Chapter 22

Gauss’s Law
What Is Gauss's Law All About?
• Given any general distribution of charge, we surround it with an
imaginary surface that encloses the charge.
• Then we look at the electric field at various points on this
imaginary surface.
• Gauss’s law is a relationship between the field at all the points on
the surface and the total charge enclosed within the surface.
Charge and Electric Flux
• In both boxes below, there is a positive charge within
the box, which produces an outward pointing electric
flux through the surface of the box.
• The field patterns on the surfaces of the boxes are
different in detail, since the box on the left contains one
point charge, and the box on the right contains two.
Charge and Electric Flux
• When there are negative charges inside the box, there
is an inward pointing electric flux on the surface.
Zero Net Charge Inside a Box
• What happens if there is zero charge inside the box?
• If the box is empty and the electric field is zero
everywhere, then there is no electric flux into or out of
the box.
Zero Net Charge Inside a Box
• What happens if there is zero net charge inside the
box?
• There is an electric field, but it “flows into” the box on
half of its surface and “flows out of” the box on the
other half.
• Hence there is no net
electric flux into or out
of the box.
Zero Net Charge Inside a Box
• What happens if there is charge near the box, but not inside it?
• On one end of the box, the flux points into the box; on the
opposite end, the flux points out of the box; and on the sides,
the field is parallel to the surface and so the flux is zero.
• The net electric flux through the box is zero.
What Affects the Flux Through a
Box?
• The net electric flux is directly proportional to the
net amount of charge enclosed within the surface.
What Affects the Flux Through a
Box?
• The net electric flux is independent of the size of the
closed surface.
Calculating Electric Flux
• Consider a flat area perpendicular to a uniform electric
field.
• Increasing the area means that more electric field
lines pass through the area,increasing the flux.
• A stronger field means more closely
spaced lines, and therefore more
flux.
Calculating Electric Flux
• If the area is not perpendicular to the field, then fewer
field lines pass through it.
• In this case the area that
counts is the silhouette area
that we see when looking in
the direction of the field.
Calculating Electric Flux
• If the area is edge-on to the field, then the area is
perpendicular to the field and the flux is zero.
Flux of a Nonuniform Electric Field
• In general, the flux through a surface must be
computed using a surface integral over the area:

m2
• The SI unit for electric flux is 1 N  .
C
Example 22.1: Electric flux through a disk

Solution:
 Example 22.2: Electric flux through a cube
An imaginary cubical surface of side L is in a region of uniform electric field
𝐸. Find the electric flux through each face of the cube and the total flux
through the cube when (a) it is oriented with two of its faces perpendicular
to 𝐸 (Fig. 22.8a) and (b) the cube is turned by an angle θ about a vertical
axis (Fig. 22.8b).

Solution:
(a)
Example 22.2: Electric flux through a cube

(b)
The field 𝐸 is directed into faces 1 and 3,
so the fluxes through them are negative; 𝐸
is directed out of faces 2 and 4, so the
fluxes through them are positive. We find
EXAMPLE 22.3: Electric flux through a sphere
A point charge q = +3.0 μC is surrounded by
an imaginary sphere of radius r = 0.20 m
centered on the charge (Fig. 22.9). Find the
resulting electric flux through the sphere

Solution:

At any point on the sphere of radius r the

electric field has the same magnitude
Gauss's Law
• Carl Friedrich Gauss helped develop several branches of
mathematics, including differential geometry, real analysis, and
number theory.
• The “bell curve” of statistics is one of his inventions
• Gauss also made state-of-the-art
investigations of the earth’s magnetism and
calculated the orbit of the first asteroid to
be discovered.
• While completely equivalent to Coulomb’s
law, Gauss’s law provides a different way
to express the relationship between electric
charge and electric field.
Point Charge Centered in a Spherical
Surface
• Shown is the projection of an
element of area dA of a sphere of
radius R onto a concentric sphere
of radius 2R.
• The area element on the larger
sphere is 4 dA, but the electric
1
field magnitude is as great on
4
the sphere of radius 2R as on the
sphere of radius R.
• Hence the electric flux is the same
for both areas and is independent
of the radius of the sphere.
Point Charge Inside a Nonspherical
Surface
• As before, the flux is independent of the surface and
depends only on the charge inside.
Gauss's Law in a Vacuum
• For a closed surface enclosing no charge:

