Electric Potential

INTRODUCTION

 In Electric Charges and Fields, we just

scratched the surface of electrical phenomena.
 Two terms commonly used to describe
electricity are its energy and voltage, which we
show in this chapter is directly related to the
potential energy in a system.
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL

 Electric potential is the electric potential energy per unit charge is

U
V =
q
 The electric potential difference is defined to be the change in potential
energy of a charge 𝒒 moved from A to B, divided by the charge.
 Units of potential difference are joules per coulomb, given the name volt (V)

1V = 1J / C
 POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE AND ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL ENERGY

 The relationship between potential difference (or voltage) and electrical potential
energy is given by
U
V =
q
U = q V
 Voltage is not the same as energy. Voltage is the energy per unit charge. Thus, a
motorcycle battery and a car battery can both have the same voltage (more
precisely, the same potential difference between battery terminals), yet one stores
much more energy than the other because Δ𝑈 = 𝑞Δ𝑉 . The car battery can move
more charge than the motorcycle battery, although both are 12-V batteries.
 EXAMPLE

 You have a 12.0-V motorcycle battery that can move 5000 C of charge, and a
12.0-V car battery that can move 60,000 C of charge. How much energy does
each deliver? (Assume that the numerical value of each charge is accurate to
three significant figures.

U mc = qV = 5000C  (12.0 J / C ) = 6.00  10 4 J

U car = qV = (60000C )(12V ) = 7.20  105 J
 THE ELECTRON-VOLT

 On the submicroscopic
scale, it is more convenient to
define an energy unit called
the electron-volt (eV),
which is the energy given to a
fundamental charge
accelerated through a potential
difference of 1 V. In equation
form,

1eV = (1.60  10−19 C ) (1V ) = (1.60  10−19 C ) (1J / C ) = 1.60  10 −19 J

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

 For conservative forces, such as the electrostatic force, conservation of

energy states that mechanical energy is a constant.
 Mechanical energy is the sum of the kinetic energy and potential energy of
a system; that is, 𝐾 + 𝑈 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 .
 A loss of U for a charged particle becomes an increase in its K.
Conservation of energy is stated in equation form as
 VOLTAGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD

 The work done by the electric field in to move a

positive charge q from A, the positive plate, higher
potential, to B, the negative plate, lower potential,
is
W = qVAB
 Since we know that, 𝑊 = 𝐹𝑑 . Since 𝐹 = 𝑞𝐸 we
see that 𝑊 = 𝑞𝐸𝑑.
qEd = qVAB
VAB = Ed
 VOLTAGE AND ELECTRIC FIELD CONT.

 In uniform E-field only: VAB

E=
d
 where d is the distance from A to B, or the distance between the plates in.
 Note that this equation implies that the units for electric field are volts per meter.
 We already know the units for electric field are newtons per coulomb; thus, the
following relation among units is valid::

1N / C = 1V / m
 EXAMPLE

 Dry air can support a maximum electric field strength of about 3.0 × 10106 𝑉/𝑚 .
Above that value, the field creates enough ionization in the air to make the air a
conductor. This allows a discharge or spark that reduces the field. What, then, is
the maximum voltage between two parallel conducting plates separated by 2 cm of
dry air?
EXAMPLE CONT.

 Solution
 The potential difference or voltage between the plates is

VAB = Ed
VAB = (3.0  10 V / m)(0.02m) = 60000V = 60kV
6
 TASK

 An electron gun has parallel plates separated by 4.5 cm and

gives electrons 30.0 keV of energy.
 (a) What is the electric field strength between the plates?
 (b) What force would this field exert on a piece of plastic with a
0.600μC charge that gets between the plates?
Capacitance
 CAPACITANCE
 Capacitors are important components of electrical circuits in many electronic
devices, including pacemakers, cell phones, and computers. In this chapter, we
study their properties, and, over the next few chapters, we examine their
function in combination with other circuit elements.
 CAPACITORS AND CAPACITANCE
 A capacitor is a device used to store electrical charge and
electrical energy.
 It consists of at least two electrical conductors separated by a
distance.
 The space between capacitors may simply be a vacuum, and, in
that case, a capacitor is then known as a “vacuum
capacitor.” However, the space is usually filled with an
insulating material known as a dielectric.
 The amount of storage in a capacitor is determined by a
property called capacitance.
 A system composed of two identical parallel-conducting plates
separated by a distance is called a parallel-plate capacitor
 CAPACITORS AND CAPACITANCE CONT.
 The capacitance C of a capacitor is defined as the ratio of the maximum charge
Q that can be stored in a capacitor to the applied voltage V across its plates.
 In other words, capacitance is the largest amount of charge per volt that can be
stored on the device:
Q
C=
V
 The SI unit of capacitance is the farad ( F )

1C
1F =
1V
 PARALLEL-PLATE CAPACITOR
 The parallel-plate capacitor has two identical
conducting plates, each having a surface area
A, separated by a distance d.
 The capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor
is given by the equation
Q A
C = = 0
V d
 Notice from this equation that capacitance is
a function only of the geometry and what
material fills the space between the plates (in
this case, vacuum) of this capacitor.
 EXAMPLE

 What is the capacitance of an empty parallel-plate capacitor with metal plates

that each have an area of 1.00𝑚2 , separated by 1.00 mm?
 How much charge is stored in this capacitor if a voltage of 3.00 × 103 𝑉 is
applied to it?
 EXAMPLE CONT.

 Solution
 Entering the given values into Equation yields

( 
) 
2
A F  1.00m
C =  0 = 8.85  10−12 =  −9
F = 8.85nF
m 1.00  10−3 m 
8.85 10
d  
 Using equation for capacitance and entering the known values into this
equation gives
Q = CV = ( 8.85  10 F )( 3.00  10 V ) = 26.6  C
−9 3
 CAPACITORS IN SERIES
 (a) Three capacitors are connected in
series. The magnitude of the charge on
each plate is Q.
 (b) The network of capacitors in (a) is
equivalent to one capacitor that has a
smaller capacitance than any of the
individual capacitances in (a), and the
charge on its plates is Q.
 The equivalent capacitance, CS , of three capacitors connected in series
1 1 1 1
= + +
Ceq C1 C2 C3
 EXAMPLE

 Find the total capacitance for three capacitors connected in series, given their
individual capacitances are 2.000μF , 8.000μF , and 10.000μF

1 1 1 1 1 1 1
= + + = + + = 0.725
Ceq C1 C2 C3 2.000  F 8.000  F 10.000  F
1
Ceq = = 1.400  F
0.725
 TASK

 Find the total capacitance for three capacitors connected in series,

given their individual capacitances are 4.000μF , 10.000μF , and
15.000μF
 PARALLEL COMBINATION OF CAPACITORS

 (a) Three capacitors are connected in parallel. Each capacitor is connected directly
to the battery.
 (b) The charge on the equivalent capacitor is the sum of the charges on the
individual capacitors.
 The equivalent capacitance, CS , of three capacitors connected in parallel

Ceq = C1 + C2 + C3 + ........
 EXAMPLE

 Find the net capacitance for three capacitors connected in parallel,

given their individual capacitances are 2.000μF , 8.000μF , and
10.000μF

Ceq = C1 + C2 + C3 = 2.000  F + 8.000  F + 10.000  F = 20.000  F

 TASK

 Find the net capacitance for three capacitors connected in parallel,

given their individual capacitances are 4.000μF , 10.000μF , and
15.000μF
End pf Lecture 19 Part 2