Fundamentals of Electrical

Engineering
Chapter 4
Electrostatic

1
• In the preceding chapters, we concerned ourselves exclusively
with electric current i.e. electricity in motion.
• Now, we will discuss the behaviour of static electricity and the
laws governing it.
• In fact, electrostatics is that branch of science which deals
with the phenomena associated with electricity at rest.

• This attraction or repulsion is called: Electrostatic Force

2
Laws of Electrostatics
• First Law. Like charges of electricity repel each other,
whereas unlike charges attract each other.
• Second Law. According to this law, the force exerted
between two point charges
i. is directly proportional to the product of their strengths
ii. is inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.
• This law is known as Coulomb's Law and can be
expressed mathematically as :

3
 • The strength of the electrostatic force between
two charges q1 and q2 is given by Coulomb’s law

𝐹𝑒 𝐹𝑒

𝑘 = 9 × 109 𝑁 𝑚2 𝐶 −2
• The direction of the force is along the joining line
 Electrostatic force
• The electrostatic force is a vector, written 𝐹Ԧ

• Vectors have a magnitude and a direction. This

may be indicated by components 𝐹Ԧ = (𝐹𝑥 , 𝐹𝑦 , 𝐹𝑧 )

• The magnitude is sometimes written as 𝐹Ԧ . It

Ԧ =
can be evaluated as |𝐹| 𝐹𝑥 2 + 𝐹𝑦 2 + 𝐹𝑧 2

• The direction can be indicated by a unit vector

 Electrostatic force
Example
Two charges are placed 25 cm apart. Each charges has a charge
of 100 μC, one of them positive and the other negative. Calculate
the electrostatic force between them.

𝑘 |𝑞1 | |𝑞2 |
Coulomb’s Law: 𝐹 = 𝑘 = 9 × 109 𝑁 𝑚2 𝐶 −2
𝑟2
|𝑞1 | = |𝑞2 | = 100 𝜇𝐶 = 100 × 10−6 𝐶 = 10−4 𝐶
𝑟 = 25 𝑐𝑚 = 0.25 𝑚
9 × 109 × 10−4 × 10−4
𝐹𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 = 2
= 1440 𝑁
0.25
 Electrostatic force
• Where multiple charges are present, the forces
sum as vectors (“principle of superposition”)

+ve

What is the combined force

on the blue charge from the
+ve two red charges?

+ve
 Electrostatic force
• Where multiple charges are present, the forces
sum as vectors (“principle of superposition”)

+ve
𝐹1

𝐹𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2
+ve
𝐹2
+ve
 Electrostatic force
• Where multiple charges are present, the forces
sum as vectors (“principle of superposition”)

+ve
𝐹1

+ve
𝐹2
+ve
 |-

Electrostatic force
Example
Two protons are 3.6 nm apart. What is the total force on an
electron located on the line between them, 1.2 nm from one of
the protons? (elementary charge e=1.6 x 10-19 C)

q=+e q=-e q=+e

r1=1.2 nm=r r2=2.4 nm=2r

𝑘 |𝑞1 ||𝑞2 | 𝑘 𝑒 2 𝑘 |𝑞1 ||𝑞2 | 𝑘 𝑒2

|𝐹1 | = 2
= 2 |𝐹2 | = 2
=
𝑟1 𝑟 𝑟2 (2𝑟)2

𝑘𝑒 2 𝑘𝑒 2 3𝑘𝑒 2 3 × 9 × 109 × 1.6 × 10−19 2

𝐹1 − 𝐹2 = 2 − 2 = = = 0.12 𝑛𝑁
𝑟 4𝑟 4𝑟 2 4 × 1.2 × 10−9 2
 Electric field
• An electric field (sometimes E-field) is the physical field that
surrounds electrically-charged particles and exerts force on all
other charged particles in the field, either attracting or repelling
them. It also refers to the physical field for a system of charged
particles.
• The electric field at a point is the force a unit charge (q = +1
C) would experience if placed there
𝐹Ԧ
𝐸= 𝐹Ԧ = 𝑞 𝐸 (Units of E are N/C)
𝑞
• It is a vector and its direction can be represented by electric
field lines
• Let’s look at some simple examples!
 Electric field
• Electric field around a positive charge +Q
Test charge +q at separation r
feels an outward force
+q
𝑘𝑄𝑞
|𝐹| =
𝑟2

