2

LESSON
ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS
Introduction
Electricity as we commonly know, is what modern societies highly depend upon for most of our
needs. Electricity is flow of current in the circuits. Current in turn is the flow of charges. In the
present chapter, we will discuss about types of charges and their properties.

Discovery of charge
Let us consider the following observations:
Amber rubbed with wool or silk cloth attracts light objects.
If two glass rods rubbed with wool or silk cloth are brought close to each other, they repel each
other. The two strands of wool or two pieces of silk cloth, with which the rods were rubbed, also
repel each other. However, the glass rod and wool attracted each other.
Two plastic rods rubbed with cats fur repelled each other but attracted the fur. On the other
hand, the plastic rod attracts the glass rod and repel the silk or wool with which the glass rod is
rubbed. The glass rod repels the fur.
If a plastic rod rubbed with fur is made to touch two small pith balls (we can also use polystyrene
balls) suspended by silk or nylon thread, then the balls repel each other and are also repelled by
the rod.
A similar effect is found if the pith balls are touched with a glass rod rubbed with silk.
A dramatic observation is that a pith ball touched with glass rod attracts another pith ball touched
with plastic rod.

Observations like these establish:

There is a property of matter that can attract or repel objects
The entity that causes these forces are of two kinds. A certain combination of them causes
attraction and other produces repulsion.

Charge as the fundamental property of matter

1. The entity which generates above mentioned forces is called charges or electric charge.
2. These charges are of two types. One is called the positive and the other negative.
3. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract.

Note:
The above mentioned observed phenomenon can be explained based on these establishment of
charge.

Use of Electroscope for detection of charge

In this section we will discuss about an apparatus used for the detection of charges called
electroscope.

Gold leaf Electroscope

A simple apparatus used to detect charge on a body is called the gold-leaf electroscope.
It consists of a vertical metal rod housed in a box, with two thin gold leaves attached to its
bottom end.
When a charged object touches the metal knob at the top of the rod, charge flows on to the leaves
and they diverge.
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The degree of divergence is an indicator of the amount of charge.

Method of constructing a simple electroscope

Similar to the above electroscope a simple electroscope can be made using some readily available
objects:
1. Take a thin aluminium curtain rod with ball ends fitted for hanging the
curtain.
2. Cut out a piece of length about 20 cm with the ball at one end and flatten the
cut end.
3. Take a large bottle that can hold this rod and a cork which will fit in the
opening of the bottle.
4. Make a hole in the cork sufficient to hold the curtain rod snugly.
5. Slide the rod through the hole in the cork with the cut end on the lower side
and ball end projecting above the cork.
6. Fold a thin aluminium foil (about 6 cm in length) from its middle and attach
it to the flattened end of the rod by cellulose tape. This forms the leaves of
your electroscope.
7. Fit the cork in the bottle with about 5 cm of the ball end projecting above the
cork.
8. A paper scale may be put inside the bottle in advance to measure the separation of leaves. The
separation is a rough measure of the amount of charge on the electroscope.

Working of electroscope
The electroscope works as follows:
1. On charging the curtain rod by touching the ball end with an electrified body, charge is
transferred to the curtain rod and the attached aluminium foil.
2. Both the halves of the foil get similar charge and therefore repel each other.
Note: The divergence in the leaves depends on the amount of charge on them.

Acquisition of charges
To electrify a neutral body, we need to add or remove one kind of charge. When we say that a body
is charged, we always refer to this excess charge or deficit of charge.
In case of metals, some of the electrons, are less tightly bound in the atom. These are the charges
which are transferred from one body to the other. A body can thus be charged positively by losing
some of its electrons. Similarly, a body can be charged negatively by gaining of electrons.

Charging of a glass rod on rubbing with silk

When we rub a glass rod with silk, some of the electrons from the rod are transferred to the silk
 4
cloth. Thus the rod gets positively charged and the silk gets negatively charged. No new charge is
created in the process of rubbing.
Note:
The number of electrons, that are transferred, is a very small fraction of the total number of
electrons in the material body.
Only the less tightly bound electrons in a material body can be transferred from it to another
body by rubbing.

Charge: The entity causing electric force

Electric Force
All matter is made up of atoms and/or molecules. Although normally the materials are electrically
neutral, they do contain charges; but their charges are exactly balanced. Forces that hold the
molecules together, forces that hold atoms together in a solid, the adhesive force of glue, forces
associated with surface tension; all are basically electrical in nature, arising from the forces between
charged particles.

