LESSON 2

BOOK CHAPTER 22

ELECTRIC FIELDS
 Electric Dipoles
An electric dipole is a pair of point charges with equal magnitude and opposite
sign (a positive charge and a negative charge ) separated by a small distance
.

Fig.1
⃗
𝑑 Fig.2

The product of the chargeand the separation

is the magnitude of a quantity called the
electric dipole moment, denoted by
The pattern of electric field lines
around an electric dipole, with an
In vector form, ⃗ =𝑞 ⃗
𝑝 𝑑 electric field vector shown
(Figure 2) at one point (tangent to
The direction of is from negative charge to the field line through that point).
positive charge as shown in figure 1.
 The Electric Field Due to an Electric Dipole:
The net magnitude of the electric field at point P is

𝐸 = 𝐸 ¿¿
1 𝑞
𝐸=
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑟 ¿ ¿ ¿

[( ]
𝑞 1 1
𝐸= −
4 𝜋 𝜀0
) ( )
2 2
𝑑 𝑑
𝑧− 𝑧+
2 2

[{ ( ]
𝑞 1 1
𝐸= −
)} { ( )}
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑑
2
𝑑
2

𝑧 1− 𝑧 1+
2𝑧 2𝑧

[( ]
𝑞 1 1
𝐸= −
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧 2
) ( )
2 2
𝑑 𝑑
1− 1+
2𝑧 2𝑧
 [( ) ( ) ]
−2 −2
𝑞 𝑑 𝑑 For
𝐸= 1− − 1+
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧
2
2𝑧 2𝑧
𝑑 We use the form of binomial theorem,
𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑒 ≪1
2𝑧 𝑛 𝑛𝑥 𝑛 ( 𝑛 − 1 ) 𝑥2
( 1+ 𝑥 ) =1+ + +. . .( 𝑥2 <1
1! 2!
𝑇h𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 ,𝑤𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 ,

𝐸=
𝑞
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧
2 [( 1+
2𝑑
2𝑧) (
− 1−
2𝑑
2𝑧 )]
𝐸=
𝑞
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧 2
1+ [
𝑑
𝑧
−1+
𝑑
𝑧 ]
𝐸=
𝑞
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧
2
2
𝑑
𝑧 [ ]
2 𝑞𝑑 2𝑝 𝑝
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 , 𝐸= 3
= 3
= 3
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧 4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧 2 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑧
h𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑝=𝑞𝑑=𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑑𝑖𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
Problem 9 (Book chapter 22)
In the adjacent figure shows two charged particles on an x axis: at x = -
3.00 m and at x = + 3.00 m. What are the (a) magnitude and (b)
direction (relative to the positive direction of the x axis) of the net
electric field produced at point P at y = 4 m?

+y
Answer: E+
𝐸+¿𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃¿
𝐸
-x +¿𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 ¿ +x
𝐸− 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 
𝐸 𝑃 = 𝐸 + ¿ sin 𝜃 + 𝐸 sin 𝜃 ¿ E-
𝐸− 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
−

r r
¿ 2 𝐸 + ¿ sin 𝜃 ¿
− 10
¿ 2 × 1.15 × 10 × 0.6 -y

¿ 1.38 × 10
− 10
𝑁 /𝐶 𝑟 =√ 32 + 4 2=5 𝑚
sin 𝜃 =3 / 5
𝐸 1 𝑞 9 3.2×10
−19
− 10
+¿=𝐸− = =9× 10 =1.15×10 𝑁 /𝐶 ¿
4 𝜋 𝜖𝑜 𝑟 2 5
2
 Problem 7 (Book chapter 22)
In the adjacent figure, the four particles form a square
of edge length a = 5.00 cm and have charges , and . In unit-
vector notation, what net electric field do the particles produce
at the square's center?

Answer:

The net electric field at the center of the square along

x-axis is
+𝒚
𝑞1 =+10 𝑛𝐶 𝑞 2=−20 𝑛𝐶

𝐸 𝑥 =𝐸 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠 450 +𝐸 1 𝑐𝑜𝑠 450 −(𝐸3 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 0 +𝐸 4 𝑐𝑜𝑠 450 ) 𝑟 𝑟

⃗
𝐸3 ⃗
𝐸2
Here,
−𝒙 +𝒙
−9 −9 𝑟⃗𝐸 𝐸 1𝑟
⃗
1 10 ×10 1 20 × 10 4
𝐸1 =𝐸 4= And 𝐸 3 =𝐸 2 =
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑟
2
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑟
2
𝑞 4=−10 𝑛𝐶 𝑞 3=+20 𝑛𝐶
−𝒚
𝐸 𝑥 =𝐸 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠 450 +𝐸 1 𝑐𝑜𝑠 450 − 𝐸 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 0 − 𝐸1 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 0

