ELECTROSTATICS

There are three types of charged particles every object can possess:

1. Positive charge (Proton)

2. Negative charge (Electron)

3. Neutral (Neutron)

Conservation of charge

For an isolated system, the net charge of the system remains the same.
Therefore charge can't be created and can't be destroyed.

Properties of Electric Charge

1. The electric charge (e) is quantized.

2. The like charges repel each other and unlike attract each other.

Coulomb's law
Coulomb's law states that the force acting between two point charges is
directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of the charges and
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

where is the constant of proportionality

and is the permittivity of free space.

Vector Form of the Coulomb's law is

The force between multiple Charges

The force between the multiple charges can be found using the
superposition principle.

Superposition Principle- According to the superposition principle the

net force on any charge due to multiple charges is the vector sum of all
the forces acting on that charge due to other charges are taken at a time.
The individual forces remain unaffected due to other charges presence.

For n charges the net resultant force due to the principle of superposition.

Continuous Charge Distribution

If the charge is continuously distributed over the surface of the conductor

it is known as Continuous charge distribution. In continuous charge
system, a very large numbers of charges are diligently packed and have
insignificant space amid them.
There are three types of Continuous charge Distribution:

1. Line Charge distribution When the charge is consistently spread

over the length L of a conductor then it is known as linear charge

distribution. It is represented by λ,

2. Surface Charge Distribution When the charge is consistently spread

over the surface area of a conductor then it is known as surface charge

distribution. It is represented by σ,

3. Volume Charge Distribution When the charge is consistently spread

over the volume of a conductor then it is known as volume charge

distribution. It is represented by ρ,
Electric field and dipole
Electric field- Electric field is defined as the force experienced per unit
positive test charge at a point due to any other charge kept in the

vicinity.

Electric field lines- Electric field lines are the hypothetic lines that follow
the same direction as the electric field vector at any point. Electric field
vector is always tangent to these electric field lines.

The field lines emerge from the positive charge and terminate on a
negative charge.

The number of lines drawn leaving a positive charge or approaching a

negative charge is proportional to the magnitude of the charge.

No two field lines can cross each other’s path.

Electric Dipole- Electric dipole is a system of two equal in magnitude

opposite charges that are separated for a very small distance.

Electric dipole moment: The product of the charge and the separation
between them is known as Electric dipole moment. It is a vector quantity
which is always directed towards the positive charge.

Electric field due to a dipole

1. On the axial point: Electric field due to the dipole on the axial point P

is,
2. On the equatorial plane: Electric field due to the dipole on equatorial

plane at a point P is,

Torque Experienced by a dipole in a uniform electric field

The magnitude of the torque is experienced by a dipole in a uniform

electric field is,

Electric flux
Electric flux (ΦE)- Electric flux is defined as the number of electric field
lines passing through the surface S. It measures the low of electric field
through a given area.

For a uniformly charged conductor, the net flux through the closed
surface is

Here θ is the angle between the electric field and the normal component
of the area vector.

Gauss’s Law Electric flux through the closed surface is defined as the

times the charge closed in the closed surface.

Applications of Gauss’s law

1. Electric field due to an infinitely long straight wire is

2. Electric field due to the uniformly charged infinite plane sheet

is

3. Electric field due to the uniformly charged thin spherical shell is

Fig (a) The point is outside the shell. (b) The point is inside the shell.

Here R is the radius of the thin spherical shell

Electric Potential and Potential Energy
Electric Potential Energy- It is defined as the work done in moving a
charge from one point to the other.

Electric Potential- It is defined as the change in the Electric potential

energy per unit charge.

Electric potential due to a point charge- The Electric potential due to

a point charge at any distance r is

Electric potential due to a system of charges- For a discrete system

of charges the electric potential will use the same principle of
superposition. The net potential due to the system of charges is equal to
the sum of the sum of the individual potentials.
Electric potential due to an Electric Dipole- Potential due to electric
dipole depends on r and on the angle between position vector and dipole
moment.

The Potential at any point form the center of the dipole is

Equipotential Surface- If the charge is uniformly distributed over the

surface then the potential at each and every point is same then that
surface is considered as an Equipotential Surface.

So the work done to move a charge from one place to other on an

equipotential surface is zero.

