Electrostatics

Chapter-1
 Concept of Charge
 Electric charge is a physical property that causes subatomic particles to
attract and repel each other. An object becomes electrically charged
through transfer of negative charge (movement of electrons) by means of
friction. By gaining or losing electrons atoms obtain charge.

 Gaining electrons means negative charge

 Losing electrons means positive charge

 In the light of modern view of bulk matter, an objects in its normal state is
electrically neutral i.e., it contains equal amounts of positive and negative
charge. When two objects rub together, relatively few electrons from the
atoms of one objects are transferred to the other.
 Charge is Conserved
 There are two kinds of charge: positive and negative. The ordinary matter is
electrically neutral. Like many other physical entities charge can not be
created or destroyed. When a glass rod is rubbed with silk, a positive charge
appears on the rod. Measurement shows that a negative charge of equal
magnitude appears on the silk. This suggests that charge is not created by
rubbing but is merely transferred from one object to another. Thus the total
charge of an isolated system cannot change.

 This is known as the principle of conservation of charges

SI unit of Charge: Coulomb

An electron has a charge of -1.6  10-19 C.
A proton has a charge of +1.6  10-19 C.

The elementary charge e is one of the fundamental constants of nature.

 Coulomb’s Law
 The electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion between two charges (point
charges) was first measured by Charles Augustine de Coulomb in 1875. The
strength (magnitude) of the attractive or repulsive force that exists between
two stationary charged particles is given by Coulomb’s Law:

Fig. 2

 Forces are attractive or repulsive depending on the sign (+ or –) of the

charges involved.
 Coulomb’s Law
 Experiments by Coulomb showed that the electrical force exerted by one
charged body on another depends directly on the product of the
magnitudes of the two charges and inversely on the square of their
separation. That is,

F  q1q2 and 1
F 2
r
Here, F is the magnitude of the mutual force that acts on each of the two
charges q1 and q2 and r is the distance between their centres. The direction
of the force is always along a line joining the two charges.

qq0
F  K 2  This equation is called Coulomb’s law.
r
 Coulomb’s Law
The Coulomb constant K has the corresponding value

1
K  8.99 10 9 N  m 2 / C 2
4 0
With the choice of the constant K, Coulomb’s law can be written as

qq0 1
F 
4 0 r 2
 Coulomb’s Law in Vector Form
 Suppose we have two point charges q1 and q2 separated by a distance r12. Let

us consider the force on particle 1 exerted by particle 2 be F12 . The position

vector that locates particle 1 relatives to particle 2 is r12 .

If the two charges have the same sign, then the force is repulsive and F must be parallel
 12
to r12 as in Fig. 2(a). If the charges have opposite sign, then the force is attractive and

antiparallel to r12 .

In either case, we can represent the force as

 1 q1q2
F12  rˆ ......(i )
4 0 r12
2 12


Here, r12 represents the magnitude of r12
and r̂12 indicates
 the unit vector in the Fig. 3
direction of r12 .
 According to Newton’s third law, the force exerted on particle 2 by particle 1
 
is F21 and is opposite to F12 . This force can be written as

 1 q1q2
F21  rˆ21 ............ (ii )
4 0 r21
2

Here r̂21 is a unit vector that points from particle 1 to particle 2.

Equations (i) and (ii) represents the vector form of

Coulomb’s law..
Problems
(1) A copper penny has a mass of 3.1 gm. Being electrically neutral, it contains equal
amounts of positive and negative charges separated to a distance such that their force of
attraction is 4.5 N. (a) What is the magnitude q of these charges? (b) How far apart
must they be? A copper atom has a positive nuclear charge of 4.510-18 coul and a
negative electronic charge of equal magnitude.
(2) The distance r between the electron and the proton in the hydrogen atom is about
5.310-11 meter. What is the magnitudes of (a) the electrical force and (b) the
gravitational force between these two particles?.
(3) Fig. 4 shows three charges q1, q2 and q3. What force acts on q1? Assume that q1=-1.010-
6 coul, q =+3.010-6 coul, q =-2.010-6 coul, r =15 cm, r =10 cm, and =300.
2 3 12 13

