PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

MODULE 02: ELECTRIC FIELDS

(Dr. Rubaiyet I. Haque)

LECTURE 02
OUTLINE:
▪ Electric field ▪ Electric dipole
▪ Electric field lines ▪ Electric field due to dipole
▪ Electric field due to point charge

BACKGROUND:
Field: In physics, the term "field" refers to a physical quantity that exists at every point in space
and can be described by its magnitude and/or direction. Fields are used to represent and explain
various phenomena and forces that act on objects or particles in the universe. Fields can be,
▪ Scalar field: Having scalar property with every point in space. E.g., Temperature field,
pressure field, gravitation potential field, etc. Such fields are examples of scalar fields
because they are scalar quantities, having only magnitudes and no directions.
▪ Vector field: Having both magnitude and direction with every point in space. E.g., Force
field, electric field, magnetic field, etc.
For example,
- A temperature field for a room refers to the distribution of temperatures we would find by
measuring the temperature at many points within the auditorium.
- Similarly, a pressure field can be defined for weather forecast of an area.

POINT Charge: A point charge is a hypothetical charge located at a single point in space. And
thus, having neither area nor volume.

SOURCE Charge: The electric charge that produces the electric field is called a source charge.

TEST Charge: The charge that is used to measure the electric field strength is referred to as a test
charge since it is used to test the field strength. Test charge is an imaginary charge with a value that
is insignificant when compared to a source charge. The test charge is denoted by the symbol 𝑞0 .
When placed within the electric field, the test charge experiences an electric force that is either
attractive or repulsive in nature.

ELECTRIC FIELD:
An electric field (𝐸⃗ ) is a region around a charged object where other electric charges experience a
force. It refers to the ability of a charge to influence other charges in its vicinity.
- It is a vector quantity. It is denoted by 𝐸⃗ . The SI units for electric field is 𝑁/𝐶.
- Electric field originate at positive charges & terminate at negative charges.
- Test charge is used to detect the electric field.
- The direction of an electric field vector (at any point in space) is the direction of electric force
that would be exerted by the source charge on a positive test charge at that location.

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

Electric field equation:

If a small positive test charge (𝑞0 ) is placed at the point 𝑃 near the charge object, as showed in Figure
a, the rod sets up an electric field that exerts a force on the test charge.

Figure (a) A positive test charge q0 placed at point P near a charged object. An electrostatic force
acts on the test charge. (b) The electric field at point P produced by the charged object.

Test charge (𝑞0 ) experiences electrostatic force, that refers to push or pull at an arbitrary point, due
to the presence of the source charge. The electric field (𝐸⃗ ) can be derived by dividing the measured
force between the source and test charges by the magnitude of the test charge (|𝑞0 |),
𝐹
𝐸⃗ = 𝑁/𝐶
|𝑞0 |
- Direction of electric field (𝐸⃗ ) is same as the direction of measured electric force 𝐹 at point 𝑃,
since the test charge is positive and the two vectors in Equation are in the same direction.
|𝐹 |
- The magnitude of electric field at point P is, |𝐸⃗ | =
𝑞0

ELECTRIC FIELD LINES

Electric field lines refer to the visual representation used to illustrate the direction and strength of the
electric field around electric charges. They were first introduced by Michael Faraday himself.

Figure below gives an example in which a sphere is uniformly covered with negative charge.
- If a positive test charge is placed at any point near the sphere (Fig. a), an electrostatic force pulls
the test charge toward the center of the sphere.
- Thus, at every point around the sphere, an electric field vector points radially inward toward the
center of the sphere.
- This electric field can be represented with electric field lines, as shown in Fig. b.

Figure (a) The electrostatic force acting on a positive test charge near a sphere of uniform negative
charge. (b) The electric field vector at the location of the test charge, and the electric field lines in
the space near the sphere.

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

Direction of the electric field line:

Electric field lines are always pointed away from a positive charge and pointed towards a negative
point. In fact, electric fields originate at a positive charge and terminate at a negative charge.

