Chapter 2 Electrostatics 2.1 The Electric Field 2.1.1 Introduction The fundamental problem electromagnetic theory hopes to solve is this (Fig. 2.1): We have some electric charges, qi, 42, 43,-- (Call them source charges); what force do they exert on another charge, Q (call it the test charge)? The positions of the source charges are given (as functions of time); the trajectory of the test particle is fo be calculated. In general, both the source charges and the test charge are in motion. The solution to this problemis facilitated by the principle of superposition, which states that the interaction between any two charges is completely unaffected by the presence of others. This means that to determine the force on Q. we can first compute the force Fy, due to qi alone (ignoring all the others); then we compute the force F, due to q2 alone; and so on. Finally, we take thé vector sum of all these individual forces: F = F, +F2+F3+.. Thus, if we can find the force on Q due to a single source charge g, we are, in principle, done (the rest is just a question of repeating the same operation over and over, and adding it all up).! Well, at first sight this sounds very easy: Why don’t I just write down the formula for the force on Q due to q, and be done with it? I could, and in Chapter 10 I shall, but you would be shocked to see it at this stage, for not only does the force on Q depend on the separation distance 2 between the charges (Fig. 2.2), it also depends on both their velocities and on the acceleration of q. Moreover, it is not the position, velocity, and acceleration of gq right now that matter: Electromagnetic “news” travels at the speed of light, so what concerns Q is the position, velocity, and acceleration g had at some earlier time, when the message left. ‘The principle of superposition may seem “obvious” to you, but it did not have to be so simple: if the electromag- netic force were proportional to the square of the total source charge, for instance, the principle of superposition ‘would not hold, since (+ 43) # 9? + 43 (there would be “cross terms” to consider). Superposition is nota logical necessity, bat an experimental fact. 582.1. THE ELECTRIC FIELD 59 wot 2 so 2 "Source" charges “Test” charge 4 Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Therefore, in spite of the fact that the basic question (“What is the force on Q due to 4g") is casy to state, it does not pay to confront it head on; rather, we shall go at it by stages. In the meantime, the theory we develop will permit the solution of more subtle electromagnetic problems that do not present themselves in quite this simple format, To begin with, we shall consider the special case of electrostatics in which all the source charges are stationary (though the test charge may be moving). 2.1.2, Coulomb’s Law What is the force on a test charge Q due to a single point charge q which is at resta distance away? The answer (based on experiments) is given by Coulomb’s law: I 9, ane 2 (2.1) The constant ¢p is called the permitivity of free space. In SI units, where force is in Newtons (N), distance in meters (m), and charge in coulombs (C), e = 8.85 x 107? —_. bid x00 Nom? In words, the force is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance. As always (Sect. 1.1.4), is the separation vector from r’ (the location of q) to r (the location of Q): ror; (2.2) ‘vis its magnitude, and 4 is its direction. The force points along the line from q to Q; it is repulsive if q and Q have the same sign, and attractive if their signs are opposite. Coulomb's law and the principle of superposition constitute the physical input for electrostatics—the rest, except for some special properties of matter, is mathematical elab- oration of these fundamental rules.60 CHAPTER 2, ELECTROSTATICS Problem 2.1 (a) Twelve equal charges, q, are situated at the comers of a regular 12-sided polygon (for instance, one on each numeral of a clock face). What is the net force on a test charge Q at the center? (b) Suppose one of the 12 q’s is removed (the one at “6 o’clock”). What is the force on Q? Explain your reasoning carefully. (c) Now 13 equal charges, q, are placed at the comers of a regular 13-sided polygon, What is the force on a test charge @ at the center? (d) If one of the 13 q’s is removed, what is the force on Q? Explain your reasoning. 2.1.3 The Electric Field If we have several point charges 41, 42, -.-+ qn, at distances 21,22, ...,2n from Q, the total force on Q is evidently F = Fit. 125 BOee. are a Q (arr, ar | ass = z +3 metas} are at oe Tk or [F= 08, 23) where dy E oa. 2.4) oe Le ee Eis called the electric field of the source charges. Notice that itis a function of position (r), because the separation vectors 4 depend on the location of the field point P (Fig. 2.3). But it makes no reference to the test charge Q. The electric field is a vector quantity that varies ‘Source point Figure 2.32.1. THE ELECTRIC FIELD 61 from point to point and is determined by the configuration of source charges; physically, E(r) is the force per unit charge that would be exerted on a test charge, if you were to place one at P. What exactly is an electric field? I have deliberately begun with what you might call the “minimal” interpretation of E, as an intermediate step in the calculation of electric forces. But I encourage you to think of the field as a “real” physical entity, filling the space in the neighborhood of any electric charge. Maxwell himself came to believe that electric and magnetic fields represented actual stresses and strains in an invisible primordial jellylike “ether.” Special relativity has forced us to abandon the notion of ether, and with it Maxwell's mechanical interpretation of electromagnetic fields. (It is even possible, though cumbersome, to formulate classical electrodynamics as an “action-at-a-distance” theory, and dispense with the field concept altogether.) I can’t tell you, then, what a field is—only how to calculate it and what it can do for you once you've got it Problem 2.2 (a) Find the electric field (magnitude and direction) a distance z above the midpoint between ‘wo equal charges, q. a distance d apart (Fig. 2.4). Check that your result is consistent with what you'd expect when z > d. (b) Repeat part (a), only this time make the right-hand charge ~q instead of +4. ap P ‘ x _ av a (a) Continuous (b) Line charge, % distribution aeP qd | dng ice charge, (4) Volume charge, p Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5 2.1.4 Continuous Charge Distributions Our definition of the electric field (Eq. 2.4), assumes that the source of the field is acollection of discrete point charges qi. If, instead, the charge is distributed continuously over some region, the sum becomes an integral (Fig. 2.5a); 1 : r= f visdq (25) ane J62 CHAPTER 2. ELECTROSTATICS If the charge is spread out along a line (Fig, 2.5b), with charge-per-unit-length A, then dq = dal! (where dl’ is an element of length along the line); if the charge is smeared out over a surface (Fig. 2.5c), with charge-per-unit-area a, then dq = 0 da! (where da’ is an element of area on the surface); and if the charge fills a volume (Fig. 2.54), with charge-per-unit-volume p, then dq = pdt’ (where dz’ isan element of volume): dq — idl’ ~ oda’ ~ pdt’. ‘Thus the electric field of a line charge is 1 par). Er) = ae fia 2.6) P for a surface charge, I De gE = [2 en areal 2 5 and for a volume charge. pa’) 24 ee en v Equation 2.8 itself is often referred to as “Coulomb’s law,” because it is such a short step from the original (2.1), and because a volume charge is in a sense the most general and realistic case, Please note carefully the meaning of 4 in these formulas. Originally, in Eq. 2.4,4; stood forthe vector from the source charge q; to the field point. Correspondingly, in Eqs. 2.5-2.8, 2 is the vector from dq (therefore from dl’, da’, or dt’) to the field point r. Example 2.1 Find the electric field a distance z above the midpoint of a straight line segment of length 2L, which carries a uniform line charge A (Fig. 2.6). Solution; It is advantageous to chop the line up into symmetrically placed pairs (at +x), for then the horizontal components of the two fields cancel, and the net field of the pair is aaa (8) anti Arey \ 2 Warning: The unit vector is not constant: its direction depends on the source point r’, and hence it cannot be taken outside the integrals 2.5-2.8, In practice, you must work with Cartesian components (&, §, @ are constant, and do come out), even if you use curvilinear coordinates to perform the integration,