Greek word for amber, “electron,” is the origin of the terms electricity and electron.

Two types of electric charge:

What is Electric Charge?

The mass of a particle is a measure of the amount of matter it carries, whereas the charge of a
particle is a measure of the amount of “electric-ness” it carries.

In the SI system of units, charge is measured in coulomb (C) in honor of French physicist
Charles de Coulomb.

The charge on a single electron is -1.60 x 10-19 C and the charge on a single proton is +1.60 x
10-19 C.
The symbol e denotes the magnitude of the charge on an electron or proton.
Symbol q denote charge in general.
1.2 ELECTRIC FORCES AND COULOMB’S LAW

-Electric force is the force exerted by two charged objects.

Coulomb’s Law – “The magnitude of the force of interaction between two-point charges is
directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.”

Superposition principle
The superposition principle explains the interaction between multiple charges.
According to this superposition principle, the total force acting on a given charge is equal to the
vector sum of forces exerted on it by all the other charges.

Classifications of material according to its ability to allow the flow of charge:

• Conductor – It allows the flow of charge and consist of freer electron. It has low
resistance to the flow of current. Ex. Copper, silver

• Insulator – Glass, plastics, rubber, and wood are all examples of insulators. These
materials which refuse to carry an electric current. They are used as insulating materials
to prevent shorting together or giving an electric shock.

• Semiconductor – Its property is in between of insulator and conductor. It conducts a little

• Super conductor – They are artificially made. Exist in the laboratory setting by
controlling temperature and pressure.
1.3 WAYS THAT OBJECTS CAN BE CHARGED
Electrically neutral - means that they have an equal positive and negative charge, each cancelling
the other out.

1. Charging by friction

Friction involves rubbing on material with another, resulting in electrons moving from one
surface to another. Friction is useful for charging insulators, which are materials that aren’t good
conductors.

2. Charging by induction

Other way to charge an object is by induction and is, again, best for conductive materials. The
uncharged conductive material is grounded on any neutrally charged material and the charged
object is held near it. The charge will flow between the two objects and the uncharged conductor
will develop an opposite charge to the original charged object.

3. Charging by conduction

Conduction on the other hand is used to charge things that are good conductors, such a metal. A
charged object is touched to the conductive material and some of the charge, whether it is
positive or negative, will be transferred.
1.4 ELECTRIC FIELD

• An electric field is a region of space around an electrically charged particle or object in

FORMULA: E = F/q or E = kq/r2

• If q is positive, the force in the test charge is directed away from q.

• For the positive source charge, the electric field at P points radially outward from q.

• If q is negative, the force in the test charge is directed towards q.

• For the negative source charge, the electric field at P points radially inward from q.

If many charges are present in each region, each charge contributes to the electric field at a
known point. The Net electric field is the vector sum of all the fields of the charges that is,

ET = E1 + E2 + E3 +……….EN

• A point charge q produces an electric field at all points in space. The field strength
decreases with increasing distance.

Electric Field Lines

• Is an imaginary line or curve drawn through a region of space and is represented by

1.5 ELECTRIC FLUX AND GAUSS LAW

• The flux through a surface of fixed area has a maximum value when the surface is
perpendicular to the field.

• The flux is less than maximum but more than minimum if the surface is tilted with some
angle.

• The flux is zero when the surface is parallel to the field.

-The total number of electric field lines passing a given area in a unit of time is defined as the
electric flux.

• If the plane is normal to the flow of the electric field, the total flux is given as:

ΦE = EA

Where:
- E is the magnitude of the electric field

-A is the area of the surface through which the electric flux is to be calculated

• When the same plane is tilted at an angle θ, the projected area is given as Acosθ, and the
total flux through this surface is given as:

ΦE = EA cos θ

Where:

-E is the magnitude of the electric field

-A is the area of the surface through which the electric flux is to be calculated

-θ is the angle made by the plane and the axis parallel to the direction of flow of the electric field

Flux of a non-uniform electric field

• If the electric field is not uniform but varies from point to point over the area A, then we
divide A into many small elements dA.

• The electric field at the location of this element as an angle theta sub I, with the vector
delta Ai.

ϕE=∫E⋅dA
Flux through a closed surface

• A closed surface is defined as the surface that divides space into an inside and an outside
region so that one cannot move from one region to the other without crossing the surface.

Gauss’s Law

• Gauss law states that the total electric flux through any closed surface is proportional to
the total net electric charge inside the surface.

• Flux is proportional to the number of electric field lines passing through a surface.

• The net flux through any closed surface surrounding a point charge q is given by q/εo and
is independent of the shape of the surface.

• The net electric flux through a closed surface that surrounds no charge is zero.

• The net electric flux through any closed surface depends only on the charge inside that
surface.