2023 Spring

102E
(Electricity and Magnetism)

Demet KAYA AKTAŞ

[email protected]
The date of exams and gratings will be announced later….
Chapter 21: Electric charge and electric field
Properties of electric charge:
• There are two kinds of electric charge; positive and negative.

The numerical value of the elementary charge is 1.6x10-19 Coulomb (C).

• Positive charges come from having more protons than the electron and negative
charges come from having more electrons than the proton.
 • Like charges repel each other, unlike charges attract each other.

• Charge is quantized. (Milikan’s experiments: The charge of small oil droplets was
always an integer multiple of charge of the electrons.)
q=n.e
Here n is a positive or negative integer (0; ±1;±2…)
➢ Charge is conserved. (Net initial charge equals to net final charge)

➢ Materials can be divided into three groups depending on ability to conduct electric
charge namely;

o Conductors (Metals…)
(Electric charges move freely in conductors that can conduct electricity and heat easily)
o Insulators (Plastics, wood, rubber….)
(Electrons are much more tightly bound to their atoms in insulators so they are not free to
move)
o Semiconductors (Silicon, germanium….)
(They are not as conductive as conductors but more conductive than insulators)

➢ Materials can be charged in three ways:

o Charging by induction (Charging for metals and conductors….)

o Charging by conduction (Charging for metals and conductors…)
o Charging by rubbing (Charging for insulators…)

Charged objects exert a force on each other. This force between charged objects is given by
Coulomb’s law.
Coulomb’s Law: Assume that two point charges seperated by a distance
r. If the charges have the same sign, the force ( 𝐅⃗ ) between them will
be repulsive.

(The unit of force is N)

 F2 on Q

Because of symmetry, y components cancel each other, net force has only x-component.
Electric Field for a point charge at a point: ( ⃗𝑬⃗ )

Field point

Source point

➢ The direction of the unit vector is always from the source point (S) to
the field point.

➢ The test charge is always positive so the direction of E is the same

direction of F.
 F

Here, F is repulsive

F
Here, F is attractive
Source

Field
 ➢ The direction of E from the positive plate to the negative plate.
➢ The direction of F is opposite to E for negatively charged particles like electron

Superposition of Electric field: If more than one charge creates E, the net field can be
defined by vector summation.

Electric dipol: Two point charges have the same magnitude but opposite sign
 E1

E2

E1

E2

E1 > E2
Electric Field of an extended object :
To find electric field of an extended object (total charge is Q), it is possible to
divide object into infinite number of infinitesimal charge element, dq. Let N is the
number of infinitesimal charge segment. If the N goes infinity, dq goes to zero.

Q= Total charge

dq=Infinitesimal charge segment

𝒅𝒒
dq creates infinitesimal field dE at any point ; 𝒅𝑬 = 𝒌
𝒓𝟐

Here infinitesimal charge element, dq can be determined from charge densities.

This semester we have to know three types of charge densities:

I) Linear charge density ( =charge per unit lenght, (L))

𝑸
= 𝑳
Q=L , dq=dl
II) Surface charge density ( =charge per unit area, (A))

𝑸
=𝑨 Q=A , dq=dA
III) Volume charge density ( ρ=charge per unit volume, (V))
𝑸
=𝑽 Q=V , dq=dV

If the charge distributes uniformly, charge densities should be constant.

dQ creates dE dE
𝒅𝑸 dl
dE=𝒌 𝒓𝟐

a
d
𝑄
=
2𝜋𝑎 dQ

dQ=dl

dl=ad

dQ=ad

𝑥𝑎 2𝜋
Ex=k 3 ∫0 𝑑
(𝑥 2 +𝑎 2 )2

a2π=Q

If x>>a ring appears as a point charge. E=kQ/r2

 dQ

𝑸
=
𝑳
L=2a If x>>a

If x<<a
 𝑸
=
𝑨
If R>>x
Adisc=πR2

dQ=dA

Aring=πr2

dA=2πrdr

If R>>x, disc appears as a sheet.

Electric field of an infinite sheet of charge :

𝝈
𝑬=
𝟐𝜺𝟎

This field perpendicular to sheet and independent of distance from the sheet.
Electric Field Lines :
 ⃗=𝒓 ⃗⃗
⃗⃗𝒙𝑭
𝒅 𝒅
0= 𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒒𝑬 + 𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒒𝑬

0 = ( qd ) E sin

0 = p E sin

(Net torque about point O)

pE

Thumb : r
⃗⃗
𝒓
Fore finger : F O

Palm : Torque ⃗⃗
𝒓

➢ Torque tends to rotate dipole and bring it with the same direction of E.
When p is perpendicular to E, sin=sin90=1 so  has its maximum.

When p is paralel to E, sin=sin0=0 so  is zero

When p is antiparalel to E, sin=sin180=0 so  is also zero

W=∫ ⃗ . 𝒅⃗⃗


When p is paralel to E, cos=cos 0=1 so U has its minimum

When p is antiparalel to E, cos=cos 180=-1 so U has its maximum

When p is perpendicular to E, cos=cos90=0 so U is zero.

 =350

( dipole and E)
y

𝟏
✓ 𝑬~ 𝒓𝟐 for a point charge
𝟏
✓ 𝑬~ 𝒓𝟑 for an electric dipole
𝟏
✓ 𝑬~ 𝒓𝟒 for a quadrupole (two dipole with opposite
orientation)