Electrostatics - study of electric force between charges (at rest)

Electrostatic force - responsible for the attraction or repulsion of charged objects

Electrostatic Charging
1. By rubbing
a. Loses electrons – becomes positively charged
b. Gains electrons – becomes negatively charged
2. By induction
a. using a negatively charged body - becomes positively charged
b. using a positively charged body - becomes negatively charged

Coulomb’s Law
 Charles Augustin de Coulomb
 The electric force between 2 charges is directly proportional to the product of
the magnitude of the 2 charges and is inversely proportional to the squared
of the distance between them.
q1 q 2
 Equation: F=k 2
r
 Instances:
 If 1 charge is doubled, the other remains the same
 (2)(1) = 2  force is doubled
 Charge 1 is halved, charge 2 is tripled
 (1/2) (2) = 1  force remains the same
 If distance is halved
 1/(1/2)2 = 4  force is quadrupled
 If distance is doubled
 1/(2)2 = ¼  force is decreased by ¼
 Electric force increases as the magnitude of the charges increases.
 Electric force decreases as the magnitude of the charges decreases.
 Electric force increases as distance decreases.
 Electric force decreases as distance increases.

Superposition Principle
 The net force experienced by a test charged particle in the presence of
multiple other charged particles is the vector sum of the forces exerted on it
by each individual charged particle.

Electric Field
 physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles
 dependent on:
o The charge of the point charge.
o The medium surrounding the point charge.
o The distance from the point charge.
Electric field strength (at any point) – force per unit charge at that point (E =
F/q)
Electric field lines
 Electric field lines always point away
from a positive charge and towards a
negative point.
 Electric fields originate at a positive
charge and terminate at a negative
charge.

Important notes:
 Electric field due to a uniformly charged infinite plane is constant
 Electric field between two parallel plates when the potential difference
between them is increased also increases.
 Electric field inside a conductor in the presence of an external electric field is
zero.
 Electric field inside a charged conducting sphere is zero.
 If a positive charge is placed in an electric field, it experiences a force in the
direction of the electric field

kq
Electric field due to a point charge at a distance  E= 2
r
Gauss's Law
 describes how the electric field due to a continuous distribution of charge can
be calculated by integrating over the charge distribution.
 It states that the electric flux through a closed surface is proportional to the
total charge enclosed by that surface.

Electric flux
 measure of the electric field flowing through a given area.
  SI unit: V.m (volt meter) equivalent to newton-meter squared per
coulomb (N·m²/C), also known as the coulomb (Coulomb's) per second
(C/s)

Important notes:
 The electric flux through a closed surface depends on:

a. The magnitude of the electric field: A stronger electric field will result
in a higher electric flux through the surface.
b. The angle between the electric field and the surface: The electric
flux is maximized when the electric field is perpendicular to the surface and
minimized when the electric field is parallel to the surface. The cosine of the
angle between the electric field and the surface normal determines the
component of the electric field that contributes to the flux.
c. The area of the surface: A larger surface area will result in a higher
electric flux, assuming other factors remain constant. This is because there
are more field lines passing through a larger surface.
 The electric flux through a surface if the electric field lines are parallel to the
surface is zero.
 When electric field lines penetrate a surface at an angle, the flux through that
surface is minimized.
 If no charge is enclosed by the surface, the electric flux through the closed
surface is zero.