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CHAPTER

23. ELECTRIC CHARGE,


FORCE AND FIELD

1. ELECTRIC CHARGE

Remember That In Mechanics, We Dealt With Quantities That Are A
Combination Of Three Other Basic Properties: Mass, Length And Time.

Everything Else We Have Looked At (Velocity, Acceleration, Force,
Momentum, Energy Etc) Is A Combination Of These Three Basic Properties.

In This Chapter We Will Introduce A New Basic Property That Will Be Used
To Describe Electrical Phenomena. In Combination With The Other
Quantities, We Will Build Up A Whole New Theory.

This New Quantity Is Called Electric Charge. All The Matter In The
Universe Is Made Up Of Particles That Have An Electric Charge.

An Electric Charge Can Be Positive, Negative Or Neutral.

In The Same Way That The Unit For Mass Is The Kg, The Unit For Electric
Charge Is The Coulomb, Abreviated By The Capital Letter C.

The Electron Is A Particle That Has A Negative Charge Whereas The Proton
And The Neutron Have A Positive And Neutral Charge, Repectively.

All These Three Particles Are Found In Atoms That Make Up Most Of The
Matter In The Universe.

Protons And Neutrons Are Found In The Nucleus Of Atoms Whereas The
Electrons Are Found Orbiting Nucleus.

It Is Observed In Nature That Whenever Some Objects Are Rubbed Against
Each Other, They May Attract Or Repel Some Other Objects.
This Was Discovered Back In 600 Bc By The Greeks.

Today We Say That Whenever A Glass Rod Is Rubbed Against A Piece Of
Wool, The Glass Rod Becomes Negatively Charged, I.E., The Wool Transfers
Negative Charges To The Glass Rod.

The Electric Charge Of The Electron Is Given By
e=  1.6 X 10 19 C

The Electric Charge Of The Proton Is Given By
p=+1.6 X 10 19 C

The Electric Charge Of The Neutron Is Given By
n = 0 C

It Is Observed In Nature That
Charges Of Different Signs Attract One Another
Charges Of Same Signs Repel Each Other

This Type Of Attraction And Repulsion Is Referred As Electric Force And Is
Completely Different From The Gravitational Attraction Between Two
Masses (Although They Have A Similar Mathematical Expression.

It Is Found By Experiment That Electrical Charges Are Quantized, I.E., They
Occur In Multiples Of An Elementary Charge, The Electron Charge, e (1e,
2e, 3e, …).
The Quantization Of Charge Was Demonstrated In 1909, In A Very Smart
Experiment By R. A.Millikan.
Total Charge Within An Enclosed Region Is Conserved.

2. COULOMB’S LAW

It Is Found That Electric Charges Exert A Force Among Each Other, Which
Can Be Either Attractive Or Repulsive. This Force Is Referred As Electric
Force.
The Magnitude Of The Attraction Or Repulsion Is Given By Coulomb’s Law
(Remember, A Law Is Something That Can Not Be Proved Mathematically).
It Can Be Written As:


Coulomb’s Law Was Formulated In The Late 1700’s


In The Above Q1 And Q2 Are The Magnitude Of The Charges And R Is The
Distance Between Them.

Notice That Coulomb’s Law Is Very Similar In Form To Newton’s
Gravitational Law. The Major Differences Being That
It Can Be Both Attractive And Repulsive And
It Is Much Stronger Than The Gravitational Force.

That Is Because The Constant K Is Given By


k=9 X 109Nm2/C2

Whereas The Constant G Is Given By

G=6.67 X 10-11Nm2/kg2

Notice That K Much Larger Than G.

Typical Examples Of Electric Force In Action Are
The Force A Pen Exerts Over Small Pieces Of Paper Whenever It Is
Rubbed Against Your Shirt.
Two Balloons Over Each Other.
The Force A Tv Screen Exerts Over Dust Particles Etc.

Remember That There Are A Several Similarities Between Coulomb’s And
The Gravitational Force
They Are Vectorial.
Along The Radial Direction.
Decrease With The Inverse Of The Square Of The Distance.
Proportional To A Constant.
However, Unlike Gravity, It Is Both Attractive And Repulsive.

For A Distribution Of Electric Charges (More Than Two), We Apply The
Superposition Principle.

Important Result To Have In Mind!!!
The Force Of A Finite Charge Distribution, With Total Charge Q (Where
Q  0), In Another Charged Particle, Located At A Very Large Distance,
R, Approaches The Inverse Of The Square Law Of The Distance.
“Very Large Distance” Should Be Defined With Respect To The Largest
Dimension Of The Charge Distribution, D.
Good Results Within This Approximation (Roughly 1% Error With
Respect To The Exact Solution) Are Obtained Whenever D/R<0.1.
This Result Does Not Apply For An Infinite Charge Distributions.

3. ELECTRIC FIELD
The Electric Field Is An Abstraction That Describes How The Electric Force
Behaves Around An Electric Charge.

Whenever We Put A Small Positive Charge Nearby Another Larger Positive
Charge, The First Charge Is Repelled.

However, If We Put The Same Small Positive Charge Nearby A Larger
Negative Charge, The First Charge Is Attracted.

The Electric Field Direction Is Given By The Direction Of The Electric Force
In This Small Positive, Or Test, Charge.

Accordingly The Electric Field Is Given, In A Mathematical Fashion, By:


The Above Equation Is Also Referred As The Coulomb’s Law.

In Other Words The Electric Field Due To A Given Charge Q1 Is The Force It
Exerts In A Second Small Positive Charge, q, Divided By q.

It Can Be Found That The Electric Field Points Away, In The Radial
Direction Of Our Main Charge Whenever The Main Charge Is Positive.

If The Main Charge Is Negative The Electric Field Points Towards It In The
Radial Direction.

Electric Fields Exist Around A Main Charge Whether You Have A Test
Charge Or Not.


4. ELECTRIC FIELD OF CHARGE DISTRIBUTIONS
The Electric Field Of A Distribution Of Point Charges Is The Vectorial Sum
Of The Fields Of The Individual Point Charges


Important Result To Have In Mind!!!
The Electric Field Of A Finite Charge Distribution, With Total Charge Q
(Where Q  0), At A Very Large Distance R, Approaches The Inverse Of
The Square Law Of The Distance.
“Very Large Distance” Should Be Defined With Respect To The Largest
Dimension Of The Charge Distribution, D.
Good Results Within This Approximation (Roughly Of 1% Error With
Respect To The Exact Solution) Are Obtained Whenever D/R<0.1.
This Result Does Not Apply For Infinite Charge Distributions.

Example 23-1 (Electric Dipole)

The Electric Field Of A Continuous Charge Distribution Is Obtained By
Applying An Integral To The Coulomb’s Law Equation.


Your Charge Distribution Can Be:
A Point Distribution (Dimension Zero), Like A Point Charge.
A Linear Distribution Of Charges (One Dimension), In This Case dq= 
dx
A Two Dimensional Distribution Of Charges: In This Case dq=  dA
A Three Dimensional Distribution Of Charges: In This Case dq=  dV

Example 23-2 (Field Of A Ring Of Charge)

Example 23-3 (Field Of A Line Of Charge)
Notice That Very Far Away From The Finite Line, The Field Reduces To
That Of A Point Charge.
However, For An Infinitely Long Charged Line, It Does Not Reduce To
That Of A Point Charge. Why Is That? Because The Coulomb
Approximation Applies Only For For The Case In Which R>>D. Since D
Is Infinitely Large, The Previous Inequality Will Never Hold.
The Result Of An Infinitely Long Distribution Of Charge Is A Good
Approximation For A Finite Linear Distribution Of Charges Where
The Electric Field Is Computed Relatively Close To The Line And
Very Far Away From The Extremities.

Example 23-4 (Field Of A Uniformly Charged Disk)

Example 23-5 (Field Of Oppositely Charged Infinite Sheets).

An Electric Dipole Is A Distribution Of Two Point Charges Of Equal
Magnitude But Opposite Sign Held At A Fixed Distance Of Each Other.
Electric Dipoles Are Important Because They Occur Very Frequently In
Nature. For Instance:
Many Molecules Behave As An Electric Dipole.
The Heart Muscle During Contraction Can Be Modelled As An
Electric Dipole And
Radio And Tv Antennas.
The Electric Field Of An Electric Dipole Can Be Calculated Using The
Coulomb’s Law.

Notice that, for very large distances, the electric field of a dipole decreases
with the cube of the distance. It does not decrease with the square of
distance because its net charge is zero.
The electric dipole moment, p, is defined by p=qd where q is the magnitude
of the charges and d is the distance between them. The electric dipole
moment is a vector that points from the negative to the positive charge.
Example 23-9, infinitely long charged line.