The direction of field lines is,

- Radially outward for a positive charge (analogy is like air blower/ inflating balloon).
- Radially inward for a negative charge (analogy is like vacuum cleaner / deflating balloon).
- For a pair of charges of equal magnitude having same and opposite sign, the field lines are shown
in Figure below.

Properties of Electric Field Lines:

• The field lines never intersect each other.
• The field lines are perpendicular to the surface of the charge.
• The number of field line around the charge is proportional to the magnitude of electric field
generated by the charge.
o The relative density of field lines around a point corresponds to the relative strength
(magnitude) of the electric field at that point.
- More electric field lines in the vicinity of point charge A as compared to point
charge B, refers that the electric field is stronger for the point charge A.
• The electric field vector at any point is tangent to the field line through that point.
• The electric field line starts from the positive charge and end at the negative charge.
o For a single charge, the field lines either start or end at infinity.

THE ELECTRIC FIELD DUE TO A POINT CHARGE

Every charge in the universe exerts a force on every other charge in the universe.
- A charge can influence other charges anywhere in space.
- The influence is simply the electrostatic force that a charge can exert over another charge.
- Thus, the electrostatic field can be defined considering the force exerted by a point charge on a
unit charge.

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

To detect an electric field of a point charge 𝑞, a test charge 𝑞0 can be introduced and measure the
electrostatic force acting on it. From Coulomb’s law we get,

𝑞𝑞0 1 𝑞𝑞0
𝐹=𝑘 2
𝑟̂ = 𝑟̂
𝑟 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2

𝑘 → 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡. = 9.0 × 109 𝑁𝑚2 /𝐶 2

𝜀0 → Permittivity of free space = 8.86 × 10−12 C 2 /Nm2
𝑟̂ → Unit vector

Thus, the electric field set up by the point charge is given by,

𝐹 1 𝑞
𝐸⃗ = = 𝑟̂
𝑞0 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2

It exhibits spherical symmetry since the electric field has the same magnitude on every point of an
imaginary sphere centered around the charge 𝑞.

The magnitude of electric field at a distance 𝑟 is given by,

|𝐹 | 1 |𝑞|
𝐸 = |𝐸⃗ | = =
𝑞0 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2
Here, |𝑞| is the magnitude of charge.

The electric field is a vector quantity that is defined at every point in space.
- Direction of the electric field
o Points outward for the positive point charge.
o Points inward for a negative point charge.
- The electric field strength depends only upon the radial distance from the point charge 𝑞.
o The electric field strength or the magnitude of the electric field falls off as a squared of
distance, with the increasing gap between the point and test charges.

NOTE: The strength of an electric field as created by source charge 𝑞 is inversely related to square
of the distance between the arbitrary point and the source charge.
- Electric field strength is location dependent.
- The electric field strength/ magnitude will change inversely by the square of the factor of
change of the distance from source.
- If separation increases by a factor of 2, electric field strength decreases by a factor of 22 = 4.

Graphical representation:

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

Figure shows the electric field around isolated point charges, both positive and negative.
- Direction of the electric field lines is outward for positive charge and inward for negative charge.
- The magnitude of the electric field decreases with distance from the charge, which is presented
by the decreasing length of the lines as moving far away from the point charges.

SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLES:
Since the electrostatic force follow the principle of superposition, the electric field also follow
superposition principle,
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝐹01 𝐹02 𝐹03 𝐹0𝑛
𝐸⃗𝑛𝑒𝑡 = = + + + ⋯+ = 𝐸⃗1 + 𝐸⃗2 + 𝐸⃗3 + ⋯ + 𝐸⃗𝑛
𝑞0 𝑞0 𝑞0 𝑞0 𝑞0

PROBLEM: Figure a shows three

particles with charges 𝑞1 = +2𝑄,
𝑞2 = −2𝑄 and 𝑞3 = −4𝑄, each a
distance 𝑑 from the origin. What net
electric field 𝐸⃗ is produced at the
origin?

ANSWER: We know,
1 |𝑞|
The magnitude, 𝐸 = |𝐸⃗ | =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2
Therefore,
1 2𝑄
𝐸1 =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑2
1 2𝑄
𝐸2 =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2
1 4𝑄
𝐸3 =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2

Here, 𝑞1 is a positive charge, the field vector it produces pointed directly away from it.

