Electrostatics

Chapter One: Electric Charges and Fields

 Contents
1. Electric Charge
2. Electric Force in PPT1/3
3. Electric Field
4. Electric Dipole in PPT2/3
5. Continuous Charge Distribution
6. Electric Flux
7. Gauss’s Law in PPT3/3
8. Application of Gauss’s Law
Introduction to Electrostatics
• A spark or a crackle sound is heard when our
synthetic clothes or sweater rub against our skin,
particularly in dry weather.
• Also we experience a sensation of an electric
shock either while opening the door of a car or
holding the iron bar of a bus after sliding from our
seat.
The reason for these experiences is discharge of
electric charges through our body, which were
accumulated due to rubbing of insulating surfaces.
 Static means anything that does not move or
change with time.
 Electrostatics deals with the study of forces, fields
and potentials arising from static charges.
 The charges in a electrostatic field are analogous
 HISTORY OF ELECTROSTATICS
• In 600 B.C., Thales, a Greek Philosopher observed that, when a piece of
amber is rubbed with fur, it acquires the property of attracting light
objects like bits of paper.
• In the 17th century, William Gilbert discovered that, glass, ebonite etc,
also exhibit this property, when rubbed with suitable materials.
•  The substances which acquire charges on rubbing are said to be
'electrified' or charged. These terms are derived from the Greek word
elektron, meaning amber.
• The electricity produced by friction is called frictional electricity.
• If the charges in a body do not move, then, the frictional electricity is also
known as Static Electricity.
• Frictional electricity is another name for triboelectricity - electricity
generated by friction. It's most commonly associated with static
electricity.
• Charge separation often occurs through rolling or sliding contact or
collision, usually between different materials.
 FRICTIONAL ELECTRICITY

 If two glass rods rubbed with silk cloth are brought close to each other, they repel each
other.
 If two ebonite rods rubbed with wool/fur cloth are brought close to each other, they repel
each other.
 The two strands of wool/fur or two pieces of silk cloth, with which the rods were rubbed,
also repel each other.
 However, the glass rod and ebonite rod attract each other.

Two kinds of charges

1.  If a glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth, it acquires positive charge while the silk cloth
acquires an equal amount of negative charge.
2.  If an ebonite rod is rubbed with fur, it becomes negatively charged, while the fur acquires
equal amount of positive charge.
This classification of positive and negative charges were termed by American scientist,
Benjamin Franklin.
Charging a rod by rubbing does not create electricity, but simply transfers or redistributes the
charges in a material.
 The bodies like glass or plastic rods, silk, fur and pith balls are electrified, i.e,
they acquire an electric charge on rubbing against each other.

Like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other - experimental
verification.
The property of attraction and repulsion between charged bodies have many
applications such as electrostatic paint spraying, powder coating, flyash collection
in chimneys, ink-jet printing and photostat copying (Xerox) etc.
Electric Charge is defined as - the property of subatomic particles that causes them
to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field.
The property which differentiates the two kinds of charges is called the polarity of
charge.
• The triboelectric series is a list that ranks materials according to their tendency to gain
or lose electrons.
 The process of electron transfer as a result of two objects coming into contact with one
another and then separating is called triboelectric charging.
During such an interaction one of the two objects will always gain electrons (becoming
negatively charged) and the other object will lose electrons (becoming positively charged).
 TRIBOELECTRIC SERIES
• It is the work function of a material that determines its position in the series. Generally
speaking, materials with higher work functions remove electrons from materials with
lower work functions.
The work function is the minimum energy that must be given to an electron to free it
from the surface of a specific material and is a function of the material itself.
 The relative position of the two objects on the triboelectric series will define which
object gains electrons and which object loses electrons. In the triboelectric series,
materials are ranked from high to low in terms of the tendency for the material to
acquire a positive charge.
 If an object high up on this list (asbestos, for example) were rubbed with an object low
down on the list (silicon rubber, for example), the asbestos would lose electrons to the
silicon rubber. The asbestos would, in this case, become positively charged and the
silicone rubber would become negatively charged. The further away two materials are
from each other on the series, the greater the charge transferred.
Materials next to each other on the series might not become charged at all when they are
brought in contact with one another. Materials in the middle of the list (steel and wood, for
example) are items that do not have a strong tendency to give up or accept electrons.
 GOLD LEAF ELECTROSCOPE

It is a simple device to detect the presence of charge on any body.

