General Physics PHY2049

CHAPTER 25 TOPICS ELECTRIC POTENTIAL Potential difference and electric potential Potential differences in a uniform electric field Electric potential and potential energy due to point charge Obtaining the value of the electric field from the electric potential Electric potential due to a continuous charge distributions Electric potential due to a charged conductor Applications of electrostatics

Potential difference and electric potential created by some source charge distribution, it When a test charge is placed in an electric field experiences a force given by is conservative. The force When analyzing the electric and magnetic field it is common to use the notation to represent an infinitesimal displacement vector that is oriented tangent to a path through space. The path may be straight or curved and the integral performed along this path is called either a path integral or a line integral. For an infinitesimal displacement the work done by the electric field on the charge is As this work is done by the field, the potential energy of the charge-field system is changed by = 0

= 0

= 0

For a finite displacement of the charge from A to B, the change in potential energy of the system is = 0

NOTE: Because the force is conservative, the line integral does not depend on the path taken by the charge. The potential energy per unit charge, U/qo, is the electric potential (V) = 0

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 The potential is characteristic of the field only. The potential is independent of the value of qo. The potential has a value at every point in an electric field. The potential is a scalar quantity. As a charged particle moves in an electric field, it will experience a change in potential. The potential difference = between two points A and B in an electric field is defined as the change in potential energy of a system when a test charge is moved between the points divided by the test charge 0 . = = 0

Important:

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Consider an arbitrary charge q located in an electric field. The work performed on the charge by an external agent is = = SI unit for electric potential is 1 volt (V) where 1 = 1

A unit of energy that is commonly used in atomic and nuclear physics is the electron-volt. One electron-volt is defined as the energy a charge-field system gains or loses when a charge of magnitude e (an electron or a proton) is moved through a potential difference of 1 volt. 1 = 1.60 1019

Potential differences in a uniform electric field

Potential difference between two points A and B separated by a distance | | = where is parallel to the field lines is given by = ( cos 0 ) = = =
0 B

Because E is constant

NOTE: < : Electric field lines always point in the direction of decreasing electric potential as shown in the figure below.

V = E ds = Ed
A

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General Physics PHY2049

Now suppose that a test charge q0 moves from A to B. We can calculate the change in the potential energy of the chargefield system from the equation = 0 = 0 Important: If 0 > 0 then < 0. A system consisting of a positive charge and an electric field loses electric potential energy when the charge moves in the direction of the field. If 0 < 0 then > 0. A system consisting of a negative charge and an electric field gains electric potential energy when the charge moves in the direction of the field. Considering the more general case of a charged particle that moves between A and B in a uniform electric field such that the vector s is not parallel to the field lines, as shown in the figure The change in electric potential is

= = = The change in potential energy is

From the above figure

= 0 = 0 =

Thus = .

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Equipotential surface is any surface consisting of a continuous distribution of points having the same electric potential. NOTE: The equipotential surfaces of a uniform electric field consist of a family of parallel planes that are all perpendicular to the field. Example 1: The electric field between two parallel plates of opposite charges A battery produces a specified potential difference between conductors attached to the battery terminals. A 12-V battery is connected between two parallel plates, as shown in Figure 25.5. The separation between the plates is d = 0.30 cm, and we assume the electric field between the plates to be uniform. Find the magnitude of the electric field between the plates.

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Example 2: Motion of a proton in a uniform electric field A proton is released from rest in a uniform electric field that has a magnitude of 8.0 x 104 V/m ( see Fig. 25.6). The proton undergoes a displacement of 0.50 m in the direction of E. a) Find the change in electric potential between points A and B. b) Find the change in potential energy of the protonfield system for this displacement. b) Change in electric potential is given by

a) Change in electric potential energy of the proton field system is given by

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Electric potential and potential energy due to point charge

General Physics PHY2049

To find the electric potential at a point located a distance r from the charge q (see the figure below), we begin with the general expression for potential difference: = = Where A and B are two arbitrary points located at respectively . At any point in space, the electric field due to a point charge is given by = 2 The quantity can be calculated as But = cos = = 2

The expression for the potential difference is

= = = 2 =

NOTE: According to the above equation, the changes electric potential are independent on on the path between the points A and B. If we consider = and = 0 the electric potential created by a point charge at a distance from charge q is given by =