Whereas 𝑞2 and 𝑞3 are both negative, thus the field vectors they produce pointed directly toward
each of them. Since the direction of field is same,
1 2𝑄 1 2𝑄 1 4𝑄
𝐸1 + 𝐸2 = 2
+ 2
=
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑2
The magnitude of (𝐸⃗1 + 𝐸⃗2 ) and 𝐸⃗3 have same magnitude and that are oriented symmetrically
about the x-axis.
From the symmetry of Fig. c,
- The equal y components of two vectors (𝐸⃗1 + 𝐸⃗2 ) and 𝐸⃗3 cancel each other.
- But the equal x components add together.
- The net electric field at the origin is in +𝑥 axis direction and has the magnitude of,
𝐸 = |𝐸⃗ | = |(𝐸⃗1 + 𝐸⃗2 )| cos 30° + |𝐸⃗3 | cos 30°
1 4𝑄 1 4𝑄 6.93 𝑄
|𝐸⃗ | = 2
(0.866) + 2
(0.866) =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

PROBLEM 22-04: Two charged particles are attached to an x axis: Particle 1 of charge
−2.00 × 10−7 𝐶 is at position 𝑥 = 6.00 𝑐𝑚 and particle 2 of charge +2.00 × 10−7 𝐶 is at position
𝑥 = 21.0 𝑐𝑚. Midway between the particles, what is their net electric field in unit-vector notation?
ANSWER: With 𝑥1 = 6.00 𝑐𝑚 and 𝑥2 = 21.00 𝑐𝑚, the point midway between the two charges
is located at 𝑥 = 13.5 𝑐𝑚. The values of the charge are, 𝑞1 = −𝑞2 = −2.00 × 10−7 𝐶.
The magnitudes and directions of the individual fields are given by,
2
9 𝑁𝑚
1 |𝑞1 | (8.99 × 10 2 ) |−2.00 × 10−7 𝐶|
𝐶
𝐸⃗1 = − 𝑖̇̂ = − 𝑖̇̂
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑥 − 𝑥1 )2 (0.135 𝑚 − 0.060 𝑚)2
𝐸⃗1 = −(3.196 × 105 𝑁/𝐶)𝑖̇̂
𝑁𝑚2
1 |𝑞2 | (8.99 × 109 2 ) |+2.00 × 10
−7
𝐶|
̂=− 𝐶
𝐸⃗2 = − 𝑖̇ 𝑖̇̂
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑥 − 𝑥2 )2 (0.135 𝑚 − 0.210 𝑚)2
𝐸⃗2 = −(3.196 × 105 𝑁/𝐶)𝑖̇̂

Thus, the net electric field is, 𝐸⃗𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝐸⃗1 + 𝐸⃗2 = −(3.196 × 105 𝑁/𝐶)𝑖̇̂ − (3.196 × 105 𝑁/𝐶)𝑖̇̂
𝐸⃗𝑛𝑒𝑡 = −(6.39 × 105 𝑁/𝐶)𝑖̇̂

PROBLEM 22-05: A charged particle produces an electric field with a magnitude of 2.0 𝑁/𝐶 at
a point that is 50 𝑐𝑚 away from the particle. What is the magnitude of the particle’s charge?
ANSWER: With 𝐸 = 2.0 𝑁/𝐶 at 𝑟 = 50 𝑐𝑚 = 0.50 𝑚, we get
2
(0.50 𝑚)2 (2.0 𝑁/𝐶)
|𝑞| = 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 𝐸 = = 5.6 × 10−11 𝐶
9 𝑁𝑚2
(8.99 × 10 )
𝐶2

ELECTRIC DIPOLE
An electric dipole refers to a pair of equal and opposite electric charges (namely, 𝑞 and −𝑞) separated
by a small distance (𝑑).
- Direction of electric dipoles in space is always from negative charge (−𝑞) to positive charge (𝑞).
- Midpoint between charges 𝑞 and –𝑞 is known as the center of the dipole.

