Ancient Greeks o Observed and “identified” electric and magnetic Charging by Conduction Vector Nature of Forces
phenomena as early as 700 BC A charged object (the rod) is placed in contact with another object (the Two point charges are separated by a distance r
✓Found that amber, when rubbed, became electrified and attracted conducting sphere) The unlike charges produce a attractive force between them
pieces of straw or feathers Some electrons on the rod can move to the sphere The force on q1 is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the
✓Magnetic forces were discovered by observing magnetite attracting When the rod is removed, the sphere is left with a charge force on q
iron. The object being charged is always left with a charge having the same The Electric Force
William Gilbert 1600 Found that electrification was not limited to sign as the object doing the charging • There are some important differences between electrical and
amber Charging by Induction gravitational forces
➢ Charles Coulomb 1785 Confirmed the inverse square relationship of A negatively charged rubber rod is brought near an uncharged sphere ❖ This is the second example of a field force
electrical forces The charges in the sphere are redistributed Gravity was the first
Hans Oersted 1819 – Compass needle deflects when placed near The region of the sphere nearest the negatively charged rod has an ❖ A field force: the force is exerted by one object on another object
an electrical current ❖ Michael excess of positive charge because of the migration of electrons away even though there is no physical contact between them
Faraday 1831 – A wire moved near a magnet; an electric current is from this location There are some important differences between electrical and
observed in the wire ❖ A grounded conducting wire is connected to the sphere gravitational forces
James Clerk Maxwell 1865-1873 – Formulated the laws of ❑ Allows some of the electrons to move from the sphere to the ground Electrical Force Compared to Gravitational Force
electromagnetism The wire to ground is removed, the sphere is left with an excess of Both are inverse square laws
Heinrich Hertz 1888 - Verified Maxwell’s equations induced positive charge The mathematical form of both laws is the same
PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC CHARGES The positive charge on the sphere is evenly distributed due to the Electrical forces can be either attractive or repulsive
Two types of charges exist: they are called positive and negative - repulsion between the positive charges Gravitational forces are always attractive
Named by Benjamin Franklin Charging by induction requires no contact with the object inducing The Superposition Principle
Unlike charges attract one another and Like charges repel the charge The resultant force on any one charge equals the vector sum of the
Electric charge is always conserved: Charge is not created, only Charging Objects by Induction forces exerted by the other individual charges that are present.
exchanged ⚫ In most neutral atoms or molecules, the center of positive charge ❑Remember to add the forces vectorially
Objects become charged because negative charge (electrons) is coincides with the center of negative charge In the presence of a charged Superposition Principle
transferred from one object to another. object, these centers may separate slightly – This results in more Example
Nature’s basic carrier of positive charge is the proton positive charge on one side of the molecule than on the other side. The force exerted by q1 on q3 is F13
✓ Protons rarely move from one material to another because they are This realignment of charge on the surface of an insulator is known as The force exerted by q2 on q3 is F23
held firmly in the nucleus polarization (e.g A charged comb attracts neutral but polarized bits of The total force exerted on q3 is the vector sum of F13 and F23 F =
Nature’s basic carrier of negative charge is the electron paper) F13 + F23
✓Gaining or losing electrons is how an object becomes charged Coulomb’s Law ELECTRIC FIELD
(typically) Charles Coulomb (1736-1806) Faraday developed an approach to discussing fields
Charge is quantized ⚫ Measured the magnitudes of the electric forces between charged An electric field is said to exist in the region of space around a
✓All charge is a multiple of a fundamental unit of charge e: q=Ne objects using the torsion balance, which he invented charged object, the source charge
e - = 1.6 x 10-19 C ⚫ The electric forces between charged spheres A and B causes the When another charged object – the test charge –enters this electric
✓Electrons have a charge of – e spheres to either attract or repel each other field, the field exerts a force on the second charged object.
✓Protons have a charge of +e ⚫ The resulting motion cause the suspended fiber to twist A charged particle, with charge Q, produces an electric field in the
CONDUCTORS ⚫ A measurement of the angle of the twist provides a quantitative region of space around it.
