Electromagnetism - I - Electric Field

Jeffrey Chan
(Dated: January 17, 2015)
Electric force is, in many ways, similar to the Newtons law of gravitation. Yet, the distinctive
feature for electric forces is that it can be either attractive or repulsive. The problem of electricity
concerns : (1) The mechanical motion of charged particles. (2) Dynamics of charged particles. (3)
Other effects caused by varying electric field. In (1), we simply use Newtons law, while (2) and (3)
are not so straight forward that we need to introduce the concept of electric potential in order to
explain the physical phenomenon. This very first chapter discusses (1) only.

I.

FORCE LAW: COULOMBS FORCE LAW

Given two charged particles, with charge q1 and q2 ,

the force between them is given by the Coulombs law,
Fe =

q1 q2
r.
40 |r2 r1 |2

(1)
III.

Comparing to the Newtons law of gravitation

m1 m2
r.
Fg = G
|r2 r1 |2

(2)

It is important to note that the equation is a vector

equation, where r = r2 r1 and this chosing this sign
means we refer to the gravitational force on mass m1
but not m2 . For the force on mass m2 , use Newtons
third law and we can easily find that the force on m2 is
simply the reaction of that on m1 . Note that Newtons
first law is always true at this level,

II.
A.

Static charge configuration

How to charge up a metal sphere

The general procedure is like this : (1) Ground the

metal sphere. (2) Put a negative charged rod near
the metal sphere without touching it. (3) Ungroud the
sphere while keeping the rod near. (4) Now the metal
sphere contains a surplus of positive charge due to induction effect from the rod. Removing the rod will leave
the extra positive charge to reconfigure itself, resulting
in a metal sphere with positive charge on its surface.

C.

ELECTRIC FIELD

Similar to gravitational field, the electric field is defined as the force per unit charge as
E=

q
40 |r2 r1 |2

r.

(3)

Note that the electric field is still a vector. The unit

for electric field is N C 1 , but there is in fact another
definition of electric field, the unit can be V m1 as well.
Both definitions are consistent with each other, so no
worry. I just wish to explain that you might see some
old pastpaper using the latter unit instead of the former
one.

POPULAR QUESTIONS

Always stay familiar with vector sums. Thats all.

B.

of charge exchange. Note that in both cases, the charge

distribution will be altered when two object are close
enough. Yet the effect for conductors is much stonger
compared to insulators as the former contain free, unlocked charges.

Insulator and conductor

When two conductors touch, they share charges.

When two insulators touch, they do nothing in terms

IV.

ELECTRIC POTENTIAL

It is defined as the potential energy required to assemble a certain charge configuration. From simple integration, one can show that the electric potential from
a charge Q at a distance r from it is
V =

Q
.
40 |r2 r1 |

(4)

The potential is a scalar. And one very very important

concept is as follow, stated explicitly,
Concept 1 Positive charge travels from high potential
to low potential, and vice versa for negative charge.
When a charge travel across a potential difference, it
either gains or loses some of its potential energy.
I wish to state this explicitly as this would be the fondation for you to deal with advanced circuitry problem
later on. Although not necessary to go too deep, having in mind the idea of potential help make your circuit
problems look much easier.

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CHAPTER 23

Electric Fields

A
+

(b)

(a)

Figure 23.22

(a) The electric eld lines for two positive point charges. (The locations A, B,
and C are discussed in Quick Quiz 23.5.) (b) Pieces of thread suspended in oil, which align with
the electric eld created by two equal-magnitude positive charges.

+2q

on a negative charge we assume to be at innity. At distances that are much

greater than the charge separation, the electric eld lines are equivalent to those
of a single charge q.

Figure 23.23

The electric eld

lines for a point charge 2q and a
second point charge q. Note that
two lines leave 2q for every one
that terminates on q.

Quick Quiz 23.5

Rank the magnitude of the electric eld at points A, B, and C shown in Figure 23.22a
(greatest magnitude rst).

23.7

MOTION OF CHARGED PARTICLES IN A

UNIFORM ELECTRIC FIELD

When a particle of charge q and mass m is placed in an electric eld E, the electric
force exerted on the charge is qE. If this is the only force exerted on the particle,
it must be the net force and so must cause the particle to accelerate. In this case,
Newtons second law applied to the particle gives
Fe qE ma
The acceleration of the particle is therefore
a

qE
m

(23.7)

If E is uniform (that is, constant in magnitude and direction), then the acceleration is constant. If the particle has a positive charge, then its acceleration is in the
direction of the electric eld. If the particle has a negative charge, then its acceleration is in the direction opposite the electric eld.