Matter consists of more than 100 fundamental particles. The three important particles amongst them
are electron, proton and neutron. Their masses are me = 9.1 1031 kg, mp mn 1.6 1027 kg
respectively.

Electric Force v/s Gravitational Force

To compare the magnitude and nature of force between particles, consider the following:
According to the Newtons Law of Gravitation two electrons 1 cm apart exert 5.5 1067 N
gravitational force on each other whereas at the same separation there also exists a force of
repulsion equal to 2.3 1024 N between them. This force is the electric force.
The gravitational force is only attractive in nature while the electric force is attractive as well as
repulsive in nature. The coulombian force F1 = 2.4 1039 F2, where F2 = the gravitational force
More on charges
As already discussed the property of matter responsible for electric force is called the Electric
charge.
Charges are of two types. Charge of a proton is considered positive and that on an electron
negative.
The force acting between like charges is repulsive and it is attractive between two unlike
charges.
Whenever there is transfer of charge between any two bodies, it is the electrons which are
transferred from one body to the other, as electrons are comparatively weakly bound than the
force with which the protons are bound inside the nucleus.
Unit of charge
The SI unit of charge is Coulomb. One coulomb is the quantity of charge passing in 1 second,
through any cross section of a conductor carrying 1 ampere current. This is represented by C. The
magnitude of charge on an electron and on a proton is 1.6 1019 C .

Conductors and Insulators

Based on their ability to conduct free electrons most materials fall into two categories
(i) Conductors (ii) Insulators
Conductors
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Some substances readily allow easy movement of charges through them, while others do not. The
substances which allow electricity to pass through them easily are called conductors. They have
electric charges (electrons) that are comparatively free to move inside the material.
When some charge is transferred to a conductor, it readily gets distributed over the entire surface of
the conductor.
Metals, human and animal bodies, earth etc. are conductors. The charges on metal leak through our
body to the ground as both are conductors of electricity.
Insulators
The substances which offer high resistance to the passage of electricity through them are called
insulators. Most of the non-metals like glass, porcelain, plastic, nylon, wood are insulators.
If some charge is put on an insulator, it stays at the same place. This property of the materials
tells you why a nylon or plastic comb gets electrified on combing dry hair or on rubbing, but a
metal article like spoon does not.

Note:
Grounding/Earthing
When we bring a charged body in contact with the earth, all the excess charge on the body
disappears by causing a momentary current to pass to the ground through the connecting conductor
(such as our body). This process of sharing the charges with the earth is called grounding or
earthing.
Earthing provides a safety measure for electrical circuits and appliances. A thick metal plate is
buried deep into the earth and thick wires are drawn from this plate; these are used in buildings for
the purpose of earthing near the mains supply.
Household wiring
The electric wiring in our houses has three wires: live, neutral and earth. The first two carry electric
current from the power station and the third is earthed by connecting it to the buried metal plate.
Metallic bodies of the electric appliances such as electric iron, refrigerator, TV are connected to the
earth wire. When any fault occurs or live wire touches the metallic body, the charge flows to the
earth without damaging the appliance and without causing any injury to the humans; this would have
otherwise been unavoidable since the human body is a conductor of electricity.

Properties of Electric Charge

Electric charge has three basic properties: quantization, additivity and conservation.
Quantization
Quantization of electric charge means that total charge (q) of a body is always an integral multiple of
a basic quantum of charge (e) i.e., q = ne, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, and
e = the charge on the electron (1.6 1019 C). qmin = e
Note:
(i) Proton and electron have charges +e and e respectively.
(ii) Macroscopic charges for which n is a very large number, quantization of charge can be ignored.
(iii) The charge of an electron is called the fundamental unit of charge.
(iv) Another fundamental particle positron (positive electron) has positive charge +e.