* Conductors are materials in which electrons move freely through the measure of the electric force We will use the term point charge to mean A small test charge, qo , placed in the field, will experience a force
material a particle of zero size that carries an electric charged. Definition of the electric field: The electric field vector E at a point in
❖ Copper Cu, aluminum Al, and silver Ag are good conductors ⚫ An electrical force between two-point charges has the following space is the electric force Fe acting on a positive test charge q0 placed at
❖ When a conductor is charged in a small region, the charge readily properties: that point divided by the test charge. E=Fe/q0
distributes itself over the entire surface of the conductor. ⚫ It is inversely proportional to the square of the separation r between the units in SI: Newton per Coulomb (N/C=V/m
* Insulators are materials in which all electrons are bound to atoms and the particles and directed along the line joining them Direction of Electric Field
cannot move freely through the material ⚫ It is proportional to the product of the charges |q1 | and |q2 |on the The electric field produced by a negative charge is directed toward
❖ Glass and rubber are examples of insulators two particles the charge
❖ When insulators are charged by rubbing, only the rubbed area It is attractive if the charges are of opposite signs and repulsive if the o A positive test charge would be attracted to the negative source charge
becomes charged charges have the same signs The electric field produced by a positive charge is directed away from
*There is almost no tendency for the charge to move into other regions Mathematically, Fe = ke q1a2/ r2; ke is called coulomb constant the charge
of the material ⚫ The Coulomb constant ke in SI ke = 8.99 x 109 N m2 /C2 o A positive test charge would be repelled from the positive source
SEMICONDUCTORS ⚫ The value of ke depends on the choice of units charge
*The characteristics of semiconductors are between those of insulators ⚫ The SI unit of charge is the Coulomb (C) The test charge is required to be a small charge
and conductors Vector Nature of Electric Forces – It can cause no rearrangement of the charges on the source charge
➢Silicon Si and germanium Ge are examples of semiconductors. Two point charges are separated by a distance r *The electric field exists whether or not there is a test charge present
➢ The electrical properties of semiconductors can be changed over The like charges produce a repulsive force between them The Superposition Principle can be applied to the electric field if a
many of orders of magnitude by the addition of controlled amounts of The force on q1 is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the group of charges is present
certain atoms to the materials (called doping) force on q2 Electric Field Lines
A convenient aid for visualizing electric field patterns is to draw The net flux over all six faces isE = −El2 + El2+0 +0 +0 +0 =0 If there is air or a vacuum between the plates the constant is;the
lines pointing in the direction of the field vector at any point Gauss’s Law absolute permittivity of free space (symbol ε0) (ε0 = 8.84 x 10-12
These are called electric field lines and were introduced by Describes a general relationship between the net electric flux through Fm-1) so;
Michael Faraday a closed surface (a gaussian surface) and the charge enclosed by the
The field lines are related to the field by: The electric field vector, surface
E, is tangent to the electric field lines at each point. A direction is Gauss’ Law states that the electric flux through any closed surface is
indicated by an arrow head equal to the net charge Q inside the surface divided by εo When an insulator (dielectric) is placed between the plates the
The number of lines per unit area through a surface perpendicular E= Q/0 capacitance increases
to the lines is proportional to the strength of the electric field in a ❖ εo is the permittivity of free space and equals 8.85 x 10-12 C 2/Nm2 The dielectric constant (symbol εr) gives the proportion by which
given region The area in Φ is an imaginary surface, a Gaussian surface, it does not the capacitance will increase
Electric Field Line Patterns have to coincide with the surface of a physical object 1-PLATE AREA: All other factors being equal, greater plate area
Point charge CAPACITOR gives greater capacitance; less plate area gives less capacitance.
The lines radiate equally in all directions For a positive source Capacitors have many applications:
charge, the lines will radiate outward -Computer RAM memory and keyboards. 2-PLATE SPACING: All other factors being equal, further plate
For a negative source charge, the lines will point inward -Electronic flashes for cameras. spacing gives less capacitance; closer plate spacing gives greater
*An electric dipole consists of two equal and opposite charges -Electric power surge protectors. capacitance.
The high density of lines between the charges indicates the strong -Radios and electronic circuits.
electric field in this region Electronic Components 3-DIELECTRIC MATERIAL: All other factors being equal,
Two equal positive point charges Capacitors are electronic components that store charge efficiently greater permittivity of the dielectric gives greater capacitance; less
At a great distance from the charges, the field would be approximately They can be charged and discharged very quickly and hold their permittivity of the dielectric gives less capacitance.
that of a single charge of 2q charge indefinitely
The bulging out of the field lines between the charges indicates the The structure of the capacitor Combination of capacitors
repulsion between the charges Capacitors are made from two parallel metal plates separated by
Capacitor in parallel
The low field lines between the charges indicates a weak field in this an insulator called a dielectric
region In practice they appear a little more complex • When capacitors are joined at both ends like this, they are said to
Unequal and unlike point charges CAPACITOR AND CAPACITANCE be in parallel
Note that two lines leave the +2q charge for each line that A capacitor in a simple electric circuit.
terminates on -q • They have the same voltage across them
Electric Flux The stored charge Q is proportional to the potential difference V
Consider an electric field: uniform in magnitude and direction between the plates. The capacitance C is the constant of proportionality, • They can be treated like a single capacitor:
The product of the magnitude of the electric field E and a surface area A measured in Farads.
perpendicular to the field is called the electric flux E units of E : Farad = Coulomb / Volt Capacitor in series
(Nm2 /C)
Electric flux E is proportional to the number of electric field lines • When capacitors are joined at one end, with nothing else, they are
penetrating the surface Capacitance is the amount of charge a capacitor can store when said to be in series
If the area A is not perpendicular to the field lines? connected across a potential difference of 1V (the larger the
Consider an area A which normal is at an angle to the uniform capacitance the more charge it can store) • They have the same voltage across them
electric field.
• They can be treated like a single capacitor:
Area A' is a projection of area A onto a plane oriented Where;
perpendicular to the field: A' =A cos . Series in parallel
The flux through area A is equal the flux through area A' : E = C=Capacitance in Farads (F)
EA = EAcos Q=Charge in Coulombs (C) • When capacitors are joined at one end, with nothing else, they are
The flux through the surface of fixed area has the maximum value V=Voltage in Volts(V) said to be in series
when the surface is perpendicular to the field: = 0º Units of capacitance are Farads (symbol F)
The flux is zero when the surface is parallel to the field: = 90º 1 Farad = 1 coulomb per volt This is a lot of charge!! • When two circuit elements are connected at both ends, they are
The Flux Through a Closed Surface Most capacitors are small; said to be in parallel
A closed surface divides space into an inside and an outside region, so µF(1x10-6F)
that one cannot move from one region to another without crossing the nF(1x10-9F) • These formulas work for more than two circuit elements as well.
surface pF (1 x 10-12 F)
The net flux through the surface is proportional to the net number of
lines leaving the surface = the number leaving the surface minus the Three factors determine capacitance;
number entering the surface 1. The area of the plates (CA)
The net flux can be positive or negative 2. The distance separating the plates
Flux Through a Cube (C )
Uniform electric field E = (E,0,0) 3. The properties of the dielectric (εr) so C= constant x A/d
The flux through the surfaces 1, 2, 3, and 4 equal zero => Capacitor Construction Formula
