Electrostatics

Concept of charge

In nature atoms are electrically neutral, because they contain equal number of protons and
electrons. The charge of electron or proton is the smallest amount of free charge that has been
discovered.

In a body if there is excess of electrons over its neutral configuration, conventionally the body
is said to be negatively charged and if there is deficiency of electrons. It is said to be positively
charged.

Basic properties of charge

Charges are scalar and can be of two types (+ve or -ve) it adds algebrically.

Charge is conserved. During any process the net electric charge of an isolated system remains
constant.

Charge is quantized

Robert Millikan observed that electric charge is always occurs as some integral multiple of funda-
mental unit of charge.

ie q  Ne  N  1, 2,3,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 

Similar charges repells each other, while dissimilar charges attract each other.

Charge is always associated with mass. ie charge cannot exist without mass through mass can
exist without charge

Charge is transferrable. It is also known as conduction.

Charge is invariant

SI unit of electric charge is coulomb (C)

Current = drift of charge per unit time

I = q/t

q = It

C.G.S.unit static coulomb or esu (electrostatic unit

1 coulomb = 1 Ampere - sec

Methods of charging

1) Charging by friction

The charging by friction process involves rubbing of one particle on another resulting in electrons
moving from one surface to another. This method is useful for charging insulators.
 Material losing electron is positively charged and material gaining electron is negatively charged.
In other words charges of the system are conserved.

When you rub glass rod to silk, glass lose electron and positively charged and silk gain elec-
tron and negatively charged.
2) Charging by conduction
Bring two conductors one charged and other uncharged made in contact with each other.
Thus the conductors will be charged with the same sign. This method is called charging by con-
duction.

3) Charging by induction
In this method of charging, a charged body placed nearer to an uncharged body, but not in
contact with eachother.
Like charges move away from the charged object and opposite charges move towards the
charged object. Hence charges are appearing on two sides of the body. This phenomenon is called
induction and charge produced by it is called induced charge. Although total charge of the body is
still zero.
 Detecting charge
Charge can be detected and measured with the help of gold leaf electroscope.
Gold leaf electroscope consists of two gold leaves attached to a conducting post that has
conducting disc ball on top. The leaves are otherwise insulated from the container. Gold leaf elec-
troscope can be used in two ways.
i) If a charged body brought nearer to it, charge on the ball of the electroscope will be opposite to that
of the body and on leaves similar to that of body and leaves will diverge.
ii) If a charged body is touched, ball and leaves both acquire similar charge and leaves will diverge.

Note : If a charged body is brought near a charged electroscope, the leaves will further diverge if the
charge on the body is similar to that on the electroscope and will usually converge if opposite. Thus
we will be able to determine nature of charge on the body.
Example 1
How many electrons are there in one coulomb of negative charge.
q = ne
1C  n  1.6  1019
1
  6.25  1018
1.6  1019
Example 2
A glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth. The glass rod acquires a charge of 19.2  1019 C
find (i) Number of electrons lost by glass rod
(ii) Is there transfer of mass from one body to other body?
Solution
i) q - ne

19.2  1019
nq   12
e 1.6  1019
ii) Mass of one electron  9.1  1031 kg
29
 mass transffered  12  9.1  1031  1.08 10 kg
Example 3
Does the attraction between comb and the pieces of papers last for longer period of time
No because the comb losses its net charge after some time. This excess charge of the
comb transfers to the earth through our body after some time.
Example 4
Can two similarly charged particles attracts each other
Particles when the charge on one body (q1) is much greater than on the other (q2) and they
are close enough to each other so that force of attraction between q1 and induct charge on the
other exceeds the repulsion between q1 and q2.
However two similar point charges can never attract each other because no induction will
take place there.
Examples : Does in charging the mass of body change?
Particles as charging a body means addition or removal of electrons and electrons has mass.
Coulomb’s Law
If two stationary and point charges Q1 and Q2 are pt at a distance ‘r’, then it is found that the
magnitude of force is
i) directly proportional to magnitude of product of two charges
ii) Inversely proportional to square of distance between them
This force acts along the line joining two charges and depends on the medium between two
charges.