EXAMPLE 23.10

An Accelerating Positive Charge

A positive point charge q of mass m is released from rest in a

uniform electric eld E directed along the x axis, as shown in
Figure 23.24. Describe its motion.

Solution The acceleration is constant and is given by

qE/m. The motion is simple linear motion along the x axis.
Therefore, we can apply the equations of kinematics in one

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23.7 Motion of Charged Particles in a Uniform Electric Field

dimension (see Chapter 2):
x f x i v xi t

theorem because the work done by the electric force is

F e x qEx and W K .

1
2
2a x t

v x f v xi a x t
v x f 2 v xi 2 2a x(x f x i )

Taking x i 0 and v x i 0, we have

x f 12a x t 2
vx f axt
v x f 2 2a x x f

qE 2
t
2m

qE
t
m

v=0
+

x
2qE
m

+
+
+

2qE
x qEx
m

We can also obtain this result from the work kinetic energy

eE
j
m

(23.8)

Because the acceleration is constant, we can apply the equations of kinematics in

two dimensions (see Chapter 4) with v xi v i and v yi 0. After the electron has
been in the electric eld for a time t, the components of its velocity are
v x v i constant

(23.9)

eE
t
m

(23.10)

v y a yt

(0, 0)

(x, y)

+ + + + + + + + + + + +

+
q

Figure 23.24 A positive point charge q in a uniform electric eld

E undergoes constant acceleration in the direction of the eld.

The electric eld in the region between two oppositely charged at metallic
plates is approximately uniform (Fig. 23.25). Suppose an electron of charge e is
projected horizontally into this eld with an initial velocity vi i. Because the electric
eld E in Figure 23.25 is in the positive y direction, the acceleration of the electron is in the negative y direction. That is,

vi i

The kinetic energy of the charge after it has moved a distance

x x f x i is
K 12mv 2 12m

Figure 23.25

An electron is projected horizontally into a uniform

electric eld produced by two
charged plates. The electron undergoes a downward acceleration (opposite E), and its motion is parabolic while it is between the plates.

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CHAPTER 23

Electric Fields

Its coordinates after a time t in the eld are

(23.11)

x vit
y 12a yt 2 12

eE 2
t
m

(23.12)

Substituting the value t x/v i from Equation 23.11 into Equation 23.12, we see
that y is proportional to x 2. Hence, the trajectory is a parabola. After the electron
leaves the eld, it continues to move in a straight line in the direction of v in Figure 23.25, obeying Newtons rst law, with a speed v v i .
Note that we have neglected the gravitational force acting on the electron.
This is a good approximation when we are dealing with atomic particles. For an
electric eld of 104 N/C, the ratio of the magnitude of the electric force eE to the
magnitude of the gravitational force mg is of the order of 1014 for an electron and
of the order of 1011 for a proton.

EXAMPLE 23.11

An Accelerated Electron

An electron enters the region of a uniform electric eld as

shown in Figure 23.25, with v i 3.00 10 6 m/s and
E 200 N/C. The horizontal length of the plates is
0.100 m. (a) Find the acceleration of the electron while it is
in the electric eld.

Solution The charge on the electron has an absolute

value of 1.60 1019 C, and m 9.11 10 31 kg. Therefore, Equation 23.8 gives
a

10 19

(1.60
C)(200 N/C)
eE
j
j
m
9.11 10 31 kg

3.51 10 13 j m/s2
(b) Find the time it takes the electron to travel through
the eld.

Solution The horizontal distance across the eld is

0.100 m. Using Equation 23.11 with x , we nd that the
time spent in the electric eld is

0.100 m

3.33 10 8 s
vi
3.00 10 6 m/s

(c) What is the vertical displacement y of the electron

while it is in the eld?

Solution Using Equation 23.12 and the results from parts

(a) and (b), we nd that
y 12a y t 2 12(3.51 10 13 m/s2 )(3.33 10 8 s)2
0.019 5 m 1.95 cm
If the separation between the plates is less than this, the electron will strike the positive plate.

Exercise

Find the speed of the electron as it emerges from

the eld.

Answer

3.22 106 m/s.