Fig. 4
 What is Field?
 Scalar Field ( Temperature field, Pressure field etc)  Static Field
 Vector Field (Velocity, Gravitational force etc)  Time varying Field

 Gravitational Field: We call the quantity, the gravitational field, as


 F
g ............ (i )
m0

The field g is a vector whose direction gives the direction of gravitational force
at that point and whose magnitude indicates the strength of the gravitational effect
at that point.

Before the concept of fields which is called the action at a distance view,
the interaction as
mass  mass
Which is direct and instantaneous interaction and it violates the special theory of relativity.
 The present interaction is based on the field concept as
mass  field  mass
In which each mass interacts not directly with the other but instead with the
gravitational field established by the other. That is, the first mass sets up a field that has a
certain value at every point in space; the 2nd mass then interacts with the field at its
particular location. The field plays the role of an intermediary between the two
bodies. The force exerted on the 2nd mass with the field of 1st mass as
 
F  mg ........(ii )
 Electric Field: In terms of action at a distance, the interaction as
ch arg e  ch arg e
Introducing the field as an intermediary between the charges, the interaction as
ch arg e  field  ch arg e
That is, the 1st charge sets up an electric field and the 2nd charge interacts
 with the

electric field of the 1st charge. In analogy with g ,we define the electric field E associated
with a charge in terms of the force exerted on a positive test charge q0 at a point as

 F
E ........(iii )

q0 
The direction of E is the same as the direction of F , because q0 is a positive scalar.
 Electric Field
 When an electric charge is placed at some point in space, this establishes
everywhere a state of electric stress, which is called an electric field.
Electric field is defined as the electric force per unit charge. The direction of
the field is taken to be the direction of the force it would exert on a positive
test charge. The electric field is radially outward from a positive charge and
radially inward to a negative point charge.
We then say there is an electric field in the region, whose strength at the
point is given by

F
E
q0
Here E is a vector quantity because F is a vector. The direction of E is the
direction of F , that is, it is the direction in which a stationary positive charge
placed at the point would tend to move.
 Electric Field of Point Charges
Let a test charge q0 be placed at a distance r from a point charge. The magnitude of the
force acting on q0 is given by Coulomb's law,

qq0
1
F
4 0 r 2
The magnitude of the electric field at the site of the test charge as given by
 
The direction of E is the same as the direction of F ,
F 1 q
E 
along a radial line from q. It points radially outward if q

q0 4 0 r 2
is positive and inward if q is negative.

Fig. 5 shows the magnitude and direction electric


field E at various points near a positive charge.

Fig.5
 Electric Field Lines
 An electric field line is an imaginary line or curve drawn through a region of
empty space so that its tangent at any point is in the direction of the electric
field vector at that point. The electric field lines are supposed to originate from
the positive charge and terminate in the negative charges. These lines may be
straight or curved depending on the system of charge creating them.

Fig. 6(a): Lines of force for a negatively

charged sphere
 Electric Field Lines


E

Fig. 6(b): Lines of force for two equal positive charges Fig.6(c): Electric field Lines for equal but
opposite charges
 Relation between Electric Field Lines and Electric Field
OR
Characteristics of Field Lines
The relationship between the Electric field lines and the electric field is given below:

 The tangent to the electric field line passing through any point in space gives the
direction of E at that point.

 The electric field lines are drawn such that the number of lines per unit cross
sectional area is proportional to the magnitude of E. That is, the density of field
lines gives the magnitude of E . Where the lines are close together E is strong and
where they are far apart E is weak. And the density of lines of force depends on
the magnitude of charge. Thus, the field lines determine the magnitude as well as
the direction of the electric field.