Visualizing electric Dipole filed:

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

DIPOLE MOMENT: An electric dipole moment is a measure of the separation of

positive and negative charges within a system/ electric dipole. This is a measure
of the system's overall polarity, and how strongly a pair of opposite charges are
"pulled apart" from each other.

If a couple of opposite charges 𝑞 and – 𝑞 separated by a distance 𝑑, the electric

dipole moment can be expressed as, 𝑝 = 𝑞𝑑 [Here, 𝑞 = |𝑞|].
Where, 𝑑 refers to the dipole length.

The electric dipole moment is a vector quantity.

- The magnitude of electric dipole moment, 𝑝 = |𝑝| = 𝑞|𝑑 |.
- The SI unit of dipole moment is Coulomb-meter [Cm].
- The direction of the dipole moment is from negative charge toward positive charge.

Direction of Dipole Moment:

The dipole moment has direction along the line from negative charge toward positive charge. As
the equation (𝑝 = 𝑞𝑑 ) suggests,
- The direction of the dipole moment depends on the direction of the dipole length (𝑑 ).
- When a dipole is place in a electric field,
o The dipole rotates to align with electric field.
o In the process, the +𝑞 moves along the direction of the electric field and −𝑞 moves
opposite to the direction of the electric field.
o Thus, the direction of dipole length is from negative to positive charge direction.

NOTES:
Moment: In physics, moment refers to the expression involving the product of a distance and
physical quantity.

Dipole axis: The axis of the dipole is the line joining the negative and positive charges.

THE ELECTRIC FIELD DUE TO A DIPOLE

The electric field (𝐸̅ ) due to an electric dipole can be calculated by considering the individual
contributions from the positive and negative charges that make up the dipole.

(i) The electric field due to a dipole (Along axis of Dipole)

Figure I, shows the pattern of electric field lines formed by an electric dipole, having two charges
with same magnitude 𝑞 but opposite signs, separated by a distance 𝑑 and lie along the dipole axis.
Let us consider an arbitrary point 𝑃 along the dipole axis at a distance z from the dipole midpoint.
Here, the dipole axis lies along the z axis.

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

(I) (II)

Figure II shows the electric fields set up at 𝑃 by each particle.

- The nearer particle with charge +𝑞 sets up field 𝐸(+) in the positive direction of the z axis (directly
away from the particle).
- The farther particle with charge −𝑞 sets up a smaller field 𝐸(−) in the negative direction (directly
toward the particle).

Since the field vectors are along the same axis,

- The net filed at point 𝑃 can simply be indicated by the vector directions with plus and minus signs.
- And the magnitude of the net field at P can be expressed as,
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝐸(+) − 𝐸(−)
1 |𝑞| 1 |𝑞|
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 2 − 2
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟(+) 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟(−)
1 1
Here 𝑟(+) = (𝑧 − 𝑑) and 𝑟(−) = (𝑧 + 𝑑)
2 2
1 |𝑞| 1 |𝑞|
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 2−
4𝜋𝜀0 1 4𝜋𝜀0 1 2
(𝑧 − 𝑑) (𝑧 + 𝑑)
2 2

|𝑞| 1 |𝑞| 1 |𝑞| 1 1

𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 2− = [ − ]
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑧 2
𝑑 2
𝑑 2
𝑧 2 (1 − ) 𝑧 2 (1 + ) (1 − ) (1 + )
2𝑧 2𝑧 2𝑧 2𝑧
𝑑 2 𝑑 2 2𝑑
|𝑞| (1 + ) − (1 − ) |𝑞|
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = [ 2𝑧 2𝑧 ]= 𝑧
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑧 2 𝑑 2 𝑑 2 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑧 2 𝑑 2
2
(1 − ) (1 + ) (1 − ( ) )
2𝑧 2𝑧 2𝑧
[ ]

|𝑞| 𝑑
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 2
2𝜋𝜀0 𝑧 3
𝑑 2
(1 − ( ) )
[ 2𝑧 ]
When the distance is very large compared with the dimensions of the dipole (𝑧 ≫ 𝑑),
𝑑 𝑑 2
we have ≪ 1, and thus we can consider (1 − ( ) ) ≈ 1.
2𝑧 2𝑧

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

Therefore, the electric field produced by a dipole along axis of dipole,

𝑞𝑑 𝑝
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = = [𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑝 = 𝑞𝑑] … … … (𝑖)
2𝜋𝜀0 𝑧 3 2𝜋𝜀0 𝑧 3

The direction of the dipole moment 𝑝 is from the negative to the positive end of the dipole. The
direction of the dipole moment is in same direction of the electric field.
- As the equation suggests, if we measure the electric field of a dipole only at distant points, we can
never find q and d separately; instead, we can find only their product.

(ii) The electric field due to a dipole (Along the Perpendicular Bisector/ equatorial plane)
In this case, electric field produced by the electric dipole at a point 𝑃 that lie on the perpendicular
bisector that bisect the electric diploe, having two particles with same charge magnitude q but
opposite signs are separated by a distance 𝑑.
Let us consider an arbitrary point 𝑃 along the dipole axis at a distance r from the dipole midpoint.

Figure shows the electric fields set up at point 𝑃 by each particle of a dipole having opposite charges,
carrying charge of magnitude 𝑞 = |𝑞| are separated by distance d. The point 𝑃 lying on the
perpendicular bisector of the line joining the two charges at distance 𝑟 from the center of the line
joining the two charges.
- The particle with charge +𝑞 sets up field 𝐸(+) directly away from the particle.
- The other particle with charge −𝑞 sets up a smaller field 𝐸(−) directly toward the particle.
Then we can write the magnitude of the individual field at P as,
1 |𝑞| 1 |𝑞| 1 |𝑞|
𝐸(+) = 2 = 2 =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟(+) 4𝜋𝜀0
𝑑 2
4𝜋𝜀0 2 𝑑 2
√ 2
( 𝑟 +( ) ) (𝑟 + ( ) )
2 2
1 |𝑞|
Similarly, 𝐸(−) =
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑟 2 +(𝑑)2 )
2

𝑑 2
Here 𝑟(+) = 𝑟(−) = √𝑟 2 + ( )
2
The vertical components of the electric field cancel out as P is equidistant from both charges.
Therefore, only the horizontal component will contribute to the net electric field,
𝐸 = 𝐸(+) cos 𝜃 + 𝐸(−) cos 𝜃

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

1 |𝑞| cos 𝜃 1 |𝑞| cos 𝜃 1 2|𝑞|

𝐸= + = cos 𝜃
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2
(𝑟 2 +( ) ) (𝑟 2 +( ) ) (𝑟 2 +( ) )
2 2 2
Here,
𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑⁄ 𝑑⁄ 𝑑⁄
cos 𝜃 = = 2 = 2= 2
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑟(+) 𝑟(−) 2
√𝑟 2 + (𝑑 )
2
Substitute this value we get,
1 2𝑞 𝑑⁄ 1 𝑞𝑑 1 𝑞𝑑
𝐸= . 2 = =
3 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 3 3⁄
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑑 2 2 4𝜋𝜀0 2 ⁄2
+ ( ) ) √𝑟 2 + (𝑑 )
2
(𝑟 2 𝑑 𝑑 2
2 2 (𝑟 2 + ( ) ) (1 + ( ) )
2 2𝑟
We are usually interested in the electrical effect of a dipole only at distances that are large compared
with the dimensions of the dipole.
3/2
𝑑 𝑑 2
When, 𝑟 ≫ 𝑑, we have ≪ 1, and thus we can consider (1 + ( ) ) ≈ 1.
2𝑟 2𝑟
Therefore, the electric field due to a dipole along the perpendicular bisector / equatorial plane is,
𝑞𝑑 𝑝
𝐸= = [𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑑𝑖𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝 = 𝑞𝑑] … … … (𝑖𝑖)
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 3 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 3
In this case, the direction of the dipole moment is directly opposite to the electric field at points on
the equatorial plane.

