Guided by- Dr.

Samarketu
Presented by- Shwet Kamal[ 12th Sci.]

Electric Charges, Forces,

and Fields
 Electric Charges

• Electric charge is a basic property of matter.

• Two basic charges are-
i) Positive and
ii) Negative
• Each having an absolute value of 1.6 x 10-19 Coulombs.
• Experiments have shown that like signed charges repel
each other, and unlike signed charges attract each
other.
• For an isolated system, the net charge of the system
remains constant. [ Law of conservation of charge]
 Two basics type of materials
• Conductors
Materials, such as metals, that allow the
free movement of charges.

• Insulators
Materials, such as rubber and glass, that
don’t allow the free movement of charges.
 Coulomb’s Law
• Coulomb found that the electric force between two
charged objects is ‘proportional to the product of the
charges on the objects, and inversely proportional to the
separation of the objects squared’.

k being a proportionality constant, having a

value of 8.988 x 109 Nm2/c2.
 Electric Force
• As with all forces, the electric force is a Vector
• So we rewrite Coulomb’s Law as

• This gives the force on charged object 2 due to charged object

1

Where is a unit vector pointing from object 1 to object 2

• The direction of the force is either parallel or antiparallel to this

unit vector depending upon the relative signs of the charges.
 Electric Force
• The force acting on each charged object
has the same magnitude, but acting in
opposite directions.
 Example 1
• A charged ball Q1 is fixed to a horizontal
surface as shown. When another
massive charged ball Q2 is brought near,
it achieves an equilibrium position at a
distance d12 directly above Q1.
• When Q1 is replaced by a different
charged ball Q3, Q2 achieves an
equilibrium position at a distance d23 (<
d12) directly above Q3.
For 1a and 1b which is the correct answer?
1a: A) The charge of Q3 has the same sign of the charge of Q1
B) The charge of Q3 has the opposite sign as the charge of Q1
C) Cannot determine the relative signs of the charges of Q3 & Q1

1b: A) The magnitude of charge Q3 < the magnitude of charge Q1

B) The magnitude of charge Q3 > the magnitude of charge Q1
C) Cannot determine relative magnitudes of charges of Q3 & Q1
1a: A) The charge of Q3 has the same sign of the charge of Q1
B) The charge of Q3 has the opposite sign as the charge of Q1
C) Cannot determine the relative signs of the charges of Q3 &
Q1
To be in equilibrium, the total force on Q2 must be zero.
The only other known force acting on Q2 is its weight.
Therefore, in both cases, the electrical force on Q2 must be directed
upward to cancel its weight.
Therefore, the sign of Q3 must be the SAME as the sign of Q1.
[ Ans. A]
1b: A) The magnitude of charge Q3 < the magnitude of charge Q1
B) The magnitude of charge Q3 > the magnitude of charge Q1
C) Cannot determine relative magnitudes of charges of Q3 & Q1
The electrical force on Q2 must be the same in both cases … it just
cancels the weight of Q2
Since d23 < d12 , the charge of Q3 must be SMALLER than the charge
of Q1 so that the total electrical force can be the same!!

[Ans. A]
 More Than Two Charges
• Given charges q, q1, and q2
• If q1 were the only other charge,
we would know the force on q
due to q1 -
• If q2 were the only other charge,
we would know the force on q
due to q2 –

What is the net force if both charges are present?

The net force is given by the Superposition Principle
 Superposition of Forces

• If there are more than two charged objects

interacting with each other ‘the net force on any
one of the charged objects is the vector sum of
the individual Coulomb forces on that charged
object’.
Example Two
Example Two - Continued
Example Two - Continued
 Note on constants
• k is in reality defined in terms of a more
fundamental constant, known as the
permittivity of free space.
 Electric Field

• The Electric Force is like the

Gravitational Force

• Action at a Distance

• The electric force can be thought of as

being mediated by an electric field.
 What is a Field?
A Field is something that can be defined
anywhere in space
•A field represents some physical quantity
(e.g., temperature, wind speed, force)
•It can be a scalar field (e.g., Temperature field)
•It can be a vector field (e.g., Electric field)
•It can be a “tensor” field (e.g., Space-time
curvature)
 A Scalar Field

A scalar field is a map of a quantity that has

only a magnitude, such as temperature.
 A Vector Field

A vector field is a map of a quantity that is a

vector, a quantity having both magnitude and
direction, such as wind.
 Electric Field
• We say that when a charged object is put at a
point in space, the charged object sets up an
Electric Field throughout the space surrounding
the charged object.
• It is this field that then exerts a force on another
charged object. Like the electric force, the
electric field is also a vector.
• If there is an electric force acting on an object
having a charge qo, then the electric field at that
point is given by
 Electric Field
• The force on a positively
charged object is in the
same direction as the
electric field at that point.
• While the force on a
negative test charge is in
the opposite direction as
the electric field at the
point.
 Electric Field
• A positive charge sets up
an electric field pointing
away from the charge.

• A negative charge sets

up an electric field
pointing towards the
charge.
 Electric Field
• Earlier we saw that the force on a charged object is
given by

The term in parentheses remains the same if we change the

charge on the object at the point in question.
The quantity in the parentheses can be thought of as the electric
field at the point where the test object is placed.
The electric field of a point charge can then be shown to be given
by
 Electric Field
• As with the electric force, if there are several
charged objects, the net electric field at a given
point is given by the vector sum of the individual
electric fields

• If we have a continuous charge distribution

the summation becomes an integral
Electric Field Ring of Charge

Electric Field Line of Charge

Example 3

Two equal, but opposite charges are placed on the

x axis. The positive charge is placed at x = -5 m and
the negative charge is placed at x = +5m as shown
in the figure above.
1) What is the direction of the electric field at point
A?
a) up b) down c) left d) right e)zero
2)What is the direction of the electric field at point
B?
a) up b) down c) left d) right e) zero
Example 4

Two charges, Q1 and Q2, fixed along the

x-axis as shown produce an electric field,
E, at a point (x,y) = (0,d) which is directed
along the negative y-axis.
Which of the following is true?
a) Both charges Q1 and Q2 are positive
b) Both charges Q1 and Q2 are negative
c) The charges Q1 and Q2 have opposite
signs
 Electric Field Lines
• Possible to map out the electric field in a
region of space
An imaginary line that at any given point
has its tangent being in the direction of the
electric field at that point
• The spacing, density, of lines is related to
the magnitude of the electric field at that
point
 Electric Field Lines
• At any given point, there can be only one
field line
• The electric field has a unique direction at
any given point
• Electric Field Lines
Begin on Positive Charges
End on Negative Charges
Electric Field Lines
 Electric Dipole
• An electric dipole is a pair of point charges having
equal magnitude but opposite sign that are
separated by a distance ‘d’.

• Two questions concerning dipoles:

1) What are the forces and torques acting on
a dipole when placed in an external electric field?
2) What does the electric field of a dipole look
like?
 Force on a Dipole
Given a uniform external
field
Then since the charges
are of equal magnitude, the
force on each charge has
the same value.
However the forces are in opposite directions!
Therefore the net force on the dipole is
 Torque on a Dipole
The individual forces acting on the dipole may not
necessarily be acting along the same line.
If this is the case, then there will be a torque
acting on the dipole, causing the dipole to
rotate.

d is a vector pointing from the negative charge to the positive charge

 Potential Energy of a Dipole
Given a dipole in an external field:
• Dipole will rotate due to torque
• Electric field will do work
• The work done is the negative of the
change in potential energy of the dipole

The potential energy can be shown to be

Electric Field Lines