 They enter or leave charge symmetrically. The lines must begin on positive
charges (or infinity) and they must end on negative charges (or infinity)

 The electric field lines do not intersect.

Explain Why Electric Field Lines
do not Intersect
 The electric field lines can never intersect because they start from the
positive charge and end on a negative charge. Hence they carry the same
charge on them so they always repel each other.
 Secondly, on the electric field line if we take a point and draw a tangent
to it, it will give the direction of electric field at that point. So if the two
lines intersect, that means at the same point two directions of electric
fields is there which is just not possible.
Electric Dipole
An electric dipole consists of two equal but opposite charges
separated by a small distance. Fig.7 shows an electric dipole in which the
charges are +q and -q and they are separated by a distance 2a.

Electric Dipole Moment

It measures the strength of an electric dipole. The dipole moment of
an electric dipole is a vector whose magnitude is the product of either charge
and the separation between the two opposite charges of that dipole.
The direction of the dipole moment is along the dipole axis from the negative
to the positive charge.
-
Dipole Moment  either charge  perpendicular distance between them
Electric Field due to an Electric Dipole
An electric dipole consists of two equal but opposite
charges separated by a small distance. Fig.8 shows an electric
dipole. The charges are +q and -q and they are separated by a
distance 2a.

y
-
Fig. 8:An electric dipole
 We would like to calculate the electric field E of the dipole at a point
P. P is located at a distance r along the perpendicular bisector of the dipole.
We shall assume that r»a.
Let the distance of the point P be y from both the charges. Let E1 be
the electric field at the point P due to the charge +q and E 2 be that due to -q.
The total field at P due to the dipole is obtained by vector addition of E1 and E 2 .

………(i)
E  E1  E 2
Since the charges have the same magnitude and the distance of the p
from the charges is also same, the magnitude of the fields E1 and E 2 are equal,
therefore

1 q 1 q ………(ii) [ y 2  a 2  r 2 ]
E1  E 2  
4π 0 y 2 4π 0 r 2  a 2
 The directions of E1 and E 2 are indicated by arrows in Fig.8. The
horizontal components of E1 and E 2 cancel each other. Hence the vector sum
of E1 and E 2 points vertically downwards and has the magnitude

E  E1cosθ  E2cosθ  2E1cosθ ………(iii)

From the figure, we have

a a
cosθ   ………(iv)
y a2  r2
Substituting the values of E1 and cos  in equation (iii), we obtain

2 q a y
E
4π 0 a 2  r 2 a2  r2

1 2aq
 ………(v) y

4π 0 (a 2  r 2 )3/2
 1 2aq
E ………(v)
4π 0 (a 2  r 2 ) 3/2
Since r»a, a2 can be neglected in the denominator. The above equation then
reduces to

1 2aq 1 P ………(vi)
E 
4π 0 r 3
4π 0 r 3

The product P = 2aq is called the electric dipole moment. It is a vector

having the direction along the axis of the dipole from the negative to positive
charge.

Equation (vi) gives the electric field due to an electric

dipole at a point on the perpendicular bisector of the dipole.
 A Dipole in an External Electric Field
An electric dipole is placed in a uniform external electric field E , its dipole
moment P making an angle  with this field.

Fig.9 (a) An electric dipole in a uniform external field. (b) An oblique view, illustrating =p×E
 The two forces ( F and  F ) acting on the charges are equal and opposite

where, F  qE
 The net force on the dipole is clearly zero. But since the forces do not act
along the same line, there is a net torque on the dipole about an axis passing
through the centre O of the dipole given by

 = magnitude of a force  perpendicular distance between the forces

Or, τ  F  2a sin θ
or, τ  qE  2asinθ  τ  PEsinθ ……..(i)

 2aqEsinθ
where, p = 2aq is the electric dipole moment. Equation (i) can be written in vector
form as

