Electric potential energy

Electric potential energy

Electric potential energy
Common symbol(s): SI unit: UE joule (J)

Derivations from other quantities: U = C V2 / 2 E

Electric potential energy, or electrostatic potential energy, is a potential energy (measured in joules) that results from conservative Coulomb forces and is associated with the configuration of a particular set of point charges within a defined system. The term "electric potential energy" is used to describe the potential energy in systems with time-variant electric fields, while the term "electrostatic potential energy" is used to describe the potential energy in systems with time-invariant electric fields.

Definition
The reference zero is usually taken to be a state in which the individual point charges are very well separated ("are at infinite separation") and are at rest.[1]:25-1

One point charge

The electric potential energy, UE, of one point charge q in the presence of an electric field E is defined as the negative of the work W done by the electrostatic force to bring it from the reference position rref to some position r.[2] If the electric field E is due to a point charge Q, taking an infinite separation between the charges as the reference position, the electric potential energy of q is:

where r is the distance between the point charges q and Q (where "q" and "Q" are not the modules of the charges, for example: an electron would have a negative value of charge when placed in the formula). constant.
Outline of proof

is Coulomb's

A point charge q in the electric field of another charge Q. For one point charge q in the presence of an electric field E due to another point charge Q, the electric potential energy is defined as the negative of the work done by the electrostatic force to bring it from the reference position rref to some position r: mathematically this is a line integral. The electric field is conservative, and, for one point charge, radial, so the work is path independent and equal to the difference in potential energy between the two endpoints the charge has moved. Mathematically:

Electric potential energy

where: r = position in 3d space, using cartesian coordinates r = (x, y, z), r = |r| is the norm of the position vector, dr = differential position vector, ds = differential displacement vector, is the work done by the electrostatic force to bring the charge from the reference position rref to r, F = force exerted on charge q by Q, E = electric field due to Q.

Usually UE is set to zero when rref is infinity: so

Since E and therefore F,r, and s, are all radially directed from Q, F and ds must be antiparallel and so

using Coulomb's law:

allows the integral to easily be evaluated:

Sometimes the factor ke called Coulomb's constant is used in these expressions. In SI units, the Coulomb constant is given by , in turn is the electric constant.

If the electric field E is due to a system of n point charges Qi, the electric potential energy may be calculated using the superposition principle:

where ri is the norm of the position vector of the point charge q with regard to Qi.

System of point charges

The electric potential energy, UE, of a system of point charges, relative to a chosen zero of potential (position where potential is zero), is defined equal to the total work W that must be done by a hypothetical external agent to bring the charges, one by one, from the reference position (zero potential) to the stated system configuration. In this process the external agent provides or absorbs any relevant work, and the point charge being moved gains no kinetic energy.

Units
The SI unit of electric potential energy is the joule (named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule). In the CGS system the erg is the unit of energy, being equal to 107 J. Also electronvolts may be used, 1 eV = 1.6021019 J.

Electric potential energy

Electrostatic potential energy stored in a configuration of discrete point charges

The electrostatic potential energy UE stored in a system of two charges is equal to the electrostatic potential energy of a charge in the electrostatic potential generated by the other. That is to say, if charge q1 generates an electrostatic potential 1, which is a function of position r, then Doing the same calculation with respect to the other charge, we obtain

This can be generalized to say that the electrostatic potential energy UE stored in a system of N charges q1, q2 ...qN at positions r1, r2...rN respectively, is:
(1)

where, for each i value, (ri) is the electrostatic potential due to all point charges except the one at ri.[3]

One point charge

The electrostatic potential energy of a system containing only one point charge is zero, as there are no other sources of electrostatic potential against which an external agent must do work in moving the point charge from infinity to its final location. One should carefully consider the possibility of the point charge interacting with its own electrostatic potential. However, since such a potential at the location of the point charge itself is infinite, this "self-energy" is intentionally excluded from an evaluation of the total (finite) electrostatic potential energy of the system. Moreover, one may argue that since the electrostatic potential due to the point charge itself provides no work in moving the point charge around, this interaction is unimportant for most purposes.

Electric potential V of a one point charge Q of varying charge

Electric potential energy

Two point charges

Consider bringing a second point charge, q, into its final position in the vicinity of the first point charge, Q1. The electrostatic potential (r) due to Q1 is

Hence we obtain, the electric potential energy of q in the potential of Q1 as

where r1is the separation between the two point charges.

In a Two point charges system, Electric potential energy UE of q in the potential well created by Q1 is

In this case, the electric potential energy of the system will be the same as the electric potential energy of q in the potential of Q1.

Three point charges

The electrostatic potential energy of a system of three charges should not be confused with the electrostatic potential energy of Q1 due to two charges Q2 and Q3, because the latter doesn't include the electrostatic potential energy of the system of the two charges Q2 and Q3. Using the formula given in (1), the electrostatic potential energy of the system of the three charges will then be:

Where Q3, and

is the electric potential in r1 created by charges Q2 and is the electric potential in r2 created by charges Q1 and Q3, is the electric potential in r3 created by charges Q1 and Q2.

Electrostatic potential energy of q due to Q1 and Q2 charge system, :

The potentials are:

Where rab is the distance between charge Qa and Qb. If we add everything:

Finally, we get that the electrostatic potential energy stored in the system of three charges is:

Electric potential energy

Energy stored in an electrostatic field distribution

One may take the equation for the electrostatic potential energy of a continuous charge distribution and put it in terms of the electrostatic field. Since Gauss' law for electrostatic field in differential form states

where then, is the electric field vector is the total charge density including dipole charges bound in a material is the permittivity of free space,

so, now using the following divergence vector identity

we have

using the divergence theorem and taking the area to be at infinity where

So, the energy density, or energy per unit volume

of the electrostatic field is:

Electric potential energy

Energy in electronic elements

Some elements in a circuit can convert energy from one form to another. For example, a resistor converts electrical energy to heat, this is known as the Joule effect. A capacitor stores it in its electric field. The total electric potential energy stored in a capacitor is given by

where C is the capacitance, V is the electric potential difference, and Q the charge stored in the capacitor.

Notes
[1] Halliday, David; Resnick, Robert; Walker, Jearl (1997). "Electric Potential". Fundamentals of Physics (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN0-471-10559-7. [2] Electromagnetism (2nd edition), I.S. Grant, W.R. Phillips, Manchester Physics Series, 2008 ISBN 0-471-92712-0 [3] The factor of one half accounts for the 'double counting' of charge pairs. For example, consider the case of just two charges.

References

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