Coulombs law:

The force of interaction between two stationary point charges in vacuum is directly proportional to product
of charges and inversely proportional to the square of separation between them .

q1q2 1
here F k k 9 109 Nm2 / C 2
r2 40
, here k is proportionality constant. The value of .

0 0 8.85 10 12 C 2 N 1m 2
Here permittivity of free space , its value is .

1 Coulomb is defined as that charge which when placed at a distance of 1m from another charge of
9 109
same magnitude in vacuum , experiences an electric force of N. In practice we generally use
C
mC or micro coulomb .

If q1 q2 1C , and r 1m
1 1
then, F 9 109 9 109 N
12

Dielectric Constant or Relative permittivity:

The force between two charges q1 and q2 located at distance r apart in medium may be expressed as :

1 q1q2
Fvacuum
40 r 2 0
, Here is absolute permittivity of medium.

1 q1q2
Fmedium
4 r 2
, Here is absolute permittivity of medium.

1 q1q2
Fvacuum 4 0 r 2
r
Fmedium 1 q1q2 0
4 r 2 r
, here is relative permittivity of medium with respect to vacuum. It is also
denoted by K also known an dielectric constant of medium.

Fvacuum F
K ( r ) K 0 or Fmedium vacuum
0 Fmedium K

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Coulombs law in Vector form:

Let two like charges q1 and q2 are present at separation r.

kq1q2
F
r2
Therefore , According to Coulombs law force between them is
uur
uuu
r kq q kq1q2 r12
1 2
F21 2 r12 2 .
r12 r r r
Let is unit vector pointing from q1 to q2.
uur
uuu
r kq1q2 kq1q2 r21

F12 2 r21 2 .
r21 r r r
Let is unit vector pointing from q2 to q1 .
uur uur uuu
r uuu
r
r12 r21 r21 r12 F12 F21
But since , or , , therefore .

Limitations of Coulombs Law :

(i) Electric charges should must be at rest.
(ii) The charges should must be point charges . it is not directly applicable for extended charged body.

Felectric 1030 Fgravitational

Coulombs force is very much stronger than gravitational force . .

Superposition principle:

The coulomb's law obeys the principle of superposition, which means that the force between two particles is
not affected by the presence of other charges. This principle is used to find the net force exerted on a given
particle by other charged particles.
uuuur uuu r uur uuu r uuu
r
Ftotal F12 F13 F14 ........ F1n

-
q3

+
q4 F13

+ +
F12 q1 q2

F14

Fig.(3) Forces acting on q1 due to q2, q3 and q4 are shown

Continuous Charge distribution:

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(i) Linear charge distribution: In this distribution charge distributed on a line.For example : charge on a wire,

charge on a ring etc. Relevant parameter is which is called linear charge density.

charge

length

(ii) Surface charge density : In this distribution charge distributed on the surface.

For example : Charge on a conducting sphere, charge on a sheet etc. Relevant parameter is which is called
surface charge density .

charge

Area

(iii) Volumetric Charge density : In this distribution charge distributed in the whole volume of the body.

For example : Non conducting charged sphere. Relevant parameter is which is called volume charge
density i.e.,

charge

Volume

Electric Field:

Eelctric field at a point is defined as the force experienced by a unit positive charge placed at that point.
The charge which produces electric field is called Source charge (Q) and charge (q) which experiences force
is called test charge .

Electric Field Intensity:

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The electric field intensity is defined as force experienced per unit positive test charge placed at that point
without disturbing the source charge .
ur
ur F
E Lim
q0 0 q
0
Mathematically , .
Electric field is a vector quantity whose direction is same as the force experienced by a unit positive test
charge .
[ MLT 3 A1 ]
The S.I. unit of electric field is N/C or Volt per metre(V/m) . The dimensions of electric field are .

+q -q

Electric Field Due to a point charge :

r
E
The direction of is that of the force on a positive charge. In other words, positive charges experience
forces parallel to the field, and negative charges experience forces opposite to the field Once the field
strength is known, the force on any charge q can be found from
ur ur
F qE

From Coulomb's law, the electric field created by a point charges q is given by
ur kq
E 2 r$
r
where the unit vector has it's origin at the source charge q.
Proof :
O r P
F
so urce ch arg e q0
te s t c h a rg e
q0
Let us consider a point charge q placed at origin O . Let us place another test charge placed at point P.
q0
According to Coulombs Law , the force on charge is ,
ur 1 qq0 $
F r
40 r 2 r$ q to q0
, here is a unit vector in direction from . Electric field at point P is
1 qq0 $
ur r
ur F 4 0 r 2 1 q $
E r
q0 q0 4 0 r 2

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 1 q 1
E E
40 r 2 r2
Therefore , the magnitude of electric field is , here .
Electric Field Due to a System of Charges
Since the principle of superposition is valid for Coulomb's law, it is also valid for the electric field. To
calculate the field strength at point due to a system of charges, we first find the individual field intensity E1
due to q1, E2 due to q2 and so on.
Charge particles :
ur uur uur uur ur
E E1 E2 E3 ........ E n
For N point charges, the resultant field intensity is the vector sum

q2 E1
-

E2

E3
-
q3
+
q1
Fig.(6) Electric field at a point is the superposition of
individual contribution of each charge.
Electric field at a point is the superposition of individual

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