Q1 Q 2
F  Q1 Q 2 F 
r2

1 QQ
F 2 ; ie
F  K 12 2
r r
It is common practice to express K in terms of another constant  0 .  0 is called permittivity of free
1
space. K 
40

Where 0  8.85 1012 C2 / Nm 2

K is known as coulomb’s constant or electrostatic force constant.
Coulomb’s Law interms of position vector

 1 q1q 2
F 21 rˆ 12 
40 r 2 r 12  r

 
1 q1q 2 r 12
F 21    2 2
40 r 12 2 r 12 r 12  r
 
 1 q1q 2  r
F 21  r 12 r̂ 12  12
4 0 r 12 3 r12

 
 1 q1q 2  r 2  r 1    
F 21   3 r1  r 12  r 2
4 0 r 2 r 1
  
r 12  r 2  r 1
Important points
1) Force between any two charges is independent of presence of other charges.
2) Coulomb’s law hold for point charges
3) Coulomb’s law hold for charges at rest or nearly at rest.
4) In CGS system constant K = 1 without unit.
The unit of charge is static coulomb or esu (electrostatic unit).
1 coulomb  3  109 esu
5) When a dielectric medium is completely filled in between the charges, the force between the
same charges decreases by a factor K.
Ffreespace
Thus Fmedium 
K
6) If dielectric is inserted between some part of the space between the charges, then force be-
tween them can be calculated as follows.

1 q1q 2 1 q1q 2
F F=

4 0 r  t  Kt
  
2 2
4πε 0 K1 r1 + K 2 r2

Note :

1 q1q 2 1 q1q 2
F 2 ;
F 
40 r 40 K r 2

1 q1q 2

4 0
 
2
Kr

1 q1q 2

4 0  r1  2  r  K r
1

Permittivity of free space (a0) and permittivity of a medium    is related as

   r 0

 r is known as relative permittivity of that medium. It is property of a medium by which it opposes

the passage of electric interaction through it.
for vaccum  r  1
for air  r  1
for conductors  r  
for insulator  r  0
Two charges q1 and q2 are separated by a distance r in freespace. Then force between them is
given by
1 q1q 2
Ffree space 
4 0 r 2
If the same system is placed in a medium of permittivity  , then force between them is given by

1 q1q 2 1 q1q 2
Fmedium  
4 r 2
4 r  0 r 2

Ffreespace
Fmedium 
r
Super position Theorem
The interaction between any two charge is independent of presence of all other charges.
Electrical force is a vector quantity, therefore the net force on any one of the charge is the vector
sum of all the forces exerted on it due to each of other charges interacting with it independently.

Note

Net F acting on +q is zero. So it is in equilibrium. If ‘+q’ is moved along X axis equilibrium is stable
and if +q is moved along Y axis, then the equilibrium is unstable.

Here -q is also in equilibrium.

If -q is moved along X - axis then the equilibrium is unstable and if -q is moved along Y axis then the
equilibrium is stable equilibrium.
Note

If the system is in equilibrium then value of q will be..........

Tsin   FE

Tcos   mg

FE
then the tan  
mg

FE  mg tan 

1 qq
FE 
4 0 r 2

1 q2

4 0  2 sin   2

Electricfield
The physical field where a charged particle, whether it is in motion or rest, experiences force is
called electricfield.
Electricfield intensity at a point is defined as the force acting on a unit positive test charge placed at
that point.
Assume that a test charge ‘q0’ is placed at a point in an electricfield, force acting on it is F.
Then force acting on unit positive
Charge  F / q 0 .

This is electricfield intensity(E)

F
E 
q0

Unit Newton/Coulomb
The presence of charge ‘q0’ will change the original distribution of other charges, particularly if the
charges are on conductors. So that we choose ‘q0’ to be small enough so that its effect on the
original charge distribution is negligible.

F
E  lim
q0 0 q
0

 
Conversely known E at any location in space we can calculate the force F , that would arise on
any point charge ‘q’ placed at that location and it is given by
 
F  qE

Note : -
If ‘q’ is positive, force will act in the same direction of electric field. If ‘q’ is negative, force will act in
the opposite direction of electricfield.
Electric field due to point charge:-

Consider a point charge +Q we need to find electric field intensity at a point ‘r’ distance away from
it for that place a +1C charge at that point.