• The figure shows a point charge outside a closed

surface that encloses no charge.
• If an electric field line from the
external charge enters the
surface at one point, it must
leave at another.
General Form of Gauss's Law
• Let Qencl be the total charge enclosed by a surface.
• Gauss’s law states that the total electric flux
through a closed surface is equal to the total (net)
electric charge inside the surface, divided by  0 :
Positive and Negative Flux
• In the case of a single point charge at the center of a
spherical surface, Gauss’s law follows simply from
Coulomb’s law.
• A surface around a positive charge has a positive
(outward) flux, and a surface around a negative charge
has a negative (inward) flux.
Applications of Gauss's Law
• Without having to do any integration, we can use
Gauss’s law to determine the electric flux through the
closed surfaces in the diagram.
q
•  EA = +
0
q
•  EB = +-
0
•  EC = 0
•  ED = 0
Applications of Gauss's Law
• Suppose we construct a Gaussian surface inside a
conductor.
• Because E = 0 everywhere on this surface, Gauss’s
Law requires that the net charge inside the surface is
zero.
• Under electrostatic
conditions (charges not in
motion), any excess
charge on a solid
conductor resides entirely
on the conductor’s surface.
EXAMPLE 22.5: Field of a charged conducting
sphere
We place a total positive charge q
on a solid conducting sphere with
radius R (Fig. 22.18). Find 𝐸 at any
point inside or outside the sphere.
Solution:
• Outside the sphere r > R
the entire conductor is within the Gaussian
surface, so the enclosed charge is q

• Inside the
sphere r < R
• At the surface of a charged
conducting sphere r = R

E=0
Field of a Uniform Line Charge
• Electric charge is distributed uniformly along an infinitely long,
thin wire. The charge per unit length is λ (assumed positive).
• Using Gauss’s law, we can find the electric field:

The flux through the flat ends of our

Gaussian surface is zero because the
radial electric field is parallel to these ends.

On the cylindrical part of our surface

1 
E = (field of an infinite line of charge)
2 0 r
Field of an Infinite Plane Sheet of
Charge
• Gauss’s law can be used to find the electric field caused by a thin, flat,
infinite sheet with a uniform positive surface charge density σ.

The flux through the cylindrical part of our

Gaussian surface is zero because
every where.

The flux through each flat end of the

surface is +EA and


E= (field of an infinite sheet of charge)
2 0
EXAMPLE 22.9: Field of a uniformly charged sphere
Positive electric charge Q is distributed uniformly throughout the volume of an
insulating sphere with radius R. Find the magnitude of the electric field at a point P
a distance r from the center of the sphere.
Solution:
• Outside the sphere r > R
the entire conductor is within the Gaussian
surface, so the enclosed charge is q=Q

• Inside the
sphere r < R

(field inside a uniformly charged sphere)

EXAMPLE 22.10: Charge on a hollow sphere
A thin-walled, hollow sphere of radius 0.250 m has an unknown charge
distributed uniformly over its surface. At a distance of 0.300 m from the
center of the sphere, the electric field points radially inward and has
magnitude 1.80 x 102 N/C. How much charge is on the sphere?

Solution:

We note that the electric field here is directed toward the sphere, so that q
must be negative
Charges on Conductors
• Consider a solid conductor with a hollow cavity inside.
• If there is no charge within the cavity, we can use a
Gaussian surface such as A to show that the net
charge on the surface of the cavity must be zero,
because E = 0 everywhere on the Gaussian surface.
Charges on Conductors
• Suppose we place a small object with a charge q
inside a cavity within a conductor. The conductor is
uncharged and is insulated from the charge q.
• According to Gauss’s law the total there must be a
charge −q distributed on the surface of the cavity,
drawn there by the charge q inside the cavity.
• The total charge on the
conductor must remain
zero, so a charge +q
must appear on its outer
surface.
 Charges on Conductors

Solution:
EXAMPLE 22.11: A conductor with a cavity
A conductor with a cavity carries a total charge of +7 nC. Within the cavity,
insulated from the conductor, is a point charge of -5 nC. How much charge is on
each surface (inner and outer) of the conductor?

