Physics 122 September 2, 2010

Question #1: Are you registered OK?

With all the course info I gave you yesterday, I forgot

th weights
the i hts of
f the
th different
diff r nt p
parts.
rts Th
They are
r in th
the
syllabus:
Homework 15%
Clickers 10%
Labs 25%
Midterms 15% each
Final 20%

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At the end of last class, I asked the following clicker
question but we did not have enough time for you to work
question,
on it.
F?

10 cm
Charges of +1 μC are placed as
shown
h att the
th four
f corners of
fa
square, 10 cm on a side. What is
the net force on the charge
g at
the upper right?

1 μC
+1
10 cm
With the hint that you
already know the solution
to this problem is 1.27 N
+1 μC
4 ea. Without the hint:
+1 μC Each red arrow represents a
10 cm force of magnitude
9x109x(1x10-6)2/(0.1)2 = 0.9 N

The solid blue arrow represents

a force of magnitude
9x109x(1x10-6)2/(0.141)2 = 0.45 N
which has components
Fx = 0.45 N cos45° = 0.318 N
Fy = 0.45 N cos45° = 0.318 N
Net force has components
Fx = 0.900 + 0.318 = 1.218 N
Fy = 0.900
.9 + 0.318
. 8 = 1.218
. 8N
F = (1.2182 + 1.2182)½ = 1.72 N, up and to the right.
 F?

10 cm
Using the hint:
We already know that the force
due to the upper left and lower
right charges is 1.27
1 27 N,
N directed to
the upper right.
+11 μC
Adding the lower left charge is an additional force
((1 × 10 −6 )2
9 × 10 9
=0
0.45
45 N
Newton,
t n in th
the ssame
m di
direction
ti n
( 2 × 0.1) 2

Since these two forces are in the same direction, we

can just add them as numbers, and the net force is
1.27 + 0.45 = 1.72 N, up and to the right.
 g causes something
Presence of the charges g in their
neighborhood, even if there is no charge to feel a force.
Whatever charge I put, there will be a proportional
force.
Force 1.72 N Force =
on 1 μC (1 72x106 N/C) x q
(1.72x10

10 cm 10 cm q

+1 μC +1 μC
 Notation – vectors are
denoted byy bold face or
arrow over the top.
Concept: Electric Field
“The electric ffield E p
produced by
y a chargeg Q at the
location of a small “test” charge q0 is defined as the
electric force F exerted by Q on q0 divided by the test
charge q0.” That’ss a lot of words
That words.
Coulomb: Force between two charges acts at a
distance.
distance
Faraday: Charge Q creates an electric field E
throughout
g space,
p , and any g q0 that is p
y charge put in a
field E feels a force F = q0 E.
Electric field actually does have an identity beyond
Coulomb’s law.
So the equation for electric field produced by a
point charge is simple:
E = ke Q / R2, pointing away from Q if Q is positive,
and
d pointing d Q if Q is
i ti ttowards i negative.
ti
Dimensions of E are Newtons / Coulomb.
Field E produced
by
y a positive
p
charge Q

How is it different
if the charge
at the center
is negative?
 Just as force vectors add to produce a net force,
so do electric fields from different charges add as
vectors. SUPERPOSITION principle.
Find
Fi d th
the electric
l t i fi
field
ld att
the point (x = 4 m, y = 3 m)
y
4.00 m
X
-2.00x10
2.00x10-9 C
Strategy:
00 m

Find the electric field created

b each
by h charge
h alone,
l and
d add
dd
3.0

them as vectors.

x
+6.00x10-9 C
 Question 2:
Electric field at the position of the X due to the
-2.00x10-9 C charge alone is:

y
4.00 m
X
-2.00x10
2.00x10-9 C
00 m
3.0

x
 Electric field at the position of the X due to the
-2.00x10-9 C charge alone is:
magnitude keQ / r 2 = 9 × 109 Nm2C −2 × 2.00 × 10 −9 C/(4.00m)2
= 1.125
1 125 N/C

y
4.00 m
X
-2.00x10
2.00x10-9 C direction: field points
direction
towards negative charge
00 m

(direction of force on a
positive charge)
3.0

x
 Question 3:
Electric field at the position of the X due to the
+6.00x10-9 C charge alone is:

y
4.00 m
X
-2.00x10
2.00x10-9 C
00 m
3.0

x
+6.00x10-9 C
 Electric field at the position of the X due to the
+6
6.00x10
00x10-9 C charge alone is:
magnitude keQ / r 2 = 9 × 109 Nm2C −2 × 6.00 × 10 −9 C/(5.00m)2
= 2.16 N/C

y Ey
4.00 m θ
X
Ex
-2.00x10
2.00x10-9 C θ
00 m

Ex = E cos θ = 2
2.16
16 x (4/5) = 11.73
73 N/C
3.0

Ey = E sin θ = 2.16 x (3/5) = 1.30 N/C

θ
x
+6.00x10-9 C
Add components to get the total field:
Ex = -1.125 + 1.73 = 0.60 N/C
Ey = 1.30 N/C
E = 1.43 N/C, in a direction
tan-1(1.30/.60)=65
(1 30/ 60)=65° CCW from the x axis.
axis E

y
4.00 m
X
-2.00x10
2 00x10-9 C
0m
3.00

x
+6.00x10-9 C
The value of the idea of electric field is that you can
think separately about the sources of the field and their
action on some charged object.

Also, we will be concerned with extended distributions of

charge, where it is difficult to apply Coulomb’s law from
individual sources.
sources

For example,
p in Millikan’s
experiment to measure the
fundamental unit of charge,
the electric field comes
from two metal plates
connected to a power supply,
n tf
not from
m a few
f point
p int
charges.
Question 4:
A small
ll d
droplet
l t of
f oil
il contains
t i one excess electron
l t (so
(
its charge is -1.6x10-19 C). It is held stationary against
gravity
g y byy an electric field of magnitude
g 1200 N/C.
(Which direction?) What is the mass of the droplet?
A small droplet of oil contains one excess electron (so
it charge
its h is
i -1.6x10
1 6 10-19
19 C).
C) It iis h
held
ld stationary
t ti against
i t
gravity by an electric field of magnitude 1200 N/C.
(Which direction?) What is the mass of the droplet? p

Electrical force = q E = 1.6x10-19 C x 1200 N/C

= 1.92x10
1 92x10-16 N
= Gravitational force = m g

S m = F / g = 1.92x10
So 1 92 10-16
16 N / 9
9.81
81 m/s
/s2 = 1.96x10
1 96 10-17
17 kg
k

(which would be ~ 3 μm in diameter).

Visualize with electric field lines.
Tangent to the E field vectors.
vectors

More dense in
regions of
greater field.
 Field lines from a single
positive & negative charge Visualize field
Calculated lines with threads
in oil.
oil

( ll
(Illustrations from
f SV8)
V8)
 One positive and one negative charge. Dipole.

Note that electric field lines always start and end on

charges, or else go to infinity.
 Two positive charges.

Question 5:
Where is the electric field E equal to zero?
Answer: C
 Often want to think about charged conductors.

Some net amount of charge is on a

conductor where it is free to move.
conductor, move

Is it plausible that there is mobile

ch r inside
charge insid th
the c
conductor?
nduct r?

The excess charge on a conductor

resides at the surface.

How is it distributed on the surface?

It adjusts itself so that the net

force on any little bit of charge
points away from the surface.
Electric field at the
surface
f of
f a conductor
d t
is perpendicular to that
surface.

Otherwise there would

be a net force on
charges at the surface,
which would move. That
would
ld change
h th
the field,
fi ld
until equilibrium is Electric field lines are more
established. concentrated (field
(f eld iss
stronger) at a sharp point.
Why?

(Images from SV8)

Think of a charged conductor like an exaggerated egg –
blunt on one side and sharp on the other.
Look at components of the force vectors along the
surface.
At A there is a greater component along the surface, so
th charges
the h push
h further
f th away.
At B the component is stronger away from the surface,
and so the charges
g can be closer together.
g

That’s why charge accumulates and the E field is stronger

at regions of stronger curvature.
More consequences of the way that charge
distributes in a conductor.
conductor

Put a - charged ball inside a hollow conductor:

b) The – charges from the charged object

attract free + charges in the conductor. But
the conductor has no net charge, so that
drives an equal amount of – charge to the
outside.

c) Touching the charged ball allows the + and –

charges to flow towards one another and
cancel (recombine).

d) Removing the charged ball leaves – charge

on the outside of the conducting shell.
How do the field lines go?

Take a moment to make your own sketch.

Question #6 What did you draw?
Tell the truth – I
I’m
m giving full credit for any answer.
answer
Van de Graaff generator.

Uses this idea as a “charge pump”

to accumulate charge on the
surface of a conducting sphere.

Friction generates electrical

charge on the belt, which is
carried up to the dome.

It flows to the outside surface, so

the next batch of charge iss not
repelled, and charge continues to
accumulate.

Until what?
Tandem Van de Graaff generator in Stony Brook Physics
& Astronomy department.
department Terminal at -88 MV (Million
Volts).

“W all
“We ll live
li iin a yellow
ll submarine,
b i …””
 From outside the circle,
field lines are radial,
radial just as
they would be from a point
charge in the center.

Remember that the gravitational force of the Earth

looks as if all the mass were concentrated at the center?
Viewed from outside the
sphere,
h the
th distribution
di t ib ti of f
electric field (shown here
as field lines) is the same
for a point charge as for a
sphere carrying an equal
quantity of charge.
charge

Question #7
Th d
The dome of f a Van
V d de
Graaf generator has a
radius of 15 cm, and the
field at its surface is
12,000 N/C. How much
charge is on the dome?
 The terminal of a Van de
G
Graaff generator
t iis a
sphere of radius 15 cm, and
the field at its surface is
12,000 N/C. How much
charge is on the sphere?

For the same charge,

E ffield is the same
m at
these two points.

Q = Er
2
= 1.2 × 10 4
× (0.15)2
= 3 × 10 −8
Coul
ke 9 × 10 9
 Electric Flux:
((Flux is used because this is like the
flow of a fluid across a surface.)
Think about an imaginary surface,
area A somewhere
h that
th t there
th is
i
an electric field E.

The FLUX of that field through

the surface is E A if the surface
is perpendicular to the field lines.
lines

If it is tilted, the flux is

Φ = EA cosθ. θ

We are not g going

g to do much with
calculating flux, yet. It is also
important in magnetism.
Let the surface be a closed
sphere of radius r, and put a
charge Q in the center of the
sphere.

The field is everywhere

perpendicular
p p to the surface,, so
cosθ = 1.

The field has a constant

magnitude keQ/r 2,
and the sphere has area 4πr 2, so
the
h flux
fl isi just
j the
h product,
d
Note the sign: field
Φ = 4πke Q. pointing
p g out of surface is
positive flux, field pointing
in would be negative flux.
Move the charge off center, and
now the calculation of flux looks
HORRIBLE. (Unless your calculus
is still very sharp, and you are a
serious
i masochist.)
hi )

E is not constant everywhere

y on
the sphere.

E is not perpendicular to the

surface, so we have to worry
about the angle θ at each point.

Nevertheless, the flux of E

through
g the sphere
p is still
Φ = 4πke Q.
 Worse yet. Arbitrary
shaped surface,
surface any
distribution of charge inside
the surface you want, and
the
h flux
fl is still 4 ke Q ,
ll Φ = 4π
where now Q is the TOTAL
amount of chargeg enclosed
by the surface.

Why?
h

Flux is related to density of

field lines, and field lines can
only begin or end at a charge.

Gauss’s Law.
Question #8
A charge of 1 Coulomb is a distance 1 m from
the face of a box, 1 m on a side.
What is the flux of electric field through the
surface
f of
f the
h box?
b (All
( ll six
i sides)
id )

Answer: zero.
There is no
charge inside
the surface,
so Φ = 0.
Use Gauss’s law to find the Electric field resulting from
certain symmetrical distributions of charge.
charge

Consider a thin sheet of charge, infinite in two dimensions.

Density σ = charge / area.

It seems obvious that E must point perpendicular to

the sheet, and have the same magnitude above and
below. (If not, view the problem from some other
vantage.
t The
Th sheet
h t of f charge
h will
ill still
till b
be th
the same, but
b t
E would be different.)
Set up Gauss’s law in a cylinder that crosses the sheet.
Cross section area of the cylinder is A, height is h.

Charge enclosed in the cylinder is Q = σ A.

There is no flux of E
through the side of
the cylinder, only the
top and bottom, which
di l tto E.
are perpendicular

Gauss
G 4 keQ = 4π
ss ssayss Φ = 4π 4 ke σ A = 2 E A, so
s
E = 2πke σ. Independent of h (distance from sheet).

(Another physical constant, ε0, permittivity of space,

ε0 = 1/(4πke) = 8.85x10-12 C2N-1m-2. Gauss: Φ = Q/ε0.)
What if you have two sheets of charge, one positive and
one negative.
ti +σ and
d -σ.
We can solve each problem separately, and superimpose
the solutions.

E = σ/2ε0 E = σ/2ε0
E=0

E = σ/2ε0 E = σ/2ε0
+σ
E = σ/2ε0 E = σ/2ε0 E = σ/ε0
-σ
E = σ/2ε0 E = σ/2ε0
E=0
Homework on Chapter 15 is due Tuesday at 3:30 PM.
PM

The help room will not be staffed on Monday, but you

can probably
l get some attention on the
h course blog.
l