1 Q 1 1 Q
F 
4 0 r 2
4 0 r 2

1 Q
E 
4 0 r 2

for positive charges electricfield is radially outwards and for negative charges electricfield is radi-
ally inward.

1
E
r2
Electric field due to charged ring
Let us consider a ring of radius R with a uniformly distributed charge of density  per unit length.
We may imagine the ring to be made of insulating material, so that the charges can be regarded
fixed in place.
Take a small element of ring of length ds. Since  is the charge per unit length, so the charge on
the element
dq  d 
Assuming dq to be a point charge, the electricfield due to this charge at a distance x from the
centre of the ring.

 1  dq  1  d 
dE    2   2
 4 
 r  40  r

From the geometry, r 2  R 2  x 2

 1  d 
dE    2
 4 0   R  x 
2

 1  d 
Figure shows that dE is at an angle dE   4   R 2  x 2
 0    to the central axis and has compo-

nents perpendicular to and parallel to that axis. All the perpendicular components get cancel out
because they are equal in magnitude but point in different directions. Thus resultant field is due to
the parallel components, they all have the same direction, so the net field.

E   dE cos 

2
 cos  R
  d
40  R 2  x 2  0

   2R  cos 
40 R 2  x2 
If q be the total charge on the ring, then
x
 2R  q , also cos  
R  x2
2

 1  qx
E 
 4  2
  R  x  2
2
3


For x  R, R 2  x 2  x 2

 1  q
E  2
 4 0  x
Maximum value of E

 
dE d  1  qx 0
For E to be maximum,  0 , or dx  4  2 
0  R  x 
3
dx 
2 2


R
After simplification, we get x 
2

Charged disc ( derivation not required)

Electric field : Consider a circular plastic (non conducting ) disc of radius R that has a positive
surface charged uniform density  . To find the electric field at any point on the axis of the disc, we
can divide the disc into concentric rings and then adding up the contributions of all the rings.
Figure shows a ring element,with radius r and radial width dr. The charge on the ring is

dq  dA    2r dr 
The electric field at P due to this element at a distance on the axis of the disc

 1   dq  x
dE   
 40   r 2  x 2  2
3

 1    2 r dr 
 
 40   r 2  x 2  2
3
The field due to whole disc can be find by integrating the above obtained result from r = 0 to r = R.
R
x 2r dr
Thus E  
40
r  x2 
3
2 2
0

Substituting, r 2  x 2  z
On differentiating; we get 2r dr  dz (x is constant)
R
x dz
40 0 z 3 2
E

R
x z 1/2

4 0  1/ 2  0

R
x 1

4 0 r2  x2 0

x 1 1    x 
    or E  1 
2 0  
3 R x 
2 2
2 0  R2  x2 
Electric dipole
Two equal and opposite charges separated by a small distance is called an electric dipole.

Electric dipole moment

Electric dipole moment is defined as the product of magnitude of one of the charges and length of
the dipole
Electric dipole moment p  q  2a .
Electric dipole moment is a vector quantity.
Electric dipole moment is directed from negative charge to the positive charge.
Electric field intensity at the axial line of a dipole.

We need to find electricfield intensity at point P which is at a distance r from the centre of the dipole.

1 q
E1     due to  q 
4 0  r  a 2
 1 q
E2     due to  q 
40  r  a 2

Net Electric field = E2 - E1

1 q 1 q
 
4 0  r  a  4 0  r  a 2
2

 
1 4ra 
 q
40   r 2  a 2 2 
 

 
1 2  2a  r 
 q
40   r 2  a 2 2 
 

1 2pr

4 0  r  a 2 2
2

1 2pr
E
4 0  r 2  a 2 2

If the dipole is short dipole, then a<< r

a can be neglected

1 2pr
E 
4  0 r 4

1 2P
E
4 0 r 3
Note : At axial line electric field is parallel to axial line.
Electric field intensity at the equatorial line of a dipole

We need to find electricfield intensity at point P.