Additivity
Additivity of electric charge means that the total charge of a system is the algebraic sum (i.e. the sum
taking into account proper signs) of all individual charges in the system.
Conservation
Conservation of electric charge means that the total charge of an isolated system remains unchanged
 6
with time.
This means that when bodies are charged through friction, there is a transfer of electric charge from
one body to another, but there is no creation or destruction of charge.
Note:
(i) In an electrically isolated system, a net charge can neither enter from outside nor escape from
inside. Any chargeless thing can enter or leave such a system.
(ii) In an electrically isolated system, only those processes are possible in which charges of equal
magnitude but unlike charges are either produced or destroyed.
Example: When a highly energetic ray photon enters through a box having thin walls, it
produces an electronpositron pair (pair production). This ray photon is a particle of
electromagnetic radiation having zero charge whereas electron and positron are charged
particles. This is possible because the total charge still remains zero even after the production of
charges as the magnitude of charges produced are equal and opposite in nature.

Charging of materials
In the experiments of friction electricity when a glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth, electrons get
transferred from the glass rod to the silk cloth which makes the rod positively charged and the silk
cloth negatively charged. This is the process of charging the glass rod and the silk cloth. Charging is
possible with other methods also. Here we describe one of the method called the charging by
induction.

Charging by Induction
Consider two identical isolated spheres, one carrying charge Q and the other having no net charge. If
they are brought in contact and are separated, the two spheres will have equal amounts of electric
Q Q
charge after separation. It can be said that we have established electric charge on the other
2 2
sphere through contact or that the charging of the second sphere has taken place.

There is also another method of charging any substance, which is explained as under:
1) Figure (a) shows an isolated sphere. The net
electric charge on the sphere is zero.
2) A plastic rod rubbed against fur is brought
close to the sphere (the charge on the rod is
negative) as shown in figure (b). The free
electrons on the sphere, as a result of
repulsion go to the part of the sphere away
from the rod. Consequently, the part of the
sphere closer to the rod (due to the deficiency
of electrons) becomes positively charged.
3) Figure (c) shows that when the sphere is
connected to the earth through a conducting rod, the electrons on the sphere are conducted to the
earth.
4) Figure (d) shows that the sphere retains the positive charge even if the connection with the earth
is removed.
5) When the plastic rod is moved away from the sphere as shown in figure (e), the electrons get
redistributed on the sphere such that the same positive charge is spread all over the surface of the
sphere.
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In this way a body can be charged without bringing in physical contact with another charged
substance. This phenomenon is called the induction of electric charge.

Coulombs Law
Coulomb measured the force between two point charges and gave the law known as the Coulombs
Law. It sates that:
The Force between two point charges varies inversely as the square of the distance between the
charges and is directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of the two charges. This
force acts along the line joining the two charges.
Thus, if two point charges q1, q2 are separated by a distance r in vacuum, the magnitude of the
k q1q 2
force( F ) between them is given by F
r2
Note:
This law can be easily applied when the linear size of charged bodies are much smaller than the
distance separating them. This is because in this case the size of the body may be ignored and the
charged bodies are treated as point charges.

Proportionality constant k:
1
In Coulombs Law we have the proportionality constant as k = = 9 x 109 Nm2 C-2
4 0
Here 0 is called the absolute permittivity of free space. The value of 0 in SI units is given by, 0
= 8.854 x 10-12 C2 N-1 m-2
Note: We have discussed Coulombs Law for vacuum only.

Coulombs law in vector form

Let the position vectors of charges q1 and q2 be r1 and r2 respectively. We denote force on q1 due to

q2 by F12 and force on q2 due to q1 by F21 .

The two point charges q1 and q2 have been numbered 1 and 2 for convenience and the vector

leading from 1 to 2 is denoted by r21 :

r21 = r2 r1

In the same way, the vector leading from 2 to 1 is denoted by r12 :
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r12 = r1 r2 = r21

The magnitude of the vectors r21 and r12 is denoted by r21 and r12 respectively ( r21 = r12 ).
To denote the direction from 1 to 2 (or from 2 to 1), we define the unit vectors:

r21 r
r21 , r12 12 , r21 r12
r21 r12

The Vector Equation

Coulombs law for two point charges q1 and q2 located at r1 and r2 is then expressed as
1 q1 q 2
F21 = r21 (I)
40 r212

The following are the noteworthy points for this Equation (I)
1. It is valid for any sign of q1 and q2 whether positive or negative.

If q1 and q2 are of the same sign (either both positive or both negative), F21 is along r21 ,
which denotes repulsion, as it should be for like charges.