Electric field is also outward

|𝐹| 𝑘𝑄
|𝐸| = =
𝑞 𝑟2

Now imagine placing the test charge at many different

places to map out the whole electric field
 Electric field
• Electric field around a positive charge +Q

Magnitude of electric field at

any point:
|𝐹| 𝑘𝑄
|𝐸| = =
𝑞 𝑟2

Direction of electric field is

radially outward
 Electric field
• Electric field around a negative charge -Q

Magnitude of electric field at

any point:
|𝐹| 𝑘𝑄
|𝐸| = =
𝑞 𝑟2

Direction of electric field is

radially inward
 Electric field
• The direction of the field lines show how a positive
charge would move if placed at that point. A
negative charge would move the opposite way.

𝐸
+q 𝐹Ԧ = 𝐸/𝑞

𝐹Ԧ = −𝐸/𝑞 -q
(minus sign because the force is opposite to E)
Properties of Electric Field Lines
• Electric field lines always begin on a positive charge and end on a
negative charge, so they do not form closed curves. They do not start or
stop in mid space
• The number of electric field lines leaving a positive charge or entering a
negative charge is proportional to the magnitude of the charge.
• Electric field lines never intersect.
• In an uniform electric field, the field lines are straight, parallel and
uniformly spaced
• The electric field lines can never form closed loops, as line can never
start and end on the same charge.
• These field lines always flow from higher potential to lower potential.
• If the electric field in a given region of space is zero, electric field lines
do not exist.
• The tangent to a line at any point gives the direction of the electric field
at the point. Also, this is the path on which a positive test charge will tend
to move if free to do so.
Consider an electron placed near a
pair of identical positive charges, as
in the field diagram. If the electron is
at position “A” the direction of the
force on it is best indicated by which
of the following arrows?
1. ↑
2. ↖
3. ↘
4. →
What is the force at location “C”?
The electric field from multiple point
charges can be obtained by taking the
vector sum of the electric fields of the
individual charges.
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was 𝑞1 q2
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

𝐸1 Electric field at P due to green charge (𝑞1 ) = +5x10-6

P
C
𝑘 𝑞 9 × 109 × 5 × 10−6 5 𝑁/𝐶
0.6 𝐸1 = 2 = = 1.25 × 10
𝑟 0.62
0 Direction is along y-axis: 𝐸1𝑥 , 𝐸1𝑦 = (0, 1.25 × 105 )
 Cont.
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was 𝑞1 q2
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

Electric field at P due to purple charge (q2 )= -2x10-6

P
C
𝐸2 𝑘 |𝑞|
0.6 𝐸2 = 2 Pythagoras: r2 = 0.62 + 0.742 = 0.91 m2
r 𝑟
r = 0.95 m
0.74
 Cont.
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was 𝑞1 q2
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

Electric field at P due to purple charge q = -2x10-6 C

P
0.6
𝐸2 𝑘 |𝑞| 9 × 109 × 2 × 10−6 5 𝑁/𝐶
𝐸2 = 2 = 2
= 0.20 × 10
0.6
r 𝑟 0.95

0.74
 Cont.
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was 𝑞1 q2
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

Electric field at P due to purple charge q = -2x10-6 C

𝑘 |𝑞| 9 × 109 × 2 × 10−6 5 𝑁/𝐶
𝐸= 2 = = 0.20 × 10
0.6 𝑟 0.952

0.74 𝐸2𝑥 , 𝐸2𝑦 = (0.16 × 105 , −0.13 × 105 )

 Cont.
Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

𝐸𝑥 = 𝐸𝑥1 + 𝐸𝑥2 = 0 + 0.16 × 105 = 0.16 × 105

𝐸𝑦 = 𝐸𝑦1 + 𝐸𝑦2 = 1.25 × 105 − 0.13 × 105 =1.12 × 105

Total: 𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 = (0.16 × 105 , 1.1 × 105 )

