (2 of 3)
• Charge is quantized in units of e.
• Objects can be charged by conduction or
induction.
• Coulomb’s law:
•Electric field is force per unit charge:
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Summary of Chapter 21 (3 of 3)
• Electric field of a point charge:
•Electric field can be represented by electric
field lines.
• Static electric field inside conductor is zero;
surface field is perpendicular to surface.
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