Lecture Notes: Chapter 21 - Electric Charge and Electric Field
Learning Objectives
1. Understand the nature of electric charge and charge conservation.
2. Differentiate between conductors and insulators.
3. Apply Coulomb’s Law to calculate force between charges.
4. Determine the electric field for point and continuous charge distributions.
5. Analyze electric field lines and properties.
6. Explain electric dipoles and torque in a uniform electric field.
7. Solve problems involving charge motion in electric fields.
Key Concepts
1. Charge is quantized (positive or negative).
2. Coulomb’s Law: F = k |Q1 Q2| / r².
3. Electric Field: E = k |Q| / r².
4. Electric field lines indicate the direction and strength of E.
5. Electric dipole: Torque τ = pE sinθ.
21.1 Static Electricity; Electric Charge and Its Conservation
• Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter.
• Two types of charge: positive (+) and negative (-).
• Law of Conservation of Charge: Charge can neither be created nor destroyed,
only transferred.
• Charge quantization: The smallest unit of charge is e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C.
• Charging Methods:
o Friction: Rubbing different materials can transfer electrons.
o Conduction: Contact allows charge to move.
o Induction: A charged object causes charge redistribution in a nearby
conductor.
21.2 Electric Charge in the Atom
• Atoms consist of positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and
neutral neutrons.
• Electrons move between objects, creating net charge.
• Ions are atoms with net positive or negative charge due to electron loss or gain.
21.3 Insulators and Conductors
• Conductors: Materials (e.g., metals) where charge moves freely. When the
metallic atoms get together the outermost valance electrons become free forming
the metallic bond. Thus, conductors have free electrons
• Insulators: Materials (e.g., rubber, glass) where charge is restricted. In insulators
the valance electrons either transferred from one atom to the other (ionic bond) or
valance electrons are shared between the neighbouring atoms (covalent bond). So,
in insulators there are no free electrons.
• Semiconductors: Materials with intermediate conductivity, controlled by
impurities.
21.4 Induced Charge; The Electroscope
• Induction: A charged object brought near a conductor causes charge
redistribution.
• Electroscope: A device that detects electric charge.
o A charged electroscope experiences repulsion (same charge) or
attraction (opposite charge). Refer to Section 21-4 in the textbook.
21.5 Coulomb’s Law
• Defines the force between two point charges: F = k |Q1 Q2| / r², where,
o k: Nm²/C² (Coulomb's constant)
o Q1 Q2 = product of the magnitudes of the charges
o r = distance between charges.
o
• Like charges repel, opposite charges attract.
• If there are several point charges, the net force on any one of them will be the
vector sum of the forces due to each of the other forces. Refer to the examples 21-
1 to 21-5 in the textbook.
21.6 The Electric Field
• Electric field (E): The force per unit charge at a point in space.
• The magnitude of the electric field at a distance r from a point charge Q is
expressed as, E = k |Q| / r².
where Q is the source charge.
• Direction of E:
o Away from positive charges.
o Toward negative charges.
• If there are several point charges, the net electric field at a point will be the vector
sum of the electric fields due to each of the point charges present. Refer to the
examples 21-6 to 21-9 in the textbook.
21.7 Electric Field Calculations for Continuous Charge Distributions
• Used when charge is spread over on a line, an area or volume.
• Charge distributions:
o Line charge density (λ): Charge per unit length, the SI unit of λ is C/m
o Surface charge density (σ): Charge per unit area. Charge per unit area,
the SI unit of σ is C/m2
o Volume charge density (ρ): Charge per unit volume, the SI unit of ρ is
C/m3.
o
• Electric field is calculated by assuming to divide the charge distribution into
very small charge elements that were treated as point charges. Then, the net
electric field at a pint is calculated by using integration procedure.
• Refer to the examples 21-10 to 21-14 in the textbook that involve calculations of
the electric field on the axis of a charged ring, on the axis of a charged disc, at a
distance from a long-charged line and due to two charged parallel plates
21.8 Field Lines
• Visual representation of electric fields.
• Properties:
o Electric field lines start from positive and end on negative charges.
o Electric field is stronger where the field line density per unit area is larger.
o Electric field lines never cross each other.
o Refer to the section 21-8 in the textbook.
21.9 Electric Fields and Conductors
• Inside a conductor, E = 0 (charges redistribute to cancel the field).
• Excess charge moves to the surface.
• Electric field is perpendicular to the surface.
• Faraday cage: A conductor shields its interior from external electric fields.
21.10 Motion of a Charged Particle in an Electric Field
• A charged particle in an electric field experiences a force: F = QE
• If E is uniform, the charge undergoes constant acceleration, similar to projectile
motion.
• F = QE = ma a = QE / m
•
• Applications:
o Electron beam in a cathode-ray tube.
o Charged particle motion in particle accelerators.
21.11 Electric Dipoles
• An electric dipole consists of two equal and opposite charges separated by a
small distance .
• Dipole moment (p): p = Ql, Q is the amount of charge seperared and l is the
distance between the positive and negative charges in the dipole.
• In a uniform electric field, the torque on a dipole is:
• A dipoles align with the electric field direction.
• Applications:
o Water molecules (polar molecules).
o Electric dipoles in dielectrics (capacitors).