Electric field strength at P: 𝐸 = 𝐸𝑥 2 + 𝐸𝑦 2 = 1.14 × 105 𝑁/𝐶

Force: 𝐹 = 𝑞𝐸 = 1.5 × 10−6 × 3.38 × 105 = 0.51 𝑁

Exercise
• Two charge A=2mC and B=-3mC are situated 10 cm
apart. What is the magnitude and direction of the
electric field at point P (10 cm north of B)
 Summary
• Matter is made up of positive and negative charges.
• Charge on proton = +1.6 x 10-19 C
• Charge on electron = -1.6 x 10-19 C
• Forces between charges are described by Coulomb’s Law
𝑘 𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹= 𝑘 = 9 × 109 𝑁 𝑚2 𝐶 −2
𝑟2
• Forces from multiple charges sum as vectors

• Electric field describes the force-field around charges

𝐹Ԧ
𝐸= 𝐹Ԧ = 𝑞 𝐸
𝑞
28
29
30
31
32
• Capacitance is the ability of a component or
circuit to collect and store energy in the form of an
electrical charge.

 A
q=C v and C=
d

• Where  is the permittivity of the dielectric material

between the plates, A is the surface area of each
plate, d is the distance between the plates.
• Unit: F, pF (10–12), nF (10–9), and mF (10–6)

33
A capacitor is a passive element designed to store energy in
its electric field.
A simple type of capacitor is the parallel-plate capacitor. It
consists of two plates of area A separated by a distance d.

When the capacitor plate is

separated by air gap the
capacitance become:

If a potential difference of V volts is applied across the two plates

separated by a distance of d, the electric field strength between the
plates is determined by
35
• If i is flowing into the +ve
terminal of C
– Charging => i is +ve
– Discharging => i is –ve

• The current-voltage relationship of capacitor

according to above convention is

dv 1 t
i =C
dt
and v=
C 
t0
i d t + v(t0 )

36
• The energy, w, stored in
the capacitor is

1
w= Cv 2

• A capacitor is
– an open circuit to dc (dv/dt = 0).
– its voltage cannot change abruptly.

37
EXAMPLE 1 : For the capacitor of the
following figure
a) Determine the capacitance.
b) Determine the electric field strength between
the plates if 450 V are applied across the
plates.
c) Find the resulting charge on each plate.

38
EXAMPLE 2: A sheet of mica 1.5 mm thick having the same
area
as the plates is inserted between the plates of Example 1
a. Find the electric field strength between the plates.
b. Find the charge on each plate.
c. Find the capacitance

39
• EXAMPLE: For the network of shown in the Fig. Below.
determine the energy stored by each capacitor.

40
41
 Series and Parallel
Capacitors
• The equivalent capacitance of N parallel-
connected capacitors is the sum of the individual
capacitances.

Ceq = C1 + C2 + ... + CN

42
EXAMPLE : For the network of Fig. Shown below
a. Find the total capacitance.
b. Determine the charge on each plate.
c. Find the total charge.

43
• The equivalent capacitance of N series-connected
capacitors is the reciprocal of the sum of the
reciprocals of the individual capacitances.

1 1 1 1
= + + ... +
C eq C1 C 2 CN

44
• EXAMPLE: For the circuit of Fig.
shown below:
a. Find the total capacitance.
b. Determine the charge on each plate.
c. Find the voltage across each
capacitor.

45
46
Example 3
Find the equivalent capacitance seen at the
terminals of the circuit in the circuit shown below:

Answer:
Ceq = 40mF

47
Example 4
Find the voltage across each of the capacitors in
the circuit shown below:

Answer:
v1 = 30V
v2 = 30V
v3 = 10V
v4 = 20V

48
 Inductors
• An inductor is a passive element designed
to store energy in its magnetic field.

• An inductor consists of a coil of conducting wire.

49
• Inductance(L) is the property whereby an
inductor exhibits opposition to the change of
current flowing through it, measured in henrys
(H).
di N2 m A
v=L and L=
dt l

• The unit of inductors is Henry (H), mH (10–3)

and mH (10–6).
50
• The current-voltage relationship of an inductor:

1 t
i=
L t0
v (t ) d t + i (t 0 )

• The power stored by an inductor:

1
w = L i2
2
• An inductor acts like a short circuit to dc (di/dt =
0,v =Ldi/dt = 0) and its current cannot change 51
abruptly.
52
Example 6

Determine vc, iL, and the energy stored in the

capacitor and inductor in the circuit of circuit shown
below under dc conditions.

