CHAPTER 17 ELECTRIC

CHARGE AND ELECTRIC

FIELD
ELECTRIC CHARGES
• Electric charge or electricity comes from batteries
and generators
• Some materials are charged when they are rubbed
e.g.
• Electric charge is the fundamental property of
matter
THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF ELECTRIC
CHARGE

• The matter is made of tiny particles called atoms and

the atoms have subatomic particles , protons ( +
charge), electrons(-ve charge) and neutrons(neutral)
• An object has equal number of protons and electrons.
• Protons (+) and electrons (−) account for atomic
charges
• Electrons move, protons don't.
•.
The charge on electron is equal in magnitude
to proton but opposite in sign
The SI unit of electric charge is coulombs (C)
• It is + ve or – ve
STATIC ELECTRICAL CHARGE :
• plastic, silk, rubber, glass and fur can reveal
fundamental behaviors of charge
• The polythene rods gets –ve charge on as they gain
electrons on rubbing with fur
Conductors and insulators
Conductors transmit charges
readily.
Semiconductors are intermediate;
their conductivity can depend on
impurities and can be
manipulated by external voltages.
e.g. Silicon can be engineered to
have a controllable conductivity.
Insulators do not transmit charge
at all.
CHARGING BY INDUCTION –
FIGURE

• If attracted or repelled, the electrons inside an object may be polarized.

• Metal sphere are charged if placed on insulating stand.
• The charge on the sphere is opposite to the charge on the rod.
STATIC CHARGE AFFECTS UNCHARGED OBJECTS –

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POLARIZATION

• A charged object attracts

an uncharged object due
to polarization
• Polarization is separation
of positive and negative
charges
• A charge object always
attract un charge object
COULOMB’S LAW

• The magnitude F of the force that two-point

charges q1 and q2 which are r distance apart
exerts on the other is directly proportional to the
product of the charges and inversely proportional
to square of distance.
• This relation is coulomb’s law
• Where F is force in newton ,q1 and q2are charges in
coulombs (C ) and k is fundamental constant of
nature or coulomb constant= 8.99x 109 Nm2/C2 , r is
the distance between the two charges.
F is always positive but the product of q1 , q2 is negative if
charges have opposite sign.
• The electrical interaction depends electric charges so
attractive or repulsive
• Gravitational interaction depends on mass so always
attractive
• The forces that two charges exert on each other
are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction
even when charges are not equal.
• The two forces are always act along a line joining
the charges.
• The q1 and q2 can be either positive or negative.
• When charges have same sign, the forces are
repulsive and when unlike the forces are
attractive.
• F is always +ve.
• Two-point charges are located on the positive x-
axis . q1 =3nC is 2cm from origin and q2 =-7 nC
is 4cm from origin. What is the total force
exerted by these two charges on a third charge
q3 = 5 n C located at origin?
• 1 n C = 10-9 C , q1 =3 n C = 3 x10-9
• q2 = -7 x10-9 C , q3 = 5 x 10-9 C

F total = F1 + F2
F 1 is the force between q1 and q3 , F 2 is the force
between q 2 and q3
r= 2 cm =0.02 m

F1 = q 1 q 3

r2
• F1 = k q1 q3 = 8.99 x 10
9
x (3 x10-9 ) (5 x 10-9 )
• r2 0.022
• = 3.37 x 10-4 N
• F2 = k q2 q3
• r
2

•
• = 8.99 x109 x (- 7x10-9 ) 5x10-9
• 0.042
• F 2 = 1.966 10-4 N

• Total force = -F1 + F2 = -3.37 X10-4 + 1.966x10-4

= -1.404 x10-4 N
• F1 is in –x direction so negative and F2 points in
+x direction so +ve.
ELECTRIC FIELD

• Electric field represents physical effect of a

particular configuration of charges on the nearby
space.
• Charges create electric fields and these fields in
turn exerts electric forces on each other charges
• Electric field :
• The strength or magnitude of the field is defined
as the electric force exerted per unit charge.
•
• E is electric field, F is the electric force , q
is the point charge
• SI unit is N/C (newton /C )
• E =F/q
• The test charge q is positive or negative.
If it is positive the direction of E and F are
same.
• If it is negative , they are opposite
• Calculating Electric field:
• Electric field due to point charge q is E, if we
place a test charge q’ in the field ,then the F
exerted by q on q’ is
• F = k qq’
• r2
• The magnitude of electric field due to point
charge q is :
• E = k q /r2 k is fundamental constant of
nature or coulomb law constant =8.99x 10 9
N.m2 /C2 = 8.99 X109
• The electric field produced E produced by a
positive charge always points away from it.
• The electric field produced by negative charge
points towards it.
MAPPING OUT THE ELECTRICAL FIELD –
moving the test charge can allow forces to be measured

• .

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ELECTRIC FIELD LINES

Electric field lines :

• Electric field is represented by electric field lines
• The closer the field lines stronger the electric field
• The electric field lines start at positive charges and
end at negative charges
• Electric field lines never cross.
• The number of field lines leaving or entering
proportional to the magnitude of that charge
THE ELECTRIC FIELD FOR DIFFERENT
CHARGES
THE ELECTRIC FIELD

Electric field
produced by
a parallel plate
capacitor
GAUSS’S LAW

• Gauss’s law relates the electric field at all points

on the closed surface such as sphere to the total
charge contained in the volume of the surface or
within the surface.
• Gauss’s Law is a relationship between the field at
all points on the surface and the total charge
enclosed within the surface
ELECTRIC FLUX

• Electric flux: (𝞍E) involves the area A and the

electric field at various points in the area.
• 𝞥E = EA Where E is electric field
• Electric flux is the product od electric
field and area.
CHARGES ON CONDUCTORS
• According to this law the total electric flux coming out of any
closed surface is proportional to the total or net electric
charge inside the surface.
• For a sphere the 𝞥E = 4𝞹kQenclosed
• Qenclosed is the electric charge inside the surface
• In a static configuration with no net motion of charge, the
electric field is always zero within the conductor.
The charge on solid conductor is located on the outer
surface.
If there is a cavity within a conductor with containing charge
+q within the conductor, the surface of the cavity has total
induced charge