 τ  pE
 Thus, when an electric dipole is placed in an external electric field, it
experiences a torque tending to align it with this field. Hence work must be
done by an external agent to change the orientation of an electric dipole in an
external electric field. This work is stored as potential energy U in the system
consisting of the dipole and the arrangement used to set up the external field.
The work done to change the orientation of the dipole through a small
angle d is given by

dW  τ.d ……..(ii)

where,  is the torque exerted by the agent and does the work.
Then the work done to turn the dipole from an initial orientation 0 to
a final orientation  is given by
θ θ
W   dW   τ.dθ
θ0 θ0

where, 0 and  are the initial and final values of the angle between the dipole
axis and the external field.
This work is stored as potential energy U. Thus
θ
U  τ dθ
θ0
Combing equations (i) and (iv), we obtain
θ θ
U  
pE sinθ dθ  pE sin θ dθ  pE [cos θ]θθ
0
θ0 θ0

 pE (cos θ  cos θ0 )

Since we are interested only in changes in potential energy, the reference orientation
0 can be chosen to have any convenient value, say 90°. This gives

U  pE cos θ
 U   p.E
Thus U is a minimum when p and E are parallel.
 Problem: An electric dipole consists of two opposite charges of magnitude
2.010-6C separated by a distance 2a = 1.0 cm. It is placed in an external
electric field of 2.0 105 N/C.
(i) What maximum torque does the field exert on the dipole?
(ii)How much work must an external agent do to turn the dipole from its
initial alignment given by  = 0° to final alignment  = 90° ?
Solution:

(i) The torque is given by   pE sin  (1)

The maximum torque is found by putting  = 90° in equation (1)

  pE sin 90  2aqE sin 90

3
 (2.0  10 6 C ) (1  10 2 m) (2  10 5 N / C )  4  10 N.m
Here, q = 2.010-6C
(ii) The work done is the difference in the potential energy 2a = 1.0 cm = 1.010-2m
between the positions  = 90° and  = 0° E = 2.0105 N/C

W  U 90  U 0

  pE cos90  ( pE cos 0)  pE  2aqE  4  10 3 J

 Electric Flux
Electric flux is the rate of flow of the electric field through a given area.
Electric flux is proportional to the electric field going through a normally perpendicular
surface. The electric flux E through a surface is defined as the product of the area A and
the magnitude of the normal component of the electric field. If the electric field is
uniform, the electric flux passing through a surface of vector area S is
 
E  ES cos  E.S
where, E is the electric field, S is the area of the
surface, and θ is the angle between the electric
field lines and the normal (perpendicular) to S.
For a non-uniform electric field, the electric flux
dΦE through a small surface area dS is given by
 
dE  E.dS
The electric flux over a surface S is therefore given by the surface integral:
 
E   E.dS dS is a differential area on the closed surface S
S
 State and Proof of Gauss’s Law
 Gauss's law states that the net flux of an electric field through a closed
surface is proportional to the enclosed electric charge. It is defined as 0 times
the electric flux (the surface integral of the normal component of E over any closed
surface in an electrostatic field) which equals the net charge q inside the closed
surface.

or , 0  E.dS  q
Mathematically
0 E  q

Proof:
 Suppose a positive charge q is inside a closed surface. The electric field E at every point
of the closed surface is directed radially outward from the charge and its magnitude at
the point r is

1 q
E ...................... (1)
4 0 r 2
Over one infinitesimal area dS, the magnitude and direction of the field remains
the same. The component of E along the normal is En = E cos where  is the
angle between E and the outward normal to the surface.

Hence we can write

E n ds  E cos ds
q
 cos ds .............. (2)
4 0 r 2
ds cos
But 2
 d , where d is the element
r
of solid angle subtended by the area dS at the
point where q is located.