If q1 and q2 are of opposite signs, F21 is along r21 (= r12 ), which denotes attraction, as
expected for unlike charges.
Thus, we do not have to write separate equations for the cases of like and unlike charges.
Equation (I) takes care of both cases correctly [figure (b)].

2. The force F12 on charge q1 due to charge q2, is obtained from Eq.(I), by simply interchanging 1
and 2, i.e.,
1 q1 q 2
F12 r12 F21
40 r122

Thus, Coulombs law agrees with the Newtons third law.

Note: Coulombs Law discussed here is for vacuum only. The situations arising due to charges
placed in matter or the intervening space having matter will be discussed in the chapter on
Electrostatic Potential.

Superposition Principle
The Superposition principle states that force on any charge due to a number of other charges is the
vector sum of all the forces on that charge due to the other charges, taken one at a time. The
individual forces are unaffected due to the presence of other charges. This is termed as the principle
of superposition.
Superposition principle applied to three charges
Consider a system of three charges q1, q2 and q3. The force on one charge, say q1 due to two other
charges q2, q3 can therefore be obtained by performing a vector addition of the forces due to each

one of these charges. If the force on q1 due to each one of these charges is denoted by F12 and F13
respectively, then we have:
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1 q1q 2
F12 r12
40 r122

In the same way, the force on q1 due to q3, denoted by F13 , is given by
1 q1q3
F13 r13
40 r132
which again is the coulomb force on q1 due to q3, even though other charge q2 is present.

Thus the total force F1 on q1 due to the two charges q2 and q3 is given as
1 q1q 2 1 q1q3
F1 = F12 + F13 = r12 r13
40 r12
2
40 r132
The above calculation of force can be generalized to a system of charges more than three, as shown
in Fig. (b).

Superposition Principle applied to n charges

Consider a system of n stationary charges q1, q2, q3,.., qn in vacuum. The total force F1 on the

charge q1, due to all other charges, is then given by the vector sum of the forces F12 + F13 + +

F1n .
1 q1q 2 q1q3 q1q n q1 n qi
i.e. F1 = F12 + F13 + + F1n = r12 2 r13 ...... 2 r1n =
2 r1i
4 0 r122 r13 r1n 40 i 2 r1i

The vector sum is obtained as usual by the parallelogram law of addition of vectors. All of
electrostatics is basically a consequence of Coulombs law and the superposition principle.

Electric Field
The region surrounding an electric charge in which its effect is observed is known as electric field.

The electric field E at a certain point is equal to the electric force per unit charge experienced by a

F
charge at that point i.e. E lim .
q 0 q
 10

q
Thus Electric Field due to a point charge q has a magnitude ; (it is radially outwards from q if
40 r 2
q is positive, and radially inwards if q is negative.)
Note:
Electric field is an elegant way of characterizing the electrical environment of a system of
charges.
Electric field at a point in the space around a system of charges tells you the force a unit positive
test charge would experience if placed at that point (without disturbing the system).
Electric field is a characteristic of the system of charges and is independent of the test charge that
you place at a point to determine the field.
The term field in physics generally refers to a quantity that is defined at every point in space
and may vary from point to point.
Electric field is a vector field, since force is a vector quantity.

Electric Field Due to a System of Charges

Consider a system of charges q1, q2, . qn with position vectors r1 , r2 , rn relative to some
origin O. The electric field at a point in space due to the system of charges is defined to be the force
experienced by a unit test charge placed at that point, without disturbing the original position of
charges q1, q2, qn. We can use Coulombs law and the superposition principle to determine this

field at a point P denoted by position vector r .

Electric field E1 at r due to q1 at r1 is given
by
1 q1
E1 = r1P
40 r1P2

where r1P is a unit vector in the direction

from q1 to P, and r1p is the distance between
q1 and P.

In the same manner, electric field E 2 at r due
1 q2
to q2 at r2 is E 2 = r
40 r2P
2 2P

where r2P is a unit vector in the direction

from q2 to P and r2P is the distance between q2
and P.

Similar expressions are used for fields, E 3 , E 4 , .., E n due to charges q3, q4, .., qn.

By the superposition principle, the electric field E at r due to the system of charges is (as shown
in Fig.)