Gold leaf electroscope has two gold leafs suspended from a metal(usually brass) stem in a
vacuumed glass jar and connected to a metal cap.  The glass is grounded with the help of a
metal foil to make it be uncharged. It can be used to :
Detect charge: Body under test is touched with the metal cap. If the leaves diverge, the body
is charged and if there is no effect on leaves, then the body is uncharged.
To identify the nature of charge: The electroscope is charged by a known body(say positively
charged body) and then the body is removed. Next, the body under test is brought in contact
with the metal cap. If the leaves diverge further, the body has same charge(positive) and if
the leaves come closer to each other, the body has opposite charge(negative).
Identify a body as conductor or insulator: Take two electroscopes. Charge one of the
electroscopes so that its leaves will diverge. Then, connect the two electroscopes by the
object under test. If the leaves of other electroscope diverge, the body is a conductor and if
there is no effect on the electroscopes, the body is an insulator.
 CONDUCTORS & INSULATORS
• Some substances readily allow passage of electricity through them, others do
not. Those 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. Metals, human and animal bodies and earth are
conductors.
• Most of the non-metals like glass, porcelain, plastic, nylon, wood offer high
resistance to the passage of electricity through them. They are called insulators.
• When some charge is transferred to a conductor, it readily gets distributed over
the entire surface of the conductor. In contrast, if some charge is put on an
insulator, it stays at the same place.
EARTHING/ GROUNDING
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.
 METHODS OF CHARGING A BODY
(A) CHARGING BY CONDUCTION
Charging by conduction involves the contact of a
charged object to a neutral object. Hence when an
uncharged conductor is brought in contact with a
charged conductor, charge is shared between the two
conductors and hence the uncharged conductor gets
charged. During charging by conduction, both objects
acquire the same type of charge.
(B) CHARGING BY INDUCTION 1.Bring a negatively charged rod close to the metallic sphere.
2.As the rod is brought close to the sphere, the free electrons in
the sphere move away due to repulsion and start piling up at
the farther end. 3.The near end becomes positively charged due
to deficit of electrons. 4.This process of charge distribution stops
when the net force on the free electrons inside the metal is
zero. 5.Connect the sphere to the ground by a conducting wire.
The electrons will flow to the ground while the positive charges
at the near end will remain held there due to the attractive force
of the negative charges on the rod. 6.Disconnect the sphere
from the ground. The positive charge continues to be held at the
near end. 7.Remove the electrified rod. The positive charge will
spread uniformly over the sphere as shown
 BASIC PROPERTIES OF CHARGES
• Charges are additive in nature.
Charges are scalars and can be added directly.
Let's say a system contains q1,q2,q3,q4……….qn, then the
net charge of the entire system will be = q1 + q2 + q3 + q4 +
………………………..+ qn

• Charge is conserved
 Charges can neither be created nor be destroyed but can be
transferred from one body to another by certain methods like
conduction and induction. When two bodies are rubbed against
each other, transfer of electrons occur from one body to another.

• Quantisation of charge
Experimentally it is established that all free charges are integral multiples of a basic unit of
charge denoted by e. Thus charge q on a body is always given by q = ne
The basic unit of charge is the charge acquired by an electron or proton. By convention we
take charge on the electron as negative and denote it as “-e” and charge on a proton is simply
“e” = 1.6 x 10-19 C
 S.I UNIT OF CHARGE

Symbol of : Positive charge is q (or) Q

Negative chare is –q (or) –Q

S.I unit of charge is coulomb

Representation of coulomb is C

No. of electrons in 1C of charge : 6 × 1018 electrons

Definition of 1 coulomb:
1 coulomb is defined as the amount of charge carried by 6 × 1018
electrons.
( 1 coulomb can also be defined using the mathematical form of
 COULOMB’S LAW IN ELECTROSTATICS
• Coulomb’s law is a quantitative statement about the force between two point
charges.
• ( When the linear size of charged bodies are much smaller than the distance
separating them, the size may be ignored and the charged bodies are treated as point
charges).
STATEMENT OF COULOMB’S LAW:
The force of interaction between two point charges varies inversely as the square of
the distance between the charges and directly proportional to the product of the
magnitude of the two charges and acts along the line joining the two charges.
If two point charges q1, q2 are separated by a distance r in vacuum, the magnitude of the
force (F) between them is given by

F = k q1 q2
r2

Where k is a constant of proportionality called Coulomb’s constant whose value in S.I

units is 9 × 109 Nm2C-2
 PERMITTIVITY
• The constant ‘k’ in the equation for Coulomb’s law,
F = k q1 q2
r2
is usually put as k = 1/4 πε 0 when charges are placed in vacuum or free space.
Therefore, Fv = 1 q1 q2
4 πε0 r2
• ε0 is called the permittivity of free space. The value of ε 0 in S.I units is
ε0 = 8.854 × 10–12 C2 N–1m–2