1 1 =

For a system of electric charges, the total electric potential at some point P due to several point charges is the sum of the potentials due to the individual charges. For a group of point charges, we can write the total electric potential at P in the form

If we generalize, the electric potential created by a point charge at any distance from charge q is given by =

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General Physics PHY2049

=

Here the potentials at infinity are considered equal to zero and is the distance from the point P to the charge . The potential energy of a system of two charged particles 1 and 2 (see figure bellow) can be calculated as 1 2 =

If we remove the charge q1. At the position that this charge previously occupied, point P (see figure below), we can calculate the potential due to charge 2 as = 2 12

If the system consists of more than two charged particles, we can obtain the total potential energy by calculating U for every pair of charges and summing the terms algebraically

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General Physics PHY2049

1 2 12

2 23 23

1 3 13

Obtaining the value of the electric field from the electric potential Potential difference dV between two points a distance ds apart can be calculated as =

If the electric field is in x direction only, , then

Therefore Or = =

When a test charge undergoes a displacement ds along an equipotential surface, then dV= 0 because the potential is constant along an equipotential surface. But = =0 thus, E must be perpendicular to the displacement along the equipotential surface. NOTE: This shows that the equipotential surfaces must always be perpendicular to the electric field lines passing through them.

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General Physics PHY2049

If the charge distribution creating an electric field has spherical symmetry such that the volume charge density depends only on the radial distance r, then the electric field is radial. In this case, = Thus = =

Therefore,

In general the electric potential is a function of all three spatial coordinates V=V(x,y,z). The electric field components , and can be calculated as =

= =

Example 3: The electric potential due to a dipole

An electric dipole consists of two charges of equal magnitude and opposite sign separated by a distance 2a, as shown in figure below. The dipole is along the x axis and is centered at the origin. a) Calculate the electric potential at point P. b) Calculate V and Ex at a point far from the dipole c) Calculate V and Ex if point P is located anywhere between the two charges.

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General Physics PHY2049

a) The electric potential at point P is

b) If point P is far from dipole, , then a can be neglected in the equation of V c) If P is located anywhere between the two charges

Electric potential due to continuous charge distributions There are two ways to calculate the electric potential due to a continuous distribution: If the charge distribution is known Example for point charge configuration We consider the potential due to a small charge element dq, treating this element as a point charge

The electric potential dV at some point P due to the charge element dq is

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General Physics PHY2049

where r is the distance from the charge element to point P. The total potential at point P is given by = =

If the electric field is already known from other considerations, such as Gausss law, we can calculate the electric potential due to a continuous charge distribution using = =

Example 4: Electric Potential Due to a Uniformly Charged Ring a) Find an expression for the electric potential at a point P located on the perpendicular central axis of a uniformly charged ring of radius a and total charge Q. b) Find an expression for the magnitude of the electric field at point P.

a) The charge element dq is at a distance 2 + 2 from point P. Hence, we can express V as

Each element dq is at the same distance from point P, thus 2 + 2 is constant and V reduces to b) The electric field at point P is

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General Physics PHY2049

Example 5: Electric Potential Due to a Uniformly Charged Disk A uniformly charged disk has radius a and surface charge density . Find a) the electric potential and b) the magnitude of the electric field along the perpendicular central axis of the disk.

a) We can simplify the problem by dividing the disk into a series of charged rings of infinitesimal width dr. The electric potential due to each ring is given by

The charge on the ring in the element dq is = = 2 . Thus the potential at the point P due to charge dq is

The total electric potential is

b) The electric field at any point is given by

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Example 6: Electric Potential Due to a Finite Line of Charge

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A rod of length located along the x axis has a total charge Q and a uniform linear charge density . Find the electric potential at a point P located on the y axis a distance a from the origin.

The length element dx has a charge = . The potential at point P due to this element is The total potential at p is given by

Example 7: Electric Potential Due to a Uniformly Charged Sphere An insulating solid sphere of radius R has a uniform positive volume charge density and total charge Q. a) Find the electric potential at a point outside the sphere, that is, for > . Take the potential to be zero at = . b) Find the potential at a point inside the sphere, that is, for < .

The magnitude of the electric field outside a uniformly charged sphere of radius R is

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General Physics PHY2049

This is the same as the field due to a point charge. The electric potential at an exterior point , such B we use

Choosing A at the infinity, =

c) We found that the electric field inside an insulating uniformly charged sphere is

The potential difference

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