Thus
q
E n ds  d .................... (3)
4 0 Fig. 4
If we integrate equation (3) over the entire closed surface total outward flux is

q
 En ds  4   d
0 s

q
or ,  E cos ds  4
4 0
(since the solid angle subtended by any closed surface on a point inside it is 4)

q
  Eds cos 
0
q
or ,  E.ds 
0

 0  E.ds  q →This is Gauss’s law for electrostatics.

In terms of charge density, it can be written as


0  E.ds    (r ) dV where,
 (r )dv  total charge within v
V
V
Using Gauss’s divergence theorem, it can be written as
 
  E.ds   0  .E    ( r ) dV
0
V V
 
or,  0  .E    ( r ) dV
V V
 Coulomb’s Law From Gauss’s Law
 Coulomb's law can be deduced from Gauss’s law. Let us apply gauss’s law to an
isolated positive point charge q as shown in Fig.5.

If a point charge q is surrounded by a spherical surface, then from symmetry

consideration the field E is normal to the surface and must have same magnitude for
all points on the surface.

 We imagine a Gaussian surface of radius r. So in figure-5 both E and dS at any point

on the spherical Gaussian surface are directed radially outward. The angle between
them is zero.

Then we have E.dS  EdS cos o  EdS

Gauss’s law then becomes

 E.dS  q
dS
0

Or ,   EdS  q ........... (1)

0 Fig. 5
 But since E is constant for all points on the surface of the sphere, it can
be taken outside the integral and consequently equ. (1) becomes


0 E dS  q ............ (2)

But dS is simply the area 4r2 of the sphere. Equ. (2) therefore reduces to

0 E.4r 2  q

q
 E ............. (3)
4 0 r 2

Equation (3) gives the magnitude of electric field strength E at any point at
a distance r from an isolated point charge q.
Let us now a second point charge q0 is placed at the point where E has been
calculated. The magnitude of force acting on q0 is

F  q0 E .............. ( 4)
Combining equations (3) and (4), we obtain

1 qq0
F
4 0 r 2

Which is nothing but Coulomb’s law of electrostatics. Coulomb’s law can,

therefore, be deduced from Gauss’s law.
 A hypothetical cylinder of radius R is immersed in a
uniform electric field E, the cylinder axis being parallel to
the field. Determine E for this closed surface.

Solution:
Figure shows the cylinder immersed in the electric field. The flux E can
be written as the sum of three surfaces (i) the left cap (ii) the cylindrical
surface and (iii) the right cap

Fig. 6
Therefore,  E   E.dS
  E.dS   E.dS   E.dS (1)
a b c

For the left cap, angle  between E and dS is 180° for all points, i.e., E and dS are
oppositely directed. Thus,

 E.dS   E cos180 dS
a a

  E  dS   ES
a
where S = R2 is the cap area. Similarly for right cap, angle  between E and dS is
0° for all points. Thus

 E.dS   E cos 0 dS
c c

 E  dS  ES
c
Finally, for cylindrical wall, =90° for all points on the cylindrical surface.
Hence,

 E.dS   E cos 90 dS  0

a a

Thus, the total flux

E   E.dS   E.dS   E.dS

a b c

  ES  0  ES
0
 Electric Field due to a Spherically
Symmetric Charge Distribution
 Fig. 7 shows a spherical distribution of charge of radius R. We find out E for
points at a distance r from the centre of the sphere when r>R or outside the
sphere and r<R or inside the sphere, where r is the radius of the imaginary
Gaussian surface.

Gaussian surface

Case (i) E for points outside the

charged sphere (r>R)
R

Fig. 7(a)
 Let us consider a point P outside the sphere at a distance r from the centre of the
sphere. Consider a spherical Gaussian surface of radius r which includes the charge
q as in Fig. 7(a). From symmetry consideration and uniformity of the density, the
field is radial and uniform over the Gaussian surface. Hence angle between E and
dS will be zero.