1 q
E1 
4  0 r  a 2
2
 1 q
E2 
4 0 r  a 2
2

E1 = E 2 = E
Net electricfield  E cos   E cos 

 2E cos 
1 q a
 2 
4 0 r  a
2 2
r  a2
2

1 P

 
40 r 2  a 2 3 2

Note : At equatorial line, electricfield is antiparallel to dipole moment.

1 P
E
 
40 r 2  a 2 3 2

If the dipole is short dipole then a can be neglected.

1 P
E 
4 0 r 3
Electricfield Intensity at a general point of dipole

Here we need to find electricfield at point p. There are two dipoles of dipole moment p cos  and
p cos  . Point is at the axial line of p cos  dipole and at the equatorial line of p sin  dipole.

1 2P cos  1 P sin 
E1  ; E2 
4 0 r 3
4 0 r 3

E1 and E2 are perpendicular to each other then E  E12  E 22

1 P
E 4 cos 2   sin 2 
4 0 r 3

1 P
E 3cos 2   1
4 0 r 3
Uniform electric field
In uniform electric field, magnitude and direction of electric field is same at every point

In the above figure there are two metallic plates, one is charged positive charges and other is
charged with equal magnitude negative charges. So electric field in that region (between plates)
will be uniform its direction is from positive charge to negative charge.
Positive charges placed in that field experiences a force in the same direction of electric field, but
for negative charges it will be opposite to direction of E.

A dipole in an electric field


Consider an electric dipole placed in an uniform field of intensity E . The ends of the dipole experi-
ence equal and opposite forces, each of magnitude F = Eq. Thus, because of uniform field, the net
force on the dipole becomes zero and so the centre of mass of the dipole does not move. However,

the forces on the charged ends do produce a net torque  on the dipole about its centre of mass.

The magnitude of this torque.

 = [ magnitude of either force]  [distance between lines of action of the forces]
 F   sin 
 Eq   sin   E  q  sin  or   PE sin 
In vector notation, it can be written as:
  
  P  E.............. 1

  PE
Note : at θ = 00 , Fnet = o, τ=0

stable equilibrium at θ =180 0 Fnet = 0,τ = 0

Unstable equilibrium
Note
When dipole is placed in non uniform electric field. If it is parallel, it will moves towards stronger part
of the field and if it is antiparallel it will move towards weaker part of the field.
Work done by the agent to increase the angle from 1 to  2 :
The torque exerted by the agent to increase the angle
agent  PE sin 
2

Workdone, Wagent  t
1
agent d

2

  PE sin  d
1


 PE  cos   2
1

or Wagent  PE  cos 1  cos 2 

Potential energy of dipole in uniform electric field

W  U f  Ui ; W  PE  cos 1  cos 2 

  PE cos 2  PE cos 1

 U f   PE cos 2

Ui   PE cos 1
 U  PE cos 
U=-PE
Force between two short dipoles
1. When dipoles are placed parallel to each other:
 
Suppose dipoles are placed at a separation r. The PE of dipole P2 in the field of dipole P1 is :

U   P2 E1 cos1800

 1  P1P2
  3
 40  r
 dU d  1 P1P2 
The force between then is given by F    
dr dr  40 r 3 

 1  3P P
  14 2
 4 
 r

As the force is positive, so it is of repulsive nature.

2. When dipoles are placed on the same axis:

 
Suppose the dipoles are placed at a separation r. The PE of the dipole P2 in the field of P2 is,

U   P2 E1 cos 00

 1  2P1P2
   3
 40  r
The force between them is given by

dU d  1 2P1P2 
F   
dr dr  40 r 3 

 1  6P1P2
   4
 40  r
Here minus sign of F indicates attractive force.

Electric field Lines (EFL)

A very nice way to visualise electric field, is the lines of force, now usually called electric field
lines. The ideal of lines of force was introduced by Micheal Faraday. These are the imaginary lines,
but can be visualised by the motion of the test charge.
Properties of electric lines of field
1. Every line of field is a continuous and smooth curve originating from a positive charge and
ending on a negative charge.