E (r) = E1 (r) + E 2 (r) + .. + E n (r)
1 q1 1 q2 1 qn
= r r ....... rnP
40 r1P2 1P
40 r2P2 2P
40 rnP2
1 n qi
E(r) riP
40 i 1 riP2
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Electric Field Lines

An electric field line is a curve drawn in such a way that the tangent at each point on the curve gives
the direction of electric field at that point. The electric field lines are used for geometrical
representation of electric field.
An arrow is put on the curve to specify the direction of electric field from the two possible
directions indicated by a tangent to the curve.
A field line is a space curve, i.e., a curve in three dimensions.
The field lines follow some important general properties as discussed below:
Properties of field lines
1. Two field lines cannot cross each other.
Argument: If two lines intersect at a point, two tangents can be drawn at the same point
indicating two directions of electric field at that point. But this is not possible hence two field
lines can never cross each other.
2. Field lines are continuous curves without any breaks.
3. Electrostatic field lines start at positive charges and end at negative charges. If there is a single
charge, they may start or end at infinity.
4. Electric field lines of stationary electric charge distribution do not form closed loops.
5. Field lines of a uniform electric field are mutually parallel and equidistant.
6. The relative closeness of field lines indicates the relative strength of electric field at different
points; they crowd near each other in regions of strong electric field and are far apart where the
electric field is weak.
Field of some special classes
We here highlight the following charge distributions.
(i). Single positive or negative charge (Figure (a) and (b))- The field lines of a single positive
charge are radially outward while those of a single negative charge are radially inward.
(ii). Two equal positive charges (Figure (c))- The field lines around a system of two positive
charges (q, q) give a vivid pictorial description of their mutual repulsion.
(iii). Two equal and opposite charges (Figure (d))- The field around the configuration of two equal
and opposite charges (q, q), a dipole, show clearly the mutual attraction between the charges.
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Note:
The figures on paper show field lines only in a plane but actually they are 3-dimensional.

Electric Dipole
An electric dipole is a pair of equal and opposite charges q and q separated by a distance 2a. Its
dipole moment vector p has magnitude (2qa) and is in the direction of the dipole axis from q to q. It

is a vector quantity, p = q 2a p

The straight line joining the two charges is called axis of the dipole and the perpendicular bisector of
the axis is called equator of the dipole.

Electric Field of the dipole

The electric dipole produces an electric field around it. The electric intensity at a distance r from its
middle point on the axis is given by

1 2rp
E axis =
4 0 (r 2 a 2 )2

1 2p
when r >> a, E axis = ; where 2a = distance between two charges.
4 0 r 3
The electric intensity at a distance r from the line on the equator

1 p
E equator =
4 0 (r 2 a 2 )3 / 2

1 p
when r >> a, E equator =
4 0 r 3
(The detailed Proof/Derivation has been discussed in the Proof & Derivation section at S. No. 1)

Force and Torque on a dipole kept in uniform electric field

Consider a permanent dipole of dipole moment p in a uniform external field E , as shown in the fig.

Net Force on the dipole- There is a force qE on the charge q

and a force qE on q. Since, E is uniform the net force on
the dipole is zero.

Torque ( ) on the dipole- In the dipole the charges are
separated, so the forces act at different points, resulting in a
torque on the dipole given by:
Magnitude of torque, = qE 2 a sin
= 2 q a E sin
Its direction is normal to the plane of the paper, coming out of
it.

Or we can say p E
Note:
In this case of antiparallel but equal forces the resultant force is zero. Here the torque is
independent of the origin. The magnitude of the torque equals the magnitude of each force
 13
multiplied by the perpendicular distance between the two antiparallel forces. Its direction is
normal to the plane of the paper, coming out of it.
If field is non uniform the net force may be non zero.

Permanent dipole means that p exists irrespective of E ; It has not been induced by E .

Electric Flux
The electric flux linked with a surface is the product of the surface area and the component of
electric field intensity taken perpendicular to the surface. i.e.,

= E.S
The vector area element S = S n , where S is the magnitude of the area element and n is the
normal to the area element, which can be considered planar for sufficiently small S.
Thus flux per unit area also defines the intensity of electric field.

Area vector for a plane

The normal to the plane specifies the orientation of the plane. Thus the direction of a planar area
vector is along its normal.

To associate a vector to the area of a curved surface, imagine dividing the surface into a large
number of very small area elements. Each small area element may be treated as planar and then a
vector can be associated with it.
The vector associated with every area element of a closed surface is taken to be in the direction
of the outward normal.

