Electromagnetism 1

Oct. 22, 2024

 Electric Potential
Electric potential energy

➢ Electric potential difference

➢ Equipotential surfaces
➢ Potential due to a point charge
➢ Potential due to a group of point charges
➢ Calculating the field from the potential
 Electric potential energy
Potential energy can be defined as the capacity for doing work which
arises from position or configuration. In the electrical case, a charge
will exert a force on any other charge and potential energy arises
from any collection of charges. For example, if a positive charge Q is
fixed at some point in space, any other positive charge which is
brought close to it will experience a repulsive force and will therefore
have potential energy. The potential energy of a test charge q in the
vicinity of this source charge will be:
where k is Coulomb's constant.
In electricity, it is usually more
convenient to use the electric
potential energy per unit charge, just
called electric potential or voltage.
When an electrostatic force acts between two or more charged
particles within a system of particles, we can assign an Electric
Potential Energy U to the system.
If the system changes from initial state, i, to final state, f, the
electrostatic force does work W on the particles.
U = Uf – Ui = -W
The force is conservative, and therefore the work done is path-
independent.
We take a reference potential energy to be when the system of
particles are all infinitely separated from each other, and is set to be
zero. Ui = 0 and so
U = Uf = -W
where W is the work done on the particle by the electrostatic forces
during the move in from infinity
 Work Done by Uniform Electric
Field
Force on charge
 is
F = q0 E
Work is done on the
charge by field
Wa →b = Fd = q0 Ed
The work done is independent of path taken from point
a to point b because
The Electric Force is a conservative force
 Electric Potential

The potential energy of a charged particle in an electric field

depends on the size of the charge. If we increase the charge,
then the potential energy is increased, but we have the same
potential energy per unit charge.
The potential energy per unit charge has a unique value at any
point in an electric field.
U Potential
V=
q (NB scalar)

This is independent of the charge and characteristic only of

the electric field under investigation.
The electric potential difference V between any two points i and f in
an electric field is :
V = Vf –Vi = U/q = -W/q Definition of potential difference
This is the negative of the work done by the electrostatic force to
move a unit charge from one point to another.

V=
− W Definition of potential
q

where W is the work done by the electric field on a charged

particle that moves in from infinity to point f.
Electric Potential V and Electric Potential Energy U are
quite different quantities and must not be confused!

➢ Electric Potential V is a property of an electric field,

regardless of whether a charged object has been placed
in the field. It is measured in Joules/Coulomb or Volts.

➢ Electric Potential Energy U is an energy of a charged

object in an external field. It is measured in Joules.
 Electric Potential Energy (U)
General Points
1) Potential Energy increases if the particle moves
in the direction opposite to the force on it

Work will have to be done by an

external agent for this to occur
and
2) Potential Energy decreases if the particle moves
in the same direction as the force on it
 Electric Potential (V)
General Points for either positive or negative charges

The Potential increases if you move in the

direction opposite to the electric field

and

The Potential decreases if you move in the same

direction as the electric field
In both cases, if you move in the direction of E,
potential V decreases
 Electric Potential Energy

CHECKPOINT: A proton moves from

point i to point f in a uniform
electric field directed as shown.

Does the electric field do Answers:

A. positive or B. the field does
B. negative work on the proton? negative work
A. the potential
Does the electric potential energy of the energy increases
proton
A. increase or
B. decrease?
 Equipotential Surfaces
• It is possible to move a test charge from
one point to another without having any
net work done on the charge
• This occurs when the beginning and end
points have the same potential
• It is possible to map out such points and a
given set of points at the same potential
form an equipotential surface
 Equipotential Surfaces
Examples of equipotential surfaces

Point Charge Two Positive Charges

 Equipotential Surfaces
• The electric field does no work as a charge
is moved along an equipotential surface

• Since no work is done, there is no force, qE,

along the direction of motion

• The electric field is perpendicular to the

equipotential surface
24.2: Electric Potential Energy

The electric force is found to be a conservative force.

When an electrostatic force acts between two or more charged

particles within a system of particles, we can assign an electric
potential energy U to the system.
If the system changes its configuration from an initial state i to a
different final state f, the electrostatic force does work W on the
particles. If the resulting change is U, then

As with other conservative forces, the work done by the electrostatic

force is path independent.
Usually the reference configuration of a system of charged particles
is taken to be that in which the particles are all infinitely separated
from one another. The corresponding reference potential energy is
usually set be zero. Therefore,
Example, Work and potential energy in an electric field:
24.3 Electric Potential:
The potential energy per unit charge at a point in an electric field is called
the electric potential V (or simply the potential) at that point. This is a
scalar quantity. Thus,

If we set Ui =0 at infinity as our reference potential energy, then the electric

potential V must also be zero there. Therefore, the electric potential at any
point in an electric field can be defined to be

Here W∞ is the work done by the electric field on a charged particle as that
particle moves in from infinity to point f.

The SI unit for potential is the joule per coulomb. This combination is called
the volt (abbreviated V).
24.3 Electric Potential: Units:
This unit of volt allows us to adopt a more conventional unit for the
electric field, E, which is expressed in newtons per coulomb.

We can now define an energy unit that is a convenient one for

energy measurements in the atomic/subatomic domain: One
electron-volt (eV) is the energy equal to the work required to move
a single elementary charge e, such as that of the electron or the
proton, through a potential difference of exactly one volt. The
magnitude of this work is qV, and
24.4 Equipotential Surfaces:
Adjacent points that have the same electric potential form an equipotential
surface, which can be either an imaginary surface or a real, physical surface.
No net work W is done on a charged particle by an electric field when the
particle moves between two points i and f on the same equipotential surface.

Fig. 24-2 Portions of four

equipotential surfaces at electric
potentials V1=100 V, V2=80 V,V3
=60 V, and V4 =40 V. Four paths
along which a test charge may
move are shown. Two electric
field lines are also indicated.
24.4 Equipotential Surfaces:

Fig. 24-3 Electric field lines (purple)

and cross sections of equipotential
surfaces (gold) for (a) a uniform
electric field, (b) the field due to a
point charge, and (c) the field due
to an electric dipole.