The Cathode Ray Tube

The example we just worked describes a portion of a cathode ray tube (CRT). This
tube, illustrated in Figure 23.26, is commonly used to obtain a visual display of
electronic information in oscilloscopes, radar systems, television receivers, and
computer monitors. The CRT is a vacuum tube in which a beam of electrons is accelerated and deected under the inuence of electric or magnetic elds. The
electron beam is produced by an assembly called an electron gun located in the
neck of the tube. These electrons, if left undisturbed, travel in a straight-line path
until they strike the front of the CRT, the screen, which is coated with a material
that emits visible light when bombarded with electrons.
In an oscilloscope, the electrons are deected in various directions by two sets
of plates placed at right angles to each other in the neck of the tube. (A television

Summary
Vertical Horizontal
Electron deflection deflection
plates
plates
gun
C

Electron
beam

Vertical Horizontal
input
input

Figure 23.26

Schematic diagram of a
cathode ray tube. Electrons leaving the
hot cathode C are accelerated to the anode A. In addition to accelerating electrons, the electron gun is also used to focus the beam of electrons, and the plates
deect the beam.

Fluorescent
screen

CRT steers the beam with a magnetic eld, as discussed in Chapter 29.) An external electric circuit is used to control the amount of charge present on the plates.
The placing of positive charge on one horizontal plate and negative charge on the
other creates an electric eld between the plates and allows the beam to be
steered from side to side. The vertical deection plates act in the same way, except
that changing the charge on them deects the beam vertically.

SUMMARY
Electric charges have the following important properties:
Unlike charges attract one another, and like charges repel one another.
Charge is conserved.
Charge is quantized that is, it exists in discrete packets that are some integral

multiple of the electronic charge.

Conductors are materials in which charges move freely. Insulators are materials in which charges do not move freely.
Coulombs law states that the electric force exerted by a charge q 1 on a second charge q 2 is
F12 k e

q 1q 2
r
r2

(23.2)

where r is the distance between the two charges and r is a unit vector directed
from q 1 to q 2 . The constant ke , called the Coulomb constant, has the value
k e 8.99 10 9 Nm2/C 2.
The smallest unit of charge known to exist in nature is the charge on an electron or proton, e 1.602 19 10 19 C.
The electric eld E at some point in space is dened as the electric force Fe
that acts on a small positive test charge placed at that point divided by the magnitude of the test charge q 0 :
E

Fe
q0

(23.3)

At a distance r from a point charge q, the electric eld due to the charge is given
by
E ke

q
r
r2

(23.4)

where r is a unit vector directed from the charge to the point in question. The

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CHAPTER 23

Electric Fields

electric eld is directed radially outward from a positive charge and radially inward toward a negative charge.
The electric eld due to a group of point charges can be obtained by using
the superposition principle. That is, the total electric eld at some point equals
the vector sum of the electric elds of all the charges:
E ke
i

qi
r
ri2 i

(23.5)

The electric eld at some point of a continuous charge distribution is

E ke

dq
r
r2

(23.6)

where dq is the charge on one element of the charge distribution and r is the distance from the element to the point in question.
Electric eld lines describe an electric eld in any region of space. The number of lines per unit area through a surface perpendicular to the lines is proportional to the magnitude of E in that region.
A charged particle of mass m and charge q moving in an electric eld E has an
acceleration
a

qE
m

(23.7)

Problem-Solving Hints
Finding the Electric Field
Units: In calculations using the Coulomb constant k e (1/40 ), charges
must be expressed in coulombs and distances in meters.
Calculating the electric eld of point charges: To nd the total electric
eld at a given point, rst calculate the electric eld at the point due to
each individual charge. The resultant eld at the point is the vector sum of
the elds due to the individual charges.
Continuous charge distributions: When you are confronted with problems that involve a continuous distribution of charge, the vector sums for
evaluating the total electric eld at some point must be replaced by vector
integrals. Divide the charge distribution into innitesimal pieces, and calculate the vector sum by integrating over the entire charge distribution. You
should review Examples 23.7 through 23.9.
Symmetry: With both distributions of point charges and continuous
charge distributions, take advantage of any symmetry in the system to simplify your calculations.

QUESTIONS
1. Sparks are often observed (or heard) on a dry day when
clothes are removed in the dark. Explain.
2. Explain from an atomic viewpoint why charge is usually
transferred by electrons.
3. A balloon is negatively charged by rubbing and then

clings to a wall. Does this mean that the wall is positively

charged? Why does the balloon eventually fall?
4. A light, uncharged metallic sphere suspended from a
thread is attracted to a charged rubber rod. After touching the rod, the sphere is repelled by the rod. Explain.