Old School: Gauss’s Law

Relevant Fact of the Day

• The Institute of Electrical Electronic
Engineers (IEEE) recommends that humans
should avoid prolonged exposure to electric
fields of magnitude greater than 614 N/C.
 Applications of Gauss’s Law
• Used to determine electric field strength at
any position around a highly symmetrical
charge distribution
• Another form of Coulomb’s Law
To Apply Gauss’s Law correctly, it is CRITICAL
to know the charge distribution on, over, or within
an object
 Sometimes we would like to know the electric field
due to the charge distribution on the surface of a conductor:

These calculations are aided by this fact:

When excess charge is placed on a solid conductor and is at

rest,
the excess charge resides entirely on the surface,
and not within the interior of the material.

PLUS: Don’t forget that within conductors, electrons move

easily, in response to electric fields, which surround any
object that is charged
Logical argument: If there were an electric field in the
conductor, then the field would exert a force on every charge
within the conductor, giving the free charges a net motion. If
the situation is electrostatic in nature (the charges are not
moving), then we can only conclude that the electric field inside
the conductor is zero.
This has been verified experimentally. Plus, where is the safest
place to be if your car has a large charge deposited on it from,
say… lightning? That’s right, inside. Where the electric field is
zero. Yeah.
Are you sure about that???
Brief Tangent Regarding
Lightning:
The spark from a lightning strike can reach over five
miles (eight kilometers) in length, raise the temperature
of the air by as much as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit
(27,700 degrees Celsius), and contain a hundred million
electrical volts.

Lightning is not confined to thunderstorms. It's been

seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest
fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms,
and in large hurricanes.
Ponder this:
Thunderstorms can produce gamma
radiation.Scientists first spotted
gamma rays in thunderstorms in the
early 1990s.

The Compton Gamma Ray

Observatory unexpectedly
detected radiation originating
from the ground while peering
at distant supernovae.
Researchers from Japan found that gamma rays
were produced some 70 seconds before a lightning
strike. They also determined that gamma bursts,
which had been previously measured to last less
than a second, could occur for almost a minute.
Back to Gauss’s Law….
  
Φ E = ∫ E cosφ dA = ∫ E ⊥ dA = ∫ E ⋅ d A

General definition of electric flux Φ E

How should these photovoltaic panels (called an array)
be positioned relative to the incoming solar radiation?
Why?
   Qencl
Φ E = ∫ E ⋅ dA =
ε0
 (Gauss’s law)
   Qencl
Φ E = ∫ E cos φ dA = ∫ E ⊥ dA = ∫ E ⋅ dA =
ε0

Various forms of Gauss’s law

Q1
A spherical Gaussian surface (#1) 
encloses and is centered on a point 
charge +q. A second spherical 
Gaussian surface (#2) of the same 
size also encloses the charge but is 
not centered on it.
Compared to the electric flux 
through surface #1, the flux 
through surface #2 is
1. greater
2. the same
3. less, but not zero
4. zero
5. not enough information given to decide
A spherical Gaussian surface (#1) 
encloses and is centered on a point 
charge +q. A second spherical 
Gaussian surface (#2) of the same 
size also encloses the charge but is 
not centered on it.
Compared to the electric flux 
through surface #1, the flux 
through surface #2 is
1. greater
2. the same
3. less, but not zero
4. zero
5. not enough information given to decide
Q2
Two point charges, 
+q (in red) and –q 
(in blue), are 
arranged as shown. 
Through which 
closed surface(s) is 
the net electric flux 
equal to zero?
1. surface A
2. surface B
3. surface C
4. surface D
5. both surface C and surface D
A2
Two point charges, 
+q (in red) and –q 
(in blue), are 
arranged as shown. 
Through which 
closed surface(s) is 
the net electric flux 
equal to zero?
1. surface A
2. surface B
3. surface C
4. surface D
5. both surface C and surface D
Q3
A solid spherical conductor has a 
spherical cavity in its interior. The 
cavity is not centered on the center of 
the conductor. 
If a positive charge is placed on the 
conductor, the electric field in the 
cavity  1. points generally toward the outer     
surface of the conductor
 2. points generally away from the outer 
surface of the conductor
 3. is zero
 4. not enough information given to 
decide
A3
A solid spherical conductor has a 
spherical cavity in its interior. The 
cavity is not centered on the center of 
the conductor. 
If a positive charge is placed on the 
conductor, the electric field in the 
cavity1. points generally toward the outer 
surface of the conductor
2. points generally away from the outer 
surface of the conductor
3. is zero
4. not enough information given to decide
Q4

There is a negative surface charge density in a certain region on 
the surface of a solid conductor.
Just beneath the surface of this region, the electric field 
1. points outward, toward the surface of the conductor
2. points inward, away from the surface of the conductor
3. points parallel to the surface
4. is zero
5. not enough information given to decide
A4

There is a negative surface charge density in a certain region on 
the surface of a solid conductor.
Just beneath the surface of this region, the electric field 
1. points outward, toward the surface of the conductor
2. points inward, away from the surface of the conductor
3. points parallel to the surface
4. is zero
5. not enough information given to decide
Applications of Gauss’s Law

Or ….What the Φ????

Gauss’s Law is valid for ANY charge distribution
and ANY closed surface (regardless of shape):

- if we know the charge distribution and if

that distribution has enough symmetry to allow
to evaluate the integral in Gauss’s law, then we
can find the field.

- if we know the field, then we can use Gauss’s law

to find the charge distribution, such as charges
on conducting surfaces.
 Highly Symmetric Charge
Distributions
• Point charge
• Charged Conducting Sphere
• Charged Insulating Sphere
• Line of Charge
• Conducting cylinder
• Insulating Cylinder
• Sheet of charge
• Charged Conducting plates
• Charge on the surface of a conductor
Point Charge Surrounded by Gaussian Surface
Electric Field of a Hollow Conducting Sphere

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc.

 Electric field of a Solid Insulating Sphere

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc.

 Using a Gaussian Cylinder to Find
the Electric Field of a Flat Charged Sheet

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc.

Problem:
Consider a sphere of radius R=8.0m with a charge
Q=3.0mC uniformly distributed throughout the
volume. What is the electric field at a distance
r=4.0m?
Solution:
If one draws a Gaussian surface with radius r, the
charge contained inside is one eighth of the total
charge, because volume goes proportional to r3. Thus
Gauss law becomes:

E=210 N/C