5. Matter in Electric Fields
Point charges in Electric fields are subjected to a force given by F=qE. If we
apply Newton’s second Law, F=ma, we can find the acceleration of a charge
in an electric field, i.e.,


The above equation states that if an Electric Field is constant and uniform
throughout space (in magnitude and direction), the charge will accelerate
uniformly. If the field is zero, the charge will either remain at rest or with
constant velocity.
Also, it states that the acceleration of a charged particle is directly
proportional to its charge and inversely proportional to its mass.
Protons and electrons have the same charge magnitude however a proton is
almost 2000 times more massive than an electron. Consequently, in a same
electric field an electron will accelerate much faster than a proton.
By applying an appropriate E-field to an electric charge, we may control its
trajectory or movement.
Several devices such as oscilloscopes, TV sets, heart monitors, electrostatic
analyzers and a technique called electrophoresis, just to mention a few, use
electric fields to steer charged particles to make important measurements.
Work Example 23-10 (this example is analogous to the case of an uncharged
particle subjected to a uniform gravitational field) and compare the
magnitude of the electric force with the magnitude of the gravitational force
acting on the electron.
Work Example and exercise 23-11.

Chapter 24. Gauss’s Law

1. Electric Field Lines
Electric field lines are a graphical representation of the direction and intensity
of an Electric Field.
The closer the electric field lines are of each other, the more intense are the
fields in this region.

2. Electric Flux
The flux of an Electric field is an important quantity used in the Gauss’s Law.
The Electric field lines can be used to obtain an estimate of the Electric Flux
through a surface.
The Electric Flux of a uniform electric field, through a given surface of area
A, is given by


For an arbitrary electric field, the above flux can be calculated as


Calculate the flux of a uniform field through a planar surface of area A with
different orientations.
Calculate the flux of the field of a point charge through the section of a
spherical surface.
Obtain the flux of the field of a point charge through a spherical surface
surrounding a point charge

3. Gauss’s Law
The Gauss’s Law is a technique that can be used to calculate the electric field
of a symmetric charge distribution in a very simple way without the necessity
of solving difficult integrals.
It can be proven (although the proof is difficult) that, for any enclosed
surface, with a charge q inside we have,


This relation is very useful to solve several problems that have symmetry.
This relation is particularly useful when we can find an appropriate enclosed
surface where the E  dA is constant throughout the surface and/or d =0.
However, keep in mind that not all problems can be solved using Gauss’s
Law!!!

For instance,
Gauss’s Law can not be applied to the case of a point charge whenever the
Gauss’s surface is not centered around the charge.
Gauss’s Law can not be readily applied to the case of a dipole because it
does not have the symmetry that is required to solve for the flux.


4. Applications of Gauss’s Law
Gauss’s Law applied to a point charge (assume you do not know Coulomb’s
Law).
Gauss’s Law applied to a spherical distribution of charges.
Example 24-1, uniformly charged sphere.
Example 24-2, thin spherical charged shell.
Example 24-3, point charge inside a charged shell (if the inner charge was
slightly offset from the center of the shell, Gauss’s Law could not had been
applied).
Strategy on how to apply Gauss’s Law.
Study the symmetry of the problem and determine if you can find a
Gaussian surface on which the field magnitude and direction are constant.
If you can not find such a surface then Gauss’s Law, while true, will not
help calculating the field.
Evaluate the flux.
Evaluate the enclosed charge.
Solve for the electric field.
Example 24-4, field of a linear distribution of charges using Gauss’s Law.
Example 24-5, field of a charged hollow pipe using Gauss’s Law.
Example 24-6, field of an infinite sheet of charge using Gauss’s Law.


Chapter 25. Electric Potential

1. Electric Potential
In electricity, electric potential is a quantity related to the potential energy
associated with the electric field.
The electric potential, like the potential energy, is a scalar quantity that can
be used to calculate the electric field of a charge distribution. The electric
potential can be defined from the work done on a system or



Let a point charge q be subjected to a uniform electric field. Its potential energy
difference between points A and B (as in Figure 1) is



Figure 1. Work required to move a charge q from A to B.


In a uniform electric field



We can now define the electric potential difference,  V, of an electric field
E as the potential energy difference per unit of charge q.


The units of potential difference is J/C = Volts (V).
The potential difference between two points AB in a uniform field is



In the above results, the potential energy difference is measured with respect
to a reference point, Point A.
Potential difference of a charged sheet. In this case the reference point is
taken as the surface of the charge distribution. It is convenient to set up this
position as the reference point because it simplifies the final result of the
potential.
Potential difference of a point charge. In this case the reference point is taken
at infinity. Because every finite distribution of charges reduce to the case of a
point charge for very large distances, the reference point at infinity for the
potential is the norm for most charge distribution.
IMPORTANT!!! It is not always possible to use the infinity as your reference
point. For instance, in the lab’s equipotential experiment the reference
electrode is placed at one of the conductor points. That is done because it is
impractical to position the electrode at infinity.
Despite of the above, the choice of the reference potential at infinity is still
very convenient when solving theoretical problems.
Superposition Principle applied to the electric potential. Recall that, for the
electric field, the superposition principle was applied by taking the vectorial
sum of the fields of different sources. For the electric potential, we apply a
scalar sum instead.