Applying Gauss’s law, we obtain

0  E.dS  q Or, 0  EdS cos 0  q …………(i)

s s

But since E is constant for all points on the surface of the sphere, it can
be taken outside the integral and consequently equ. (1) becomes

0 E  dS  q Or, 0 E.4r 2  q
s

1 q
 E
4 0 r 2 ……(ii)
This is the expression for E at a distance when r>R.
 Case (ii) E for points inside the charged sphere (r<R)

 Now consider a point P inside the sphere at a distance r from the centre of the
sphere. Imagine a spherical Gaussian surface of radius r passing through the point
as in Fig. 7(b) . Again from symmetry consideration, E and dS will point in the
same direction. Hence angle between E and dS will be zero.

Applying Gauss’s law, we obtain

0  E.dS  q R
s
Gaussian surface
r
or , 0  EdS cos 0  q ……(iii)
s

Fig.7(b)
where q' is the part of q contained within the sphere
of radius R.
The part of q that lies outside this sphere makes no contribution to E at
radius r.
 1 q
E  …………(iv)
4 0 r 2
If this is a spherically symmetric charge distribution of a uniform sphere of
charge. For such a sphere, the charge density  is constant value for all points
within the sphere of radius r.  = 0 outside the sphere of radius R.

For points inside such a uniform sphere of charge, we can put

q q 4 3r 3 r3
   q  q. q 3
4 3R 3
4 3r 3
4 3R 3
R

Hence the expression for E for points inside the sphere (r<R) becomes

1 qr 3 1 qr
E 
4 0 R r
3 2
4 0 R 3
 1 qr
E ..............(v )
4 0 R 3

This is the expression for E for points inside the sphere (r<R).

(i) For r = 0, then E = 0. Then there will be no electric field in the centre of the
sphere .
(i) If r = R, then this equation becomes the same as the equation (ii).
 Electric Potential
 Electric potential may be defined as numerically equal to the work done in
bringing a positive charge of one coulomb from infinity to a certain point
against the electric field.

 If, in shifting one Coulomb from infinity to a certain point in the electric
field, the work done is one joule, then electric potential of that point is one
volt.

Obviously, electric potential is work done per unit charge.

1 joule
1volt 
1coulomb
 Potential Difference
 Suppose we have two points A and B in an electric field; move a test charge q0 from A
to B and if the work done by the agent moving the charge is WAB, then the electric
potential difference between points A and B is defined as

WAB
VB  V A 
q0
The work done WAB may be (i) positive (ii) negative (iii) Zero, so VB the potential at B
will be (i) higher (ii) lower or (iii) the same as VA.

Generally point A is considered to be at infinite distance and potential VA is taken as zero,

then VB at B is given by

WAB
VB  V 
q0
Thus, we define the electric potential at a point as the work done in moving the test charge
q0 from infinity to that point.
 Relation Between E and V

 Suppose the points A and B are situated in a uniform electric field E as shown
in Fig 8. The separation between them is d. The electric force on the positive

test charge q0 is q0 E and points in right direction. Let us now move the test
charge q0 from A to B.

To move the charge from A to B, an external force F of the same

magnitude but in opposite direction must be applied as shown in Fig 8.

Fig. 8
The work done by the agent producing this force is

WAB = Fd = q0Ed ……..(i)

We have the potential difference between points A and B as

WAB
VB  VA  ……..(ii)
q0
From equations (i) and (ii), we get

WAB q0 Ed
VB  VA    Ed ……..(iii)
q0 q0

Equation (iii) represents the relation between E and V in a simple case.

The work done for a small displacement dl along AB is = F.dl. Therefore,
the total work done to move test charge from A to B is given by

B B
WAB   F .dl  q0  E.dl ……..(iv)
A A

The negative sign is due to the fact that the motion A to B is opposite to the
direction of the field. Hence

B
WAB
VB  VA     E.dl ……..(v)
q0 A

If point A is situated at infinity and potential VA there is zero, then potential

at B is

B
VB  V    E.dl ……..(vi)
A
 Potential due to a Point Charge
 Fig. 9 shows two points A and B near an isolated point charge q0. For simplicity, we
assume that A, B and q0 lie on a straight line. We shall calculate the potential
difference between points A and B, assuming that a test charge q0 is moved without
acceleration along a radial line from A to B.

The potential difference between the points

A and B is given by

WAB
VB  VA  ……..(i)
q0
Fig. 9: A test charge q0 is moved by an external
agent from A to B in the field set up by a point
charge q.
The total work done WAB by the external agent in moving the test charge
from A to B is
B B
WAB   F .dl  q0  E.dl ……..(ii)
A A

Hence from equations (i) and (ii), we have

B
VB  VA    E.dl ……..(iii)
A

As E points to the right whereas dl is always in the direction of motion,

points to the left; so the angle between E and dl is 180°. Therefore,

E.dl  E cos 180  dl   Edl ……..(iv)

 Since the distance r is measured from the charge i.e., right and dl is measured
towards B i.e., left, hence

dl = - dr

Equation (iii) then becomes

E.dl   Edl   E (dr)  Edr ……..(v)

Substituting this in equ. (iii), we have

B rB

VB  VA    E.dl    Edr ……..(vi)

A rA

Where, rA and rB are the distances of the points A and B from the point charge.
But we know the electric field strength is given by

1 q
E
4 0 r 2
Combining this equation with equation (vi), we get
rB
q dr q 1 rB
VB  VA  
4 0 r r 2   4 0 [ r ]rA
A

q 1 1
 [  ]
4 0 rB rA
If A is situated at infinity and potential there be zero, i.e., rA and VA = 0,
then potential at B if denoted by V,

1 q
V
4 0 r
Potential due to a Group of Point Charges

Fig. 10 A group of point charges

 Potential difference is path independent
Let a test charge q0 be moved without acceleration from A to B over the
path shown in Fig. 12. Compute the potential difference between A and B.

We know that the relation

between the potential difference and
the electric field is
B
VB  VA    E.dl
A
Now for path AC we have  = 135°
and the above equ. becomes
C C
VC  VA    E.dl    E cos135dl
A A

C
E
or , VC  VA   
2A
dl
Fig. 12
The length of the line AC is given as
d d C
AC    2d [  dl  AC ]
cos 45 1 2
A
E
 VC  VA   ( 2d )  Ed
2
E and dl being at right angles for all points on the line CB. Therefore, points B and
C have the same potential because no work is done in moving a charge between
them. In other words, B and C lie on the same equipotential surface at right angles
to the lines of the force. B B
 VB VC    E.dl    E cos 90dl  0
C C
VB VA (VC VA )  (VB VC )  Ed  0 Ed
Thus,

This is the same value derived for a direct path connecting A and B. Hence, it is
proved that the potential difference between two points is path independent.
 Potential due to a Dipole
Two equal but opposite charges,
q, separated by a small distance 2a,
constitute an electric dipole. We would
like to derive an expression for the electric
potential V at any point of space due to a
dipole.

Let us first calculate the potential at the

point P due to charges +q and –q, i.e.,

1 q
V1  and
4 0 r1
1 q
V2  
4 0 r2
Fig. 13 A Dipole
The resultant potential at the point P due to charges +q and –q is
1 q 1 q
V 
4 0 r1 4 0 r2
1 q q q r2  r1
 (  ) ( ) ……………..(i)
4 0 r1 r2 4 0 r1r2
We know limit consideration to points such that r»2a. Then from Fig. 13
r2  r1  2a cos and r r
2 1  r 2

Substituting these values in equation (i), we have

q 2a cos 1 2aq cos
V 
4 0 r 2
4 0 r 2

1 p cos
V  where, 2aq =p is the electric dipole moment
4 0 r 2

Equation (ii) is the expression for the electric potential due to a dipole.
A Charged disk
## Find the electric potential for points on the axis of a uniformly charged circular
disk whose surface charge density is .

Fig 11. A Charged Disk