Gausss Theorem
The flux of electric field through any closed surface S is 1/ 0 times the total charge enclosed by
q
surface S. Analytically E cosds = ; where q = charge enclosed in the closed surface.
0
Note for Gausss Theorem
Gausss theorem is true for any closed surface no matter what is its shape or size.
The term q on the right hand side of the Gausss theorem includes the sum of all charges
enclosed by the surface. The charges may be located anywhere inside the surface.
In the situation when the surface is so chosen that there are some charges inside and some
 14
outside, the electric field is due to all the charges, both inside and outside the S but the term q on
the right side of the Gausss theorem represents only the total charge inside S
The surface that we choose for the application of Gausss law is called the Gaussian surface.
Gaussian surface must not pass through any discrete charge. However, the Gaussian surface can
pass through a continuous charge distribution.
For charge configurations with some symmetry, the choice of a suitable Gaussian surface is
important, as it facilitates the calculation of electric field.
Gausss theorem is based on the inverse square dependence of distance in the Coulombs law.
This is an extremely important theorem if the charge distribution is such that surface integral
can be easily found. Usually in our case the field lines should be perpendicular or parallel to the
surface.

If the electric field E has an outward component for every point of the closed surface, then the

surface integral is taken as positive. If E has inward component, the surface integral is taken as
negative.
Solving surface integral is not in the syllabus. The equation may however be treated using
the concepts of symmetry (if applicable).

Application of Gauss's Theorem for calculating electric field

The fields for the following charge distributions can be found easily using the Gausss Law:
(a) Electric field due to a line charge
The electric field intensity is given by

E= n ; where = charge per unit length of the cylindrical wire; r = distance of the
20 r
point from the line conductor, n is the radial unit vector in the plane normal to the wire and
passing through the point.
(The detailed Proof/Derivation has been discussed in the Proof & Derivation section at S. No. 2)

(b) Electric field due to a thin sheet of charge of surface charge density
The electric field intensity is given by

E= n
2 0
where n = unit vector normal to the sheet pointing away from it.
(The detailed Proof/Derivation has been discussed in the Proof & Derivation section at S. No. 3)

(c) Electric field due to a thin spherical shell of charge q

(i). When the point lies outside the shell
The electric field intensity is given by
1 q
E = r ; where q = total charge on the shell, r = distance of the point from the
40 r 2
centre of shell.
(ii). When the point is on the surface of shell
The electric field intensity is given by:
 15

E = 1 q r ; where R = radius of the shell.
40 R 2
(iii). When the point lies inside the shell
The electric field intensity is given by:

E = 0; since there is no charge inside the shell.
(The detailed Proof/Derivation has been discussed in the Proof & Derivation section at S. No. 4)

PROOFS AND DERIVATIONS

1- Expression for calculating field at points on an equatorial plane for an electric dipole.
The field of an electric dipole
The electric field of the pair of charges (q and q) at any point in space can be found out using the
Coulombs law and the superposition principle.
Here we will discuss the following 2 cases:
(i) For points on the axis
(ii) For points on the equatorial plane, i.e., on a plane perpendicular to the dipole axis through its
centre.
(i) For points on the axis

(a) Electric field of a dipole at a point on the axis

The electric field at any general point P is obtained by adding the electric fields E q due to the

charge q and E q due to the charge q, by the parallelogram law of vectors.
Let the point P be at distance r from the centre of the dipole on the side of the charge q, as
shown in Figure (a). Then
q
Eq p [1(a)]
40 (r a) 2
 16
where p is the unit vector along the dipole axis (from q to q). Also
q
Eq p [1(b)]
40 (r a) 2

The total field at P is

q 1 1
Eaxis E q E q p
40 (r a) (r a) 2
2

q 4ar
p (2)
40 (r a 2 ) 2
2

For r >>a
4qa
E axis p (r >> a)
40 r 3

2p
or E axis ( p 2aqp) (3)
40 r 3

(ii) For points on the equatorial plane

The magnitudes of the electric fields due to the two charges +q and q are given by

(b) a point on the equatorial plane of the dipole.

q 1
Eq [4a]
40 r a 2
2

q 1
Eq [4b]
40 r a 2
2

and are equal.