Potential of an Electric Dipole.


We will now find the fields from the potential.


Along the y axis, x=0 and the above reduces to




Along the x-axis, y=0 and Ex reduces to



Similarly, for the y component of the field



Along the y-axis, x=0 and we have

Along the x-axis, y=0 and we have


For r >>> a




The x-component of the electric field is




HOMEWORK: REPEAT THE ABOVE FOR the y-component of the electric
field.

Potential of a continuous distribution of charges.



Potential of a charged ring (y).
Potential of a finite linear distribution of charges (Example 23-12).

IMPORTANT RESULT TO HAVE IN MIND!!!
For a finite charge distribution, with total charge Q (Q different of 0), the
electric potential V at a very large distance R, approaches the potential of
a point charge (inverse of the distance).
“Very large distance” should be defined with respect to the largest
dimension of the charge distribution, D.
Good results within this approximation (roughly of 1% error with respect
to the exact solution) are obtained whenever D/R<0.1.
This result does not apply to an infinite charge distribution.
Whenever the total charge of the system is zero, Q=0, then the potential
will be similar to that of a dipole or quadrupole. In order to determine the
right approximation, a careful analysis is required of the charge
distribution according to the strategy outlined below.


STRATEGY FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS THAT REQUIRE AN
APPROXIMATION
1. First write the denominator of your exact result in the form of 1+z where
z<<<1.
2. As a first attempt to solve the problem, neglect the term z and solve your
problem.
3. If the above result is zero throughout the whole space you have a trivial
solution and you should approach the problem in either the following
ways;
(a) You can factor two terms together and repeat steps 1 and 2. If you
still get zero for your final result, factor the third term with the
previous two and repeat steps 1 and 2 or
(b) You can expand your function in Taylor series up to the second
term. If the result is still zero, you should move into the third term of
your Taylor series.

Example: Charged conducting sphere.


Physics 22 Chapter 24
Capacitance and Dieletrics

1. Energy of a Point Charge Distribution
When you bring together two electric charges and keep them in a fixed
position between each other, you store electric potential energy between
them.
The bringing together of two charges is analogous to the case of compressing
a spring. The energy stored in a compressed spring can be used to launch a
projectile far away.
Similarly the energy stored between the charges can also be used, among
other things, to propel charged particles.
The energy of the charged particles is stored in the electric field.

2. Two Insulated Conductors
Any two fixed insulated conductors carrying equal but opposite charges form
a capacitor.
A capacitor is a useful way of storing electrostatic energy which can be
used to do work, such as powering a circuit.

Example of capacitors:
Two planar parallel plate conductors charged with opposite charges.
Two spherical conductors charged with opposite charges.
Two concentric cylindrical conductors charged with opposite charges.
Etc

The energy of two flat charged parallel plates can be computed according to
the following process:
You start with two conductors with opposite charges (there is a potential V
between them).
The work required to move a charge dq from one conductor to another is




The work required to charge the plates ends up as stored potential energy,
U, which can be used for certain applications. This energy is stored in the
Electric field.


3. Energy and Electric Field
For two parallel plates with charge Q, the electric field can be written as


From the above we can rewrite the potential energy of the system as


The above result (in terms of the electric field) is valid for any electric field,
despite the fact we have derived it only for a uniform field.
The energy density (energy per volume) can now be written as


The equation above is for any capacitor with nothing, or vacuum, in between
its plates.
From this equation we can state that the electrical energy is stored in the
electric field. Since electric fields can occur in vacuum, the vacuum itself
can carry electrical energy! This result has an important consequence
whenever we study electromagnetic waves.

4. Capacitors
Capacitors are devices that store electrostatic energy that can be used for
short term energy storage and released quickly.
As discussed above, capacitors are a pair of charged conductors. The most
common capacitor is the parallel plate capacitor.
Radio, TV, computers and audio equipment use capacitors.
A capacitor can be charged by transferring charges from one conductor to
another using a battery.
An important quantity related to a capacitor is the capacitance C


For a parallel plate capacitor, the capacitance C is given by


Notice that the capacitance is also a measure of the size of the capacitor, A/L.

Unit of capacitance (Farad=Coulomb/Volt)

Application in computer keyboard. Each key of a computer keyboard has a
capacitor at the bottom. Every time that the key is depressed, the distance
between the capacitor plates changes changing the voltage between them.
This change in voltage is sensed by a voltmeter which pinpoints the key that
have been depressed.