Answer:
iL = 3A
vC = 3V
wL = 1.125J
wC = 9J
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 Series and Parallel
Inductors
• The equivalent inductance of series-connected
inductors is the sum of the individual
inductances.

Leq = L1 + L2 + ... + LN

54
• The equivalent capacitance of parallel inductors
is the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of
the individual inductances.

1 1 1 1
= + + ... +
Leq L1 L2 LN

55
Example 7
Calculate the equivalent inductance for the
inductive ladder network in the circuit
shown below:

Answer:
Leq = 25mH
56
 Series and Parallel
Capacitors
• Current and voltage relationship for R, L, C

57
 First-Order Circuits
• A circuit that contains only sources, resistors
and an inductor is called an RL circuit.
• A circuit that contains only sources, resistors
and a capacitor is called an RC circuit.
• RL and RC circuits are called first-order circuits
because their voltages and currents are
described by first-order differential equations.
R R

i i
v v
+ +
– L – C
s s
The Source-Free RC Circuit
• A first-order circuit is characterized by a first-order
differential equation.
• Consider a series combination of a resistor and an
initially charged capacitor, as shown in Fig.1.
• Since the capacitor is initially charged, we can
assume that at time t = 0, the initial voltage is

• Applying KCL at the top node of the circuit in Fig.1,

By KCL
v dv
iR + iC = 0 + C = 0
R dt

Figure 1 Ohms law

Capacitor law
• Apply Kirchhoff’s laws to purely resistive circuit results in algebraic
equations. 59
• Apply the laws to RC and RL circuits produces differential equations.
v(t ) = v(0) e −t / RC

v(0) = V0

v(t ) = V0 e−t / RC

60
 The key to working with a source-free RC circuit is
finding:
−t / 
v(t ) = V0 e where =RC
This Eqn. gives the value of the
voltage on the capacitor at any time
during discharging.

1. The initial voltage v(0) = V0 across the

capacitor.
2. The time constant  = RC.
• We find the equivalent resistance (R) or the Thevenin resistance at the capacitor
terminals.

61
• The natural response of a circuit refers to the behavior
(in terms of voltages and currents) of the circuit itself,
with no external sources of excitation.

Time constant =RC

Decays more slowly

Decays faster

• The time constant  of a circuit is the time required for the

response to decay by a factor of 1/e or 36.8% of its initial value.
• v decays faster for small  and slower for large .
62
Example 1
Refer to the circuit below, determine vC, vx, and
io for t ≥ 0.
Assume that vC(0) = 30 V.

• Please refer to textbook for more detail elaboration.

Answer: vC = 30e–0.25t V ; vx = 10e–0.25t ; io = –2.5e–0.25t A
63
Example 2
The switch in circuit below is opened at t = 0,
find v(t) for t ≥ 0.

• Please refer to textbook for more detail elaboration.

Answer: V(t) = 8e–2t V

64
The Source-Free RL Circuit
• A first-order RL circuit consists of a inductor
L (or its equivalent) and a resistor (or its
equivalent)
By KVL vL + vR = 0
di
L + iR = 0
dt

Inductors law Ohms law

di R −Rt / L
= − dt i(t ) = I 0 e
i L
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 A general form representing a RL

−t / 
i (t ) = I 0 e
L
where =
R

• The time constant  of a circuit is the time required for the response
to decay by a factor of 1/e or 36.8% of its initial value.
• i(t) decays faster for small  and slower for large .
• The general form is very similar to a RC source-free circuit. 66
The key to working with a source-free RL
circuit is finding:

−t / L
i(t ) = I 0 e where =
R

1. The initial voltage i(0) = I0 through the

inductor.
2. The time constant  = L/R.
68
Example 4
For the circuit, find i(t) for t > 0.
• When t < 0, the switch is closed, and the
inductor acts as a short circuit to dc.

• Please refer to textbook for more example.

Answer: i(t) = 2e–2t A 69