0 N/C
 The net electric field at the center of the square along
y-axis is +𝒚
𝑞1 =+10 𝑛𝐶 𝑞 2=−20 𝑛𝐶
0 0 0 0
𝐸 𝑦 =𝐸 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 +𝐸 3 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 −(𝐸¿¿1𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 +𝐸 4 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 )¿ 𝑟
𝑟 ⃗
⃗
𝐸3 𝐸2
−𝒙 +𝒙
0 0 0 0
𝐸 𝑦 =𝐸 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 +𝐸 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 −( 𝐸¿¿1 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 +𝐸1 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 )¿ 𝐸 1𝑟
𝐸4 ⃗
𝑟⃗

0 0
− 𝒚𝑞 3=+20 𝑛𝐶
𝑞 4=−10 𝑛𝐶
𝐸 𝑦 =2 𝐸2 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45 − 2 𝐸1 𝑐𝑜𝑠 45
9 −9 9 −9
2× 9 ×10 × 20 ×10 ×0.707 2 ×9 ×10 ×10 ×10 × 0.707
𝐸𝑦= 2
− 2
𝑟 𝑟

√ √
2 2 2
𝑎 𝑎 2𝑎
127.26 127.26 𝑟= + =
𝐸𝑦= 2
= 2
=101.55 ×10 3
𝑁 /𝐶 4 4 4
𝑟 ( 0.0354)
𝑎 0.05
𝑟= = =0.0354 𝑚
√2 1.414
 Linear charge density:
When charge is distributed along a line (such as a long, thin, charged plastic rod), we
use (the Greek letter lambda λ) to represent the charge per unit length known as
linear charge density.
That is
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓𝑐h𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑡h𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑑
𝜆= [For uniform linear charge density]
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡h 𝑜𝑓 𝑡h𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑑
The SI unit of λ is Coulomb/meter;
simply, we use C/m.

Note:
Analytical problem:
For charge that is distributed uniformly over a ring, determine
the net electric field at a given point on the axis of the ring (at a
distance z from the center of the ring).

Fig. The electric fields set up at P by a

charge element and its symmetric
partner (on the opposite side of the
ring). The components perpendicular
to the z axis cancel; the parallel
components add.

Let ds be the (arc) length of any differential element

of the ring. Since λ is the charge per unit (arc)
length, the element has a charge of magnitude
 This differential charge () sets up a differential electric field at point P, which
is a distance r from the element. Treating the element as a point charge.

Hence, we can write the magnitude of as

1 𝑑𝑞 1 𝜆𝑑𝑠 1 𝜆 𝑑𝑠
𝑑 𝐸= = =
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑟 2
4 𝜋 𝜀0 𝑟 2
4 𝜋 𝜀0 ( √ 𝑧 2 +𝑅 2 )2

Since the components perpendicular to the z axis cancel and the parallel components
add, the net electric field along z-axis is

𝐸 𝑧 =𝐸=∫ 𝑑𝐸 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃=∫

1 𝜆 𝑑𝑠
4 𝜋 𝜀 0 ( 𝑧 2 + 𝑅2 ) [√ ] 𝑧
𝑧 2 +𝑅 2
we can write
𝑧
𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃= =
𝑧
𝑟 √ 𝑧 2+ 𝑅2
Finally,
 Problem 30 (Book chapter 22)
Figure shows two concentric rings, of radii R and
, that lie on the same plane. Point P lies on the
central z axis, at distance from the center of the
rings. The smaller ring has uniformly distributed
charge
. In terms of Q, what is the uniformly distributed
charge on the larger ring if the net electric field at P ⃗
𝑬 +𝑸
Answer:
is zero?
According to the statement of the problem, ⃗
𝑬 −𝒒
𝐸+ 𝑄 − 𝐸−𝑞 =0
+𝑸 −𝒒
𝐸+ 𝑄=𝐸 −𝑞
𝑄𝐷 𝑞𝐷
3
= 3 3
𝑄 ( 13 𝑅 )2 2

( ) 𝑄=4.19 𝑄
3
4 𝜋 𝜀0 ( 𝐷 + 𝑅 ) 2 4 𝜋 𝜀 0 ( 𝐷 2+ ( 3 𝑅 ) )
2 2 2 2
13
𝑞= 3
= 2
5
𝑄 𝑞 (5 𝑅 )
2 2

3
= 3
(4 𝑅 +𝑅 ) (4 𝑅 +9 𝑅 )
𝑞=− 4.19 𝑄
2 2 2 2 2 2

That is
 Let’s try !!!
1. Calculate electric dipole moment for the adjacent figure.

2. [Problem 23]: The adjacent Figure shows two parallel

nonconducting rings with their central axes along a
common line. Ring 1 has uniform charge q1 and radius R;
ring 2 has uniform charge q2 and the same radius R. The
rings are separated by distance d = 3.00R. The net electric
field at point P on the common line, at distance R from ring
1, is zero. What is the ratio q1/q2?

3. [Problem 24]: A thin nonconducting rod with a uniform

distribution of positive charge Q is bent into a complete
circle of radius R. The central perpendicular axis through the
ring is a z axis, with the origin at the center of the ring.
What is the magnitude of the electric field due to the rod at
(a) z = 0 and (b) z =  ? (c) In terms of R, at what positive
value of z is that magnitude maximum?
THANK YOU