Potential energy of a system of two point charge- The energy that

results from the collection of charges when the charge will employ a force
on any other charge. It is the total amount of work done in moving the
charges from an infinite distance to their corresponding positions in the
system.
 is the position vector between the charges .

Potential energy of electric dipole in an electric field

As the electric field implies torque in the dipole, the work done in rotating
it against the torque is stored in the form of its potential energy.
Conductor, Insulator, and Dielectric
Conductors and Insulators- The materials that allow the free
movement if electrons or charge carriers are known as Conductors and
the material that avoid any sort of flow of the charged carriers is known
as Inductors.

Points to remember

1. The electrostatic field inside an inductor is zero.

2. At the surface of a charged conductor at every point, the electrostatic

field is normal to the surface.

3. In the static situation, the interior of a conductor has no excess charge.

4. At the surface of the charged conductor electric field is

5. The electrostatic field inside a metal cavity is always zero.

Free Charges- Free charges that move throughout the conductor without
any constraint. E.g. Electron or ion moving inside a vacuum.

Bound Charges- Bound charge cannot move in response to an external

electromagnetic. E.g. Atoms in an insulator undergoes charge separation
when subjected to an electric field, resulting in the formation of dipoles
that align themselves to counteract the subjected field.

Dielectric Materials- Dielectric materials are non-conducting substances

where the free movement of charges is not possible. The external field
induces a dipole moment by re-orienting molecules of the dielectric which
in return produces a field that opposes the external field.
Polarisation- Polarization is a phenomenon occurs when an external
electric field alters the negative cloud of electrons around positive atomic
nuclei in the opposite direction of the applied field. This insignificant
separation of charge makes one side of the atom slightly positive and the
opposite side somewhat negative.

Thus, Polarization is a comparative shift of positive and negative in

opposite directions inside an insulator or dielectric stimulated by an
external field.

Polarisation is expressed as , where is the constant of

dielectric and known as Electrical susceptibility, and is the applied

Electric field.

The Electrical susceptibility is also defined the degree of allowance for

electric field lines to penetrate into the dielectric.

It can also be expressed in terms relative permittivity

Capacitor and Capacitance
Capacitor- Capacitor is a two-terminal electrical passive component that
used to store the energy in the electrical field.

Capacitance (C) - Capacitance is the ability of a capacitor to store

electrical energy is known as its Capacitance.

, where Q is the charge, and V is the voltage.

The constant C is called the capacitance of the capacitor. It is independent

of charge or potential and depends only on the geometrical alignment of
the system of two conductors.

Parallel Plate Capacitor: It consists of two large plane parallel

conducting plates separated by a small distance and charge is distributed
along the conducting surface of the plates.

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is

Combination of Capacitors
Series Combination- If two capacitor C1 and C2 are connected in series

then the net capacitance is

If n capacitors are connected in series then the net capacitance

is

Parallel combination- If two capacitor C1 and C2 are connected in

parallel then the net capacitance is

If n capacitor are connected in parallel then the net capacitance

is

Effect of dielectric on capacitance- If a dielectric medium of dielectric

constant k is inserted between the plates of the capacitor then the net
capacitance of the capacitor is,
where is the dielectric constant of the material, Co is the
capacitance without the dielectric.

Energy stored inside the capacitor- In a capacitor, the work done on

moving a positive charge from a negative conductor to a positive
conductor against the repulsive forces is stored as energy stored in the
plates of the Capacitor.

, where Q is the charge, C is the capacitance of the

capacitor.

Van De Graf Generator

Van De Graf Generator is an electrostatic generator that is capable of
generating a large static electric potential. It creates a very high electric
potential in the order of a few million volts which results in a very large
electric field at least until breakdown field of air is reached.

It uses a moving belt that stores charge on a hollow metal structure. The
hollow metal structure has a design of a globe which is placed on the top
of a column that is insulating in nature.
Working- A large spherical shell is placed at some height above the
ground. An insulating column is fixed which holds it. Two pulleys are
coiled with a belt-like insulating material, with one being at ground level
and the other one at the center of the shell. The belt carries out a
nonstop motion, thus carrying a positive charge constantly from the
ground to the top. This belt is kept moving continuously by a motor
driving the lower pulley. The positive charge is transferred to the larger
shell by a carbon brush, thus coating the outer shell with a very high
potential over the time.