2. The tangent to a line of field to any point gives the direction of E at that point.
3. They do not path but leave or end on a charged conductor normally when the charges on the
conductor are in equilibrium
4. Lines of fields are never intersect. If it happens then we say that at the point of intersection the
electric intensify is zero, otherwise it would have to be tangential to two different curves at the
same instant which is not possible
5. The number per unit area crossing a surface at right angle to the field direction at every point is
proportional to the electric intensity. Hence lines of field are closely spaced where the intensity is
large and are widely separated where the intensity is small.
Electric flux
Electric flux is defined as the total number of electric field lines passing normally through a
surface.
Electric flux through small area ds is defined as.

The total electric flux through the surface S is given by

If the surface S is a plane surface, then the total electric flux is
 
  E.S
 ES cos 
SI unit of electric flux. Nm2 /C or Vm
Note : “Entering flux is negative and leaving flux is positive”.

Note :

Gauss’s Theorem
Gauss’s theorem states that “the total electic flux over a closed surface enclosing a charge is
equal to 1/ 0 times the net charge enclosed.”

1
Mathematically Gauss’s theorem can   q
 0 be stated as
Proof
Consider a point charge q placed at a point. Imagine a sphere of radius r with q as the centre.
The total electric flux through the sphere.
At the surface of the sphere,

Application of Gauss’s law

Charged conducting shell. Figure shows a charged spherical shell of total charge q and
radius R. The charge of the conducting shell will spread uniformly over its outer surface, so charge
inside the shell will be zero.
For the Gaussian surface, r  R ,

qm  q

By Gauss’s law

 1 q
E  2
 4 0  r
Case (iii) E.F, inside the shell

In this case the charge enclosed by the Gaussian sphere, q = 0

 Substituting in Gauss’s theorem
0
E  4r 2 
0
 E=0. The electric field inside a spherical shell of charge is zero.

Uniformly charged sphere (non conductor)

Consider a charged sphere of total charge q and radius R. Choose a Gaussian surface with r > R,
the entire charge lies within it. The charge produces an electric field on the Gaussian surface as if
the charge were a point charge located at the centre and so

 1  q
E  2 ;r  R
 4 0  r

For the Gaussian surface at r < R, charge enclosed in the sphere of radius r.

q 4 qr 3
qm   r 3  3
4 3 3 R
R
3

By Gauss’s law
 qr 3 / R 3 E   1  qr ; r  R
or E  4r 2  ;   3 .
0  40  R
At r = 0, E  

Electric field due to Infinite line charge

Consider an infinitely long straight wire of charge density  . We have to find the electric field
at a point P distant ‘r’ from this line charge. For this imagine a Gaussian cylinder of radius ‘r’ and
length ‘I’ with the line charge as the axis.

The total electric flux,

The charge enclosed by the Gaussian cylinder, q  

Applying Gauss’s theorem.


E  2r 
0
 
E
2 0 r


E
2 0 r
Electric field due to Infinitely charged plane sheet.

The total electric flux through the Gaussian cylinder,

The charge enclosed by the Gaussian cylinder, q  A

Applying Gauss’s theorem,

A
E  2A 
0


E
2 0


E
2 0
Note
Case (i)
Consider two infinitely large plane parallel sheets having charge densities  and 


Electric field due to a single sheet E 
2 0
In Region I
E1   E  E  0
In Region II
En  E  E

   
  2 
2 0 2 0 2 0  0
In Region III

E m  E   E   0
Case (ii)

Region 1 Region 2 Region 3

E net  E1  E 2 E net  E1  E 2

 E net  0  
0 0

Electrostatic potential and capacitance

Electric field around a charge can be described by
i) Electric field intensity
ii) Electric potential
“ Electric potential at a point is defined as work done in moving a unit positive charge from infinity to
that point against the electrostatic forces”.
Work done to bring a test charge ‘q’ from infinity to a point is W. Then potential at that point is
 W
V=
q
SI unit volt (V) or Joule / Coulomb.

ML2 T 2
dimension  V  
AT
=ML2A-1T-3
“Its a scalar quantity” (No direction).
“Potential difference between two points in an electric field is said to be workdone in moving a unit
positive charge from one point to another against electrostatic forces”
Electric potential due to point charge

Here we need to find electric potential at point P.