 If the charges are placed in any medium of permittivity ‘ε’, then the force of
interaction between the two charges can be written as,
Fm = 1 q1 q2
4 πε r2
{The absolute permittivity, often simply called permittivity and denoted by the Greek
letter ε (epsilon), is a measure of the electric polarizability of a dielectric}. 
 ((A dielectric is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field.
 RELATIVE PERMITTIVITY (εr)
• Permittivity is a material property that affects the Coulomb force between two
point charges in the material.
• Relative permittivity is the factor by which the electric field between the charges is
decreased relative to vacuum.
• DEFINITION:
Fv = 1 q1 q2 X 4 πε r2
Fm 4 πε0 r2 q1 q2
Fv ε
= = εr
Fm ε0

Relative permittivity (εr) is defined as

(a) the ratio of permittivity of a medium (ε) to permittivity of free space (ε0)
(b) the ratio of force (Fv) between two charges separated by a certain distance in
vacuum to the force (Fm) between the same two charges separated by the same
distance in a given medium.
 DEFINITION OF 1C

F = k q1 q2
r2

If q1 = q2 = 1 C, r = 1 m ,
then, F = 9 × 109 N
Hence,
1 C is the charge that when placed at a distance of 1 m from another charge
of the same magnitude in vacuum experiences an electrical force of repulsion
of magnitude 9 × 109 N

One coulomb is too big a unit to be used as it is the charge carried by 6x10 18
electrons.
In practice, in electrostatics, smaller units like 1 mC or 1 µC are used.
COULOMB’S LAW OBEYS NEWTON’S III LAW

F21 → Force by q2 on q1 = kq1q2 (r21)2

F12 → Force by q1 on q2 = kq1q2 (r12)2

But, r12 = - r21
Therefore, F12 = - F21

Thus, Coulomb’s law agrees with Newton’s third law.

 FORCES BETWEEN MULTIPLE CHARGES
•  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.
• The principle of superposition says that in a system of charges q 1, q2, ..., qn, the
force on q1 due to q2 is the same as given by Coulomb’s law, i.e., it is unaffected by
the presence of the other charges q 3, q4, ..., qn. The total force F1 on the charge q1,
due to all other charges is the vector sum of all the forces acting on that charge
 
due to other charges taken one at a time.
 ELECTRIC FIELD
An electric field is the space surrounding an electric charge (source charge) in which
force of attraction or repulsion is exerted on other charges (say, test charge) by the
source charge.

 Electric fields are created by electric charges, or by time-varying magnetic fields.

Electric field intensity is the measure of intensity or strength of electrical force (F) per
unit charge (q0) at any given point in the electric field. It is denoted by the letter E and
its S.I Unit is Newton per Coulomb (N/C)
The electric field intensity at a point due to a source charge is the ratio of the force
acting on a test charge q0 at that point to the magnitude of the charge q 0,

E = F/qo (direction of E is same as the direction of F)

DERIVATION FOR E

The force F exerted by a charge Q on a charge q0 is given as,

F = k Q q0 ( from Coulomb’s law of electrostatics)
r2
The charge Q, which is producing the electric field, is called a source
charge and the charge q, which tests the effect of a source charge, is
called a test charge.
Note that: the source charge Q must remain at its original location.
However, if a charge q is brought at any point around Q, Q itself is
bound to experience an electrical force due to q and will tend to
move.
A way out of this difficulty is to make q negligibly small. The force F
is then negligibly small but the ratio F/q is finite and defines the
electric field:
 ELECTRIC FIELD LINES
• A very useful means of visually representing the vector nature of an electric field is through the
use of electric field lines or electric lines of force.
• Electric field lines are imaginary lines along which a unit , positive charge (called test
charge) would accelerate when free to do so in the absence of any other external forces.
PROPERTIES:
1. Electric field lines are straight lines for isolated charges - directed away from an isolated
positive source charge but directed towards an isolated negative source charge.
2. Electric field lines always start from a positive charge and end (terminate)on a negative
charge. They do not form closed loops.
3. Electric field lines can never cross each other.
Reason: If two electric field lines cross at a point, then a test charge placed at that point can move
in two different directions simultaneously specified by the two tangents drawn at that point. This is
physically impossible.
4. Tangent drawn at any point to an electric field gives the direction of the electric field at
that point.
5. Number of electric field lines emerging or terminating on a charge is proportional to the
ratio of the magnitude of the charge to ε0 .
6. They possess lateral pressure and longitudinal tension.
Electric field lines between like Electric field lines between unlike
charges charges.
Superposition Principle - Electric Field of a
System of Charges

The electric field due to a collection of N point

charges is the vector sum of the individual
electric fields due to each charge.