Solution:

If the charge in the cavity is q = -5 nC,

the charge on the inner cavity surface
must be -q = -(-5 nC) = +5 nC. The
conductor carries a total charge of +7
nC, none of which is in the interior of
the material. If +5 nC is on the inner
surface of the cavity, then there must
be (+7 nC) – (+5 nC) = +2 nC on the
outer surface of the conductor
Faraday's Icepail Experiment
• We now consider Faraday’s historic icepail
experiment.
• We mount a conducting container on an insulating
stand.
• The container is initially
uncharged.
• Then we hang a charged metal
ball from an insulating thread,
and lower it into the container.
Faraday's Icepail Experiment
• We lower the ball into the container, and put the lid on.
• Charges are induced on the walls of the container, as
shown.
Faraday's Icepail Experiment
• We now let the ball touch the inner wall.
• The surface of the ball becomes part of the cavity
surface, thus, according to Gauss’s law, the ball must
lose all its charge.
• Finally, we pull the ball out; we
find that it has indeed lost all
its charge.
Electrostatic Shielding
• A conducting box is immersed in a uniform electric
field.
• The field of the induced charges on the box combines
with the uniform field to give zero total field inside the
box.
Electrostatic Shielding
• Suppose we have an object that we want to protect
from electric fields.
• We surround the object with a conducting box, called
a Faraday cage.
• Little to no electric field can
penetrate inside the box.
• The person in the
photograph is protected
from the powerful electric
discharge.
Field at the Surface of a Conductor
• Gauss’s law can be used to show that the
direction of the electric field at the surface of
any conductor is always perpendicular to the
surface.
• The magnitude of the electric field just
outside a charged conductor is proportional
to the surface charge density σ.
EXAMPLE 22.12: Electric field of the earth
The earth (a conductor) has a net electric charge. The resulting electric field near the
surface has an average value of about 150 N/C, directed toward the center of the
earth. (a) What is the corresponding surface charge density? (b) What is the total
surface charge of the earth?

Solution:
(a) The direction of the field means that σ is negative (corresponding to 𝐸 being
directed into the surface, so E┴ is negative).

(b) The earth’s surface area is 4πR2E, where RE = 6.38 x 106 m is the radius
of the earth.

Q = Aσ
Problem 22.2
A flat sheet is in the shape of a rectangle with sides of lengths 0.400 m and
0.600 m. The sheet is immersed in a uniform electric field of magnitude
90.0 N/C that is directed at 20° from the plane of the sheet (Fig. E22.2).
Find the magnitude of the electric flux through the sheet.
Problem 22.8
Problem 22.13
Two very long uniform lines of charge are parallel and are separated by
0.300 m. Each line of charge has charge per unit length +5.20 μC/m.
What magnitude of force does one line of charge exert on a 0.0500 m
section of the other line of charge?
Problem 22.17
A very long uniform line of charge has charge per unit length 4.80 μC/m and lies
along the x-axis. A second long uniform line of charge has charge per unit length -
2.40 μC/m and is parallel to the x-axis at y = 0.400 m. What is the net electric field
(magnitude and direction) at the following points on the y-axis: (a) y = 0.200 m
and (b) y = 0.600 m?
Problem 22.21
The electric field at a distance of 0.145 m from the surface of a solid insulating
sphere with radius 0.355 m is 1750 N/C. (a) Assuming the sphere’s charge is
uniformly distributed, what is the charge density inside it? (b) Calculate the electric
field inside the sphere at a distance of 0.200 m from the center.
Problem 22.43
Problem
A cube of side 8.50 cm is placed in a uniform field E = 7.50x103 N/C
with edges parallel to the field lines. (a) What is the net flux through
the cube? (b) What is the flux through each of its six faces?

Solution:
Problem
A point charge Q rests at the center of an uncharged thin spherical
conducting shell. (See Fig. 16–34.) What is the electric field E as a
function of r (a) for r less than the inner radius of the shell, (b) inside the
shell, and (c) beyond the shell?
Solution: