Electric Field

Lecture 3
Outline:
• Electric Field
• Field Lines
• Source and Test Charge
• Magnitude of Electric Field
• Sample Problem
▫ Electric field magnitude for a point charge
• Electric Dipole
• Sample Problem
▫ Electric Dipole
Electric Field
• Introduced by Michael Faraday.
• Is experienced by a stationary point charge
(source charge).
• It surrounds electrically charged particles.

Test charge  used to determine whether there is

an electric field at a particular point.
Field Lines
Fe

Source and Test Charge

Stationary Charge Source Charge

+ + Fe

Fe - E
+

E
- +
Fe

- E - Fe
Magnitude of Electric Field

E  electric field; N/C

Fe  electric force; N
q  charge; C
r  distance; m
K  proportionality constant
Sample Problem
What is the magnitude of the electric field point
2.0 m from a point charge q equals 4.0 nC?

 What is the magnitude of the electric field point

given the force 14.2 x 103 N with a point charge q
equals 3.0 nC?
Electric Dipole
Combination of two charges with equal magnitude
and opposite sign.

-3.0 nC +3.0 nC

- +
Fe

Sample Problem
Field of an electric dipole  point charges q1 and q2 of
+12 nC and – 12 nC respectively are placed 10 cm apart
(See figure below). Compute the total field at points a, b
and c.
c
Ec

q1 q2
Eb b a Ea
+ 5.0 cm -
4.0 cm 6.0 cm 4.0 cm