“Suppose a test charge q0 placed at a distance x from +Q”

Then force acting on it is given by

1 qq 0
F  towards right 
4 0 x 2
Fexp = -F
The small work done in moving test charge from A to B through small displacement dx will be
(against electrostatic forces)
 
dW  F.dx
dW=-F dx
Total work done to move it from  to that point is
r r
1 dx
W   dW    dx   qq 0  2

4 0 
x
r
q q 0 dx

4 0 x

2

1 qq 0

4 0 r

VW
q0

1 q
V
4 0 r

1
V
r
Note

1  q 
V
4 0 r
Electric potential due to system of charges:

As potential is scalar quantity so the total potential at point P will be equal to the algebraic
sum of all the individual potentials
V  V1  V2  V3

1 q1 1 q2 1 q3
  
4 0 r1 4 0 r2 4 0 r3

1  q1 q 2 q 3 
    
40  r1 r2 r3 
Electric potential due to dipole (axial line)
We need to find potential at point P

Potential at p due to +q = V1
Potential at p due to -q = V2

1 q 1  q 
V1  ; V2 
40  r  a  40  r  a 

V  V1  V2

q  1 1 
   
4 0   r  a   r  a  

q 2a
  2
4 0  r  a 2 
 1 P
V
4 0  r  a 2 
2

1 p
r >> a; V 
4 0 r 2
Electric potential due to dipole (at equatorial line)

“We need to find potential at point P.”

Due to +q potential is V1 and due to -q potential is V2

V1 
1 q 1  q 
; V2 
4 0 r2  a2 40 r2  a2
V  V1  V2  0
Electric potential due to dipole at general point

We need to find potential at point P.

Point is at the axial line of P cos  and at the equatorial line of P sin  . due to ‘ P cos  ’ dipole,
potential is

1  P cos  
V1 
4 0 r2

due to ‘ P sin  ’ dipole potential is V2 = 0

 V  V1  V2
 1  P cos  
V
4 0 r2
Electric potential due to unit charged ring

“Total charge on the ring is q”

1  dq 
Potential due to small element dV 
4 0 R2  x2

1 1
V   dV   dq
4 0 R  x2
2

1 q
V
4 0 R  x2
2

Relation between electric field and potential

The electrostatic force required to move to the test charge q0 (without any acceleration) against the
electric field is given by F  q 0 E
Workdone to move q0 from A to B
 
q 0 E 0 dr  W
VB -VA = 1 Potential difference between A and B.(Work done to move unit +ve charge)
 Work done to move q0 charge.
W  q 0  VB  VA 
  
  q 0 E.dr  q 0  VB  VA 
 
E.dr  dV
Here   0
 F dr  dV
dv
E
dr
Note

If v  f  x, y, z 

v v v
Ex  ; Ey  ; Ez  
x y z
 ”Electricfield intensity at anypoint is equatorial the negative of potential gradient at that point.”
 Electric field is in the direction of decrease potential.”
Calculation of electric potential from electric field Intensity
dv
E
dr
 
dV  E.dr
r2
 
 
dv
r1
  E.dr

r2
 
V2  V1    E.dr
r1

 
r
V    E.dr


1 q r 21
E
4 0 r 2 2  1
r
1 q
V   dr

40 r 2
r
1 q  r 1  1 q
    4 r
4 0   1   0
Potential due to uniformly charged thin spherical shell
Outside point

r
  r
1 q
V    E.dr    dr
 
4 0 r 2
r
1  r 1 
 q
4 0  1  

1 q
V
4 0 r

1 q
at surface V 
4 0 R
Inside point


r
V    E.dr


R r
1 q
  dr     0 dr

4 0 r 2 R

1 q
V
4 0 R
Potential due to uniformly charged non conducting sphere
i) Outside point
Total charge inside sphere = q
 r
  r
1 q
V    E.dr    dr
 