Important inferences:
▪ From equations (𝑖) and (𝑖𝑖), it is inferred that for very large distances, the magnitude of the
electric field at points on the dipole axis is twice the magnitude of the electric field at points on
the equatorial plane.
▪ The direction of the electric field at points on the dipole axis is directed along the direction of
dipole moment vector 𝑝, but at points on the equatorial plane it is directed opposite to the dipole
moment vector, that is along −𝑝.
▪ At very large distances, the electric field due to a dipole varies as 1/𝑟 3 . Note that for a point
charge, the electric field varies as 1/𝑟 2 [This implies that the electric field due to a dipole at very
large distances goes to zero faster than the electric field due to a point charge. Because at very
large distance, the two charges appear to be close to each other and neutralize each other].
▪ The equations (𝑖) and (𝑖𝑖) are valid only at very large distances (𝑟 >> 𝑑) or (𝑧 >> 𝑑).

QUESTION: Does torque is acting on dipole?

ANSWER: When an electric dipole is place in a uniform external electric field, the charges
experience an equal and opposite force. Therefore, considering dipole as a unique system, the
dipole as a whole experience a net zero force (𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0). But the two opposite forces make the
dipole turn. As a result, there is a torque acting on the dipole.

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PHY-108 Module 02: Electric fields

PROBLEM: Sprites are huge flashes that occur far above a large thunderstorm. They were seen
for decades by pilots flying at night, but they were so brief and dim that most pilots figured they
were just illusions. Then in the 1990s sprites were captured on video. They are still not well
understood but are believed to be produced when especially powerful lightning occurs between the
ground and storm clouds, particularly when the lightning transfers a huge amount of negative
charge −𝑞 from the ground to the base of the clouds.
Just after such a transfer, the ground has a complicated distribution of positive charge. However,
we can model the electric field due to the charges in the clouds and the ground by assuming a
vertical electric dipole that has charge −𝑞 at cloud height ℎ and charge +𝑞 at below-ground depth
ℎ (Fig. c). If 𝑞 = 200 𝐶 and ℎ = 6.0 𝑘𝑚, what is the magnitude of the dipole’s electric field at
altitude 𝑧1 = 30 𝑘𝑚 somewhat above the clouds and altitude 𝑧2 = 60 𝑘𝑚 somewhat above the
stratosphere?

ANSWER: The magnitude of the electric field of an electric dipole on the dipole axis is
1 𝑞𝑑
𝐸 = |𝐸⃗ | =
2𝜋𝜀0 𝑧 3
Here, the separation between −𝑞 and +𝑞 is, 𝑑 = 2ℎ = 2(6.0 × 103 𝑚)
For the electric field at altitude, 𝑧1 = 30 𝑘𝑚 = 30 × 103 𝑚, we get,
1 (200 𝐶)(2)(6.0 × 103 𝑚)
𝐸= = 1.6 × 102 𝑁/𝐶
2𝜋𝜀0 (30 × 103 𝑚)3
Similarly, for altitude 𝑧2 = 60 𝑘𝑚, we get,
1 (200 𝐶)(2)(6.0 × 103 𝑚)
𝐸= = 2 × 102 𝑁/𝐶
2𝜋𝜀0 (60 × 103 𝑚)3

PROBLEM 22-19: Figure shows an electric dipole.

What are the (a) magnitude and (b) direction (relative to
the positive direction of the x axis) of the dipole’s electric
field at point P, located at distance 𝑟 ≫ 𝑑?

PROBLEM 22-20: Equation below are approximations of the magnitude of the electric field of an
electric dipole, at points along the dipole axis. Consider a point 𝑃 on that axis at distance 𝑧 = 5.00𝑑
from the dipole center (𝑑 is the separation distance between the particles of the dipole). Let 𝐸𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟
be the magnitude of the field at point 𝑃 as approximated by Equation. Let 𝐸𝑎𝑐𝑡 be the actual
magnitude. What is the ratio 𝐸𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟 /𝐸𝑎𝑐𝑡 ?
𝑞𝑑 𝑝
𝐸= =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 3 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 3

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