1. PHY 102: Lecture 2A 2.1 Concept of Electric Field
2.2 Electric Field Defined
2.3 Electric Field Lines

2. PHY 102: Lecture 2A Electric Field
2.1
Concept of Electric Field

3. Concept of Electric Field - 1
Electric force, like gravity, is a long-range force
No contact is required for one charged particle to exert a force on another charged particle
In a process called action at a distance, the force is transmitted through empty space
The concept of action at a distance greatly troubled many of the leading thinkers of Newton’s day
Force, they believed, should have some mechanism by which it is exerted
The idea of action at a distance, with no apparent mechanism, was more than most scientists could accept

4. Concept of Electric Field - 2
The great prestige and success of Newton was able to keep scientists’ doubts in check
At the end of the 18th century, investigations of electric phenomena reopened the issue of action at a distance

5. Concept of Electric Field - 3
Given charged particles A and B
The particles have been at rest for a long period of time, we can use Coulomb’s law to determine the force that A exerts on B
Charge A suddenly starts moving
In response, force on B must pivot to follow A
Does this happen instantly?
Is there some delay between A moving and when the force on B responds?

6. Concept of Electric Field - 4
Neither Coulomb’s Law nor Newton’s law of gravity is dependent upon time
So the answer has to be “instantly”
Most scientists found this troubling
What if A is 100,000 light years from B?
Will B respond instantly to an event 100,000 light years away?
The idea of instantaneous transmission of forces was becoming unbelievable to most scientists by the beginning of the 19th century

7. Concept of Electric Field - 5
If there is a delay, how long is it?
How does the information to “change force” get sent from A to B?
These were the issues when a young Michael Faraday appeared on the scene

8. Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) Son of a poor blacksmith
Sent to work at an early age with almost no formal education
Found employment with a printer and bookbinder
He began to read the books that came through the shop
A customer brought in a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica to be rebound
Faraday discovered a lengthy article about electricity
He was never able to become fluent in mathematics
Faraday developed many ingenious pictorial methods for thinking about and describing physical phenomena
The most important of these was the field

9. Concept of Electric Field - 6
Faraday suggested that the space itself around charge A is filled with some kind of electric influence
Charge A in someway alters the space around it
In this view, charge B near charge A responds not directly to charge A but, instead, to the alteration of space caused by charge A
This space alteration, whatever it is, is the mechanism by which the long-range force is exerted

10. Concept of Electric Field - 7
Faraday’s idea came to be called a field
The charge makes an alteration everywhere in space
Other charges then respond to the alteration at their position
The space around a charge is altered to create the electric field

11. Concept of Electric Field - 8
Faraday’s idea was not taken seriously at first
It seemed too vague and non-mathematical to scientists involved in the Newtonian tradition of particles and forces
The significance of the concept of field grew as electromagnetic theory developed during the first half of the 19th century
What seemed at first a pictorial “gimmick” came to be seen as more and more essential for understanding electric forces
Faraday’s field ideas were finally placed on a firm mathematical foundation in 1865 by James Clerk Maxwell

12. The Field Model Describes how two charges interact
Some charges, which we will call the source charges, alter the space around them by creating and electric field
A separate charge in the electric field experiences a force exerted by the field

13. PHY 102: Lecture 2A Electric Field
2.2
Electric Field Defined

14. Definition of Electric Field Vector
The electric field that exits at a point is the electrostatic force experienced by a small test charge q0 placed at that point divided by the charge itself
The magnitude of the electric field is:
E = F/q0
Electric field direction is the same as the direction of the force on a positive test charge
SI Unit of Electric Field: Newton per coulomb (N/C)

15. Electric Force/Field - 1

16. Electric Force/Field - 2

17. Electric Field – Point Charge q
Magnitude
Direction
If q is positive, E field is directed away from q
If q is negative, E field is directed toward q

18. Electric Field – Parallel Plate Capacitor
This device consists of two parallel metal plates, each with area A
A charge +q is spread uniformly over the one plate
A charge –q is spread uniformly over the other plate
In the region between the plates and away from the edges, the electric field points from the positive plate toward the negative plate and is perpendicular to both
σ denotes the charge per unit area (s = q/A) and is sometimes called the charge density.
Except in the region near the edges, the field has the same value at all places between the plates
The field does not depend on the distance from the charges

19. Problem 6 - 1 A positive test charge is q0 = +3.0 x 10-8 C
Test charge feels force of F = 6.0 x 10-8 N
(a) Find the magnitude of the electric field (force per coulomb) that test charge feels
(b) Predict force that charge of +12x10-8 C feels if it replaced q0

20. Problem 6 - 2 (a) Force per coulomb of test charge is field E
(b) Force on charge of Q = +12 x 10-8 C
F = QE

21. Problem 7 - 1
There is an isolated point charge of q = +15mC in a vacuum. Using a test charge of q0 = mC, determine the electric field at point P, which is 0.20m away

22. Problem 7 - 2
Coulomb’s Law gives the magnitude of the force between q and q0
Definition of the magnitude of the electric field gives
The electric field points in the same direction as the force on the positive test charge

23. Problem 8 - 1 Two positive point charges q1 = +16mC and q2 = +4.0 mC
Separated by a distance of 3.0 m
Find the spot on the line between the charges where the net electric field is zero

24. Problem 8 - 2
Between the charges the two field contributions have opposite directions
The net electric field is zero at the place where the magnitude of E1 equals that of E2

25. PHY 102: Lecture 2 Electric Field
2.3
Electric Field Lines

26. Electric Field Lines
Electric charges create an electric field in space
It is useful to have a kind of “map” that gives the direction and strength of the field at various places
Electric field lines provide such a map
A positive test charge would experience a repulsive force
Electric field created by the charge +q is directed radially outward
The lines begin on the charge +q and point radially outward
Electric field lines are always directed away from positive charges and toward negative charges
Number of lines is chosen to be proportional to magnitude of charge
No matter how many charges are present, the number of lines per unit area passing perpendicularly through a surface is proportional to the magnitude of the electric field

27. Properties of Electric Field Lines
Tangent to a field line at any point is in the direction of the electric field at that point
The field lines are closer together where the electric field strength is larger
Every field line starts on a positive charge and ends on a negative charge
Field lines cannot cross

28. Electric Field Line Development - 1
Start with a positive point charge at the middle of the origin
Show the electric force field arrows

29. Electric Field Line Development - 2
Start at some point and begin to draw lines
Start by drawing a line in the direction of the local arrow
When you get to the next arrow draw the line in that direction

30. Electric Field Line Development - 3
You obtain the diagram on the side
Looks like the spokes of a wheel
Called a radial electric field
Number of lines you draw is up to you

31. Electric Field Lines – Single “+” Charge
Electric field lines are radially outward
If electric field lines are close, the field is strong
As the electric field lines get further apart, the field gets weaker

32. Electric Field Lines – Single “-” Charge

33. Electric Field Lines – “+” and “-” Charges
Field lines for positive and negative charges
Field lines are in the direction of force on positive test charge
Field lines are directed away from positive charges
Field lines are directed towards negative charges

34. Electric Field Lines – “+” and “+” Charges

35. Electric Field Lines – Parallel Plates