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The directions of E q and E q are as shown in Figure (b). Clearly, the components normal to
the dipole axis cancel away. The components along the dipole axis add up. The total electric
field is opposite to p . We have

Eequator (E q E q ) cos
2qa
p (5)
40 (r 2 a 2 )3/ 2
At large distances (r >> a), this reduces to
2qa
E equator p (r >>a)
40 r 3
or

p
E equator ( p 2aqp)
(6)
40 r 3

We can think of the limit when the dipole size 2a approaches zero, the charge q approaches
infinity in such a way that the product p = q 2a is finite. Such a dipole is referred to as a point
dipole. For a point dipole, Eqs. (8) and (9) are exact, true for any r.

2 - Field expression due to an infinitely long straight charged wire

To calculate the field, imagine a cylindrical Gaussian surface, as shown in the figure. Since the field
is radial everywhere, flux through the top and bottom of the imaginary cylinder is zero. At the
cylindrical part of the surface, field is normal at every point, and its magnitude is constant, since it
depends only on r. The surface area of the curved part is 2 rl, where l is the length of the cylinder.
Flux through the Gaussian surface = the magnitude flux through the
curved cylindrical part of the surface
= E 2 rl for ( 0 )
= E 2 rl for ( 0 ) since when charge is negative, field line is
inward. The charge inside the cylinder is l. Gausss theorem then
gives
l
E 2 rl = ( 0)
0
l
E 2 rl = ( 0)
0

E
20 r

Vectorially, E n (For either sign of )
20 r

3- Expression for calculating field due to a uniformly charged infinite plane sheet
Let be the uniform surface charge density of an infinite plane
sheet. We take the x-axis normal to the given plane. By symmetry,
the electric field will not depend on y and z co-ordinates and its
direction at every point must be along the x direction.
We can take the Gaussian surface to be a cylinder of cross sectional
area A, as shown(a rectangular parallelepiped surface will also do).
 18
As seen from the figure, only the two faces will contribute to the flux; electric field lines are parallel
to the other faces and they, therefore, do not contribute to the total flux.

Flux through the Gaussian surface = Flux through the two faces normal to E
=2EA if > 0
= 2 E A if < 0
The charge enclosed by the closed surface = A. By Gausss theorem,
A
2EA= ( > 0)
0
A
-2EA= ( < 0)
0

i.e., E =
2 0

Vectorially, for either sign of , E = n where n is a unit vector normal to the plane and going
2 0
away from it.
If > 0, the electric field is uniform, normal and outward from the sheet. For < 0, the direction of

E is along the inward normal to the plane.

4- Expression for calculating field due to a charged spherical shell

Let be the uniform surface charge density of a thin
spherical shell of radius R. The situation has obvious
spherical symmetry. The field at any point P, outside or
inside, can depend only on r (the radial distance from
the centre of the shell to the point) and must be radial
(i.e. along the radial vector) as shown in the adjoining
figure (b)
(i) Field outside the shell:
Consider a point P outside the shell with radial

vector r . To calculate E at P, we take the
Gaussian surface to be a sphere of radius r and with centre O, passing through P. All points on
this sphere are equivalent relative to the given charged configuration (this is what we mean by
spherical symmetry). The electric field at each point of the Gaussian surface, therefore, has the

same magnitude E and is along the radius vector at each point. Thus E and S at every point
are parallel and the flux through each element is E S, for > 0 and E S for < 0. Summing
over all S, the flux through the Gaussian surface is E 4 r2. The charge enclosed is 4
R2. By Gausss theorem

E 4 r2 = 4 R2 ( > 0)
0

E 4 r2 = 4 R2 ( < 0)
0
 19

R2 q
i.e., E =
0 r
2
40 r 2
where q = 4 R2 is the total charge on the spherical shell.
q
Vectorially, E = r
40 r 2
This, however, is exactly the field produced by a charge q placed at the centre O. Thus for
points outside the shell, the field due to a uniformly charged shell is as if the entire charge of the
shell is concentrated at its centre.

(ii) Field inside the shell:

The Gaussian surface is again a sphere through the point centred at O. The flux through the
Gaussian surface, calculated as before, is
E 4 r2 = 0 ( charge inside the Gaussian surface is zero)
i.e., E = 0 (r < R)
i.e., the field due to a uniformly charged thin shell is zero at all points inside the shell.