Applied Physics

GSC 113

Week 4

1
Electric Field due to a line of charge
• Charge can be spread along a line, over a surface or within a volume!
• Such distributions are said to be continuous rather than discrete
• Introduction to the concept of
“Charge density” due to continuous
charge distributions
• For a line of charge:
linear charge density
(charge per unit length)
• SI units? Coulomb/meter
A ring of uniform positive charge
• A thin ring with a linear charge density λ =C/m
• Imagine the ring to be made up of plastic or other
insulator! Why?
• So that charges can be regarded as fixed at some
point
• What to find?
• What is the Electric Field E at a point P, a distance z
from the plane of the ring along its central axis.
• Can we apply the following formula?

• How to analyze and solve the given problem?

A ring of uniform positive charge
• Let ds be the (arc) length of any differential element of the ring. Since ƛ is
the charge per unit (arc) length, the element has a charge of magnitude:

• The differential charge sets up a differential Electric

field dE at the point P which is at a distance r from the
element.
• Treating the element as a point charge:

• By Pythagoras theorem:
A ring of uniform positive charge
• dE is at an angle θ to the central axis (we took central
axis as z)
• It can be divided into parallel and perpendicular
components
• The perpendicular components cancel each other.
How?
• The parallel components are therefore added (as they
are always in the same direction)

• Therefore:
A ring of uniform positive charge
• To add the parallel components dE cos θ produced by all the elements, we
integrate the expression around the circumference of the ring, from s=0 to
s= 2πR. Why?
• Solving for s:

• Since ƛ is the charge per length of the ring, the term λ(2πR)=q (total charge
enclose by the ring).
• Therefore:
A ring of uniform positive charge
• If the charges on the ring are negative. Then?
• Assume that the point P is far away from the ring i.e:
z>>R, therefore:

• for a point at the center of the ring z=?,E=?

• Sample problem Page 588, 589