4 0 r 2

1 q
V
4 0 r

1 q
at surface V 
4 0 R
ii) Inside point

1 q
E out 
4 0 r

1 Qr
E ins 
4 0 R 3

 
r R
1 q
r
1 qr
V    E.dr    dr    dr
 
4 0 r 2
R
4 0 R 3

1 q 1 q  r2  R 2 
   
40 R 4 0 R 3  2 

1 q 1 q 1 qr 2
  
4 0 R 40 2R 4 0 2R 3

1 3q 1 qr 2
 
4 0 2R 4 0 2R  R 2

1 q  r2 
V  3  
40 2R  R2 
Equipotential surface
“Any surface that has same electric potential at every point on it is called an equipotential
surface.”
Properties
1) No work is done by moving a test charge over an equipotential surface.
 Workdone to move a charge q from point A to point B is given by

equipotential surface W  q  VB  VA 

 q  V  V = 0

VB  VA  V
2) Electric field is always normal to the equipotential surface at every point

W=0

q  VB  VA   0

VB  VA  0
r2
 
  E.dr  0
r1

 
E.dr  0
E  dr
3) Equipotential surfaces are closer together in the regions of strong field and further apart in the
regions of weak field.
dv
E ; dV= constant
dr
1
E
dr
4) No two equipotential surface never intersect each other.
Equipotential surface of various charge system
“Equipotential surfaces due to point charge”.

“Equipotential surfaces for uniform electric field.”

Electric potential energy
“It is the energy possessed by system of charges by virtue of their positions.”
Electric potential energy of system of point charges may be defined as the amount of workdone in
assembling the charges at their location by bringing them in from infinity.
Potential energy of system of two charges
Suppose a point charge q, is at rest at point P, in space. It takes no work to bring the first
charge q, because there is no field yet to work against

Workdone = U
Now we need to bring q2 from infinity to P2.

1 q1
Potential point P2 is V 
4 0 r12
Potential is the work done to bring unit charge
 Work done to bring q, charge is given by
1 q1
W  q2
4 0 r12

1 q1q 2
W
4 0 r12
This work done is stored as the potential energy of the system.
Potential energy of system of three charges

Initially we bring q1 from infinity to point P1. Workdone for this is zero

1 q1
No we need to bring q2 from inifinity to P2. Potential at P2 is
4 0 r12
 Work done to bring q2 is
1 q1
W q2
4 0 r12

1 q1 1 q2
Now we need to bring q3 from infinity to P3. Potential at P3 is 
4 0 r13 4 0 r23
Work done to bring q3 is
1 q1q 3 1 q 2 q3
W  
4 0 r13 40 r23
Total work done for arranging these charges
W  W  W
1 q1q 2 1 q1q 3 1 q 2q3
  
4 0 r12 40 r13 4 0 r23
This workdone is stored as the potential energy of system of these charges.”
Potential energy in an external field
Potential energy of single charged in external electric field
We wish to determine the potential energy of charge q in an external electric field E, at a point P,
Where corresponding external potential is V. Therefore work done to bring ‘q’ charge from infinity to
that point is given by
W= qV
Potential energy of system of two charges in an external electric field

Point P2 and P2 are the points in an external electric field. Potential at P1 and P2 due to external
electric field is V1 and V2 respectively. Now we bring charge q1 from infinity to that point. Work done
is
W1  q1V1
Now potential at point P2 is
1 q1
V  V2 
4 0 r12
 Work done to bring q, from infinity to point P2 is

 1 q1 
W2  q 2   V2  
 40 r12 

1 q1q 2
W2  q 2 V2 
4 0 r12
 Total work done is given by
1 q1q 2
W  q1V1  q 2 V2 
4 0 r1r2

Capacitance of an isolated spherical capacitor

1. Consider an isolated spherical conductor of radius R. The charge Q is uniformly distributed over
its entire surface.
The potential at any point on the surface of the spherical conductor will be
1 Q
V .
4 0 R

Q Q
C 
V 1 Q
.
4 0 R

C  4 0 R
Capacitance of isolated conductor is small
When a conductor holds a large amount of charge, its potential is also high. If the associated
  
electric field  E    becomes high enough, the atoms or molecules of the surrounding air get
 0

ionised. A breakdown occurs in the insulation of the surrounding medium and the charge put on the
conductor gets neutralised or leaks away. For air, the breakdown point occurs at fields of the order
of 3  106 Vm 1 . The puts the limit on the capacitance of a conductor. Moreover, if we tend to have
a single conductor of large capacitance, it will have practically inconvenient large size.
Principle of capacitor
Consider a positively charged metal plate A and place an uncharged plate B close to it, no
shown in figure. Due to induction, the closer face of plate B acquires negative charge and its farther
face acquires a positive charge. The negative charge on plate B tends to reduce the potential on
plate A, while the positive charge on plate B tends to increase the potential on A. As the negative
charge of plate B is closer to plate A than its positive charge, so the net effect is that the potential of
A decreases by a small amount and hence its capacitance increases by a small amount.

Parallel plate capacitor

The simplest and the most widely used capacitor is the parallel plate capacitor. It consists of
two large plane parallel conducting plates, separated by a small distance.
Let A = area of each plate,
d = distance between the two plates
 = uniform surface charge densities on the two plates
 Q   A= total charge on each plate
P.D. between the plates
d
= Electric field  distance between the plates or V  Ed 
0
Capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor is

Q A 0 A
C  or C 
V d /  0 d
Factors on which the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor depends

1. Area of the plates  C  A 


2. Distance between the plates C  1 d 
3. Permittivity of the medium between the plates  C   

Capacitors connected in series

Q Q Q
V1  ; V2  ; V3 
C1 C2 C3

Q Q Q
 V  V1  V2  V3   
C1 C2 C3

V 1 1 1
  
Q C1 C 2 C3

1 1 1 1
  
C5 C1 C 2 C3
Note : -
1. The reciprocal of equivalent capacitance is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of the individual
capacitances
2. The equivalent capacitance is smaller than the smallest individual capacitance
3. The charge on each capacitors is same
4. The potential difference across any capacitor is inversely proportional to its capacitance
Capacitors connected in parallel

Q  Q1  Q2  Q3   C1  C2  C3  V

Q  CP V

CP V   C1  C2  C3  V

C p  C1  C 2  C3
For a parallel combination of n capacitors, we can write
C p  C1  C 2  .......  C n
Note
1. The equivalent capacitance is equal to the sum of the individual capacitances
2. The equivalent capacitance is larger than the largest individual capacitance
3. The potential difference across each capacitor is same
4. The charge on each capacitor is proportional to its capacitance
Energy stored in a capacitor
Expression for the energy stored in a capacitor. Consider a capacitor of capacitance C.
Initially, its two plates are uncharged. Suppose the positive charge is transferred from plate 2 to
plate 1 bit by bit. In this process, external workdone to be done because at any stage plate 1 is at
higher potential than the plate Z. Suppose at any instant the plates 1 and 2 have charges Q and -Q
respectively, as shown in figure. Then the potential difference between the two plates will be

Q
V 
C
Suppose now a small additional charge dQ be transferred from plate 2 to plate 1. The work
done will be
 Q
dQ  V.dQ  .dQ
C
The total work done in transferring a charge Q from plate 2 to plate 1 will be
Q
Q  Q 2 
Q
1 Q2
W   dW   .dQ     .
0
C  2C  0 2 C
This work done is stored as electrical potential energy U of the capacitor.

1 Q2 1 1
U .  .CV 2  QV
2 C 2 2
Energy density of electric field
Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor
0 A
a
d

E
 0 ;   0 E

  0A  0 EA

Q 2  20 A 2 E 2 02 A 2 E 2
U  
2C 2C A
2 0
d

1
U  0  Ad  E 2
2
Ad  Volume

1  0  Ad  E
2

 Energy stored per unit volume 

2 Ad

 Energy density  1 2  0 E
2

Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with dielectric slab

0 A
C
 t 
d  t  
 K
if dielectric slab is filled in the entire space then capacitance of capacitor is given by
0 A
CK
d
Note :-
“ A parallel plate capacitor is charged by a battery which is then disconnected. Now a dielectric slab
is introduced between the plates”
Then  Charge remains constant

E0
 Electric field E 
K
 Potential difference decreases
 Capacitance increases
 Energy stored decreases
Note :-
If dielectric is introduced in the presence of battery then
 Potential difference remains constant
 Electric field remains unchanged
 Capacitance increases
 Charge on capacitor increases
 Energy stored also increases