Example: Circular Parallel Plate capacitor. Find its capacitance and its
charge whenever V=12V, L=0.005m, R=0.10m.
Solution



Example: Square Parallel Plate capacitor side 8.0cm, C=47pF, Q=95nC. Find
(a) the spacing between the plates and (b) The applied voltage.
Solution

(a) Find the length between plates



(b) What is V for Q=95nC on the plates?


Example: Concentric conducting spheres of radii R and 3/2R. Find the
capacitance.
Solution



5. Energy Storage in Capacitors
The stored energy between two charged parallel plates was derived before
and is given by

Despite the fact that the above result was derived for a parallel plate
capacitor, this result is good for any capacitor geometry.
Notice that the stored energy goes with the square of the voltage!!!! You can
store more energy in a small capacitor at high voltages than in a large
capacitor at low voltages.
However, the maximum voltage, also called the working voltage, is limited
by the dielectric breakdown of the material between the capacitor’s plates.
When designing capacitors, you must have these results in mind.
Applications:
Capacitors in VCRs can maintain program memory for up to one hour
during a power failure.
Capacitors can not store energy for an indefinite amount of time because
their charge leaks out of the plate (they do not have perfect electrical
insulation). Even though, they are still very useful devices.
Capacitors are good for applications that require rapid delivery of stored
energy (remember the loaded spring and toilet flush analogy), such as in
camera flashes, high power pulsed lasers and defibrilators.

Example: C1=100  F with a working voltage of 20 V. C2=1.0  F working
voltage of 300 V. Which can store the most energy? The most charge?

Solution


6. Connecting Capacitors
By connecting two or more capacitors together, we can create a configuration
similar to a third capacitor that is not available.
By doing that, we can also create an equivalent capacitor that otherwise
would have a voltage above the breakdown voltage.
Capacitors can be connected either in series or parallel by conducting wires.
Capacitors in parallel



Because wires are conductors, they are kept at the same potential.
Consequently both the upper and lower plates of the above capacitors are
kept under the same potential. For this reason, capacitors connected in
parallel are kept at the same difference of potential V.


If we do that for n capacitors in parallel, we obtain


Capacitors in series






(a) (b) (c)

The figure (a) above shows two capacitors initially uncharged. When we
apply a voltage V at the circuit ends, the lowest and uppermost plates are
charged first with charges –Q and +Q, respectively (b). They, in turn, attract
positive and negative charges to the other two plates (c).
The result is two Capacitors in series carrying the same charge.
The voltages between their plates are given by

Because the ends of the circuit are kept under a voltage V we can write

The above relation can be rewritten in terms of a third capacitance C3.


If we do that for n capacitors in series, we obtain


Keep in mind the following:
Capacitors in parallel have the same voltage across their plates.
Capacitors in series have the same charge across their plates.

7. Capacitors and Dielectrics
The material placed in between the plates of a capacitor must be an insulator
(or dielectric), otherwise the capacitor would become uncharged (Question
number 14).
Its purpose is to maintain physical separation of the plates and minimize
charge leakage.
Recall that when we apply an electric field across an insulator, we induce a
series of electric dipoles across the dielectric.
In turn, these electric dipoles create an electric field that opposes the electric
field of the capacitor. The result is a net electric field smaller than the
original field.
Empirically, we find that the field is reducedby a factor  given by


Where  is a characteristic of the dielectric material.

The electric potential V is reduced by the same amount because V=Ed.


Using the relation for capacitance we find, on the other hand, that it increases
with the introduction of a dielectric material.


The stored energy decreases with the introduction of a dielectric material.


Physics 22 Chapter 25
Electric Current

1. Electric Current
As of now we have dealt only with charges at rest (electrostatic). In this
chapter we will study what happens when we have moving electric charges.
A measure of the amount of moving charges is the electric current. Electric
current can be defined as the number of charges that cross a given area per
unit of time.
The unit for current is the Ampere (A) after French physicist André Marie
Ampère.

1A = 1C/s

When the current is constant, it can be written as

For currents that vary in time, the instantaneous current is given by


The direction of current is the direction of the flow of positive charges. That
is a bad way to define current because, in reality, the current flow is due to
the flow of electrons with negative charge. However, even today, this
terminology is still adopted because of historical reasons.
Diagram of flow of charges (Figure 27-1).
The current can be written as

Where
n is the number of charges per unit of volume.
A is the area of the conductor.
L is the length through which the charges are displaced.
q is the magnitude of the electric charge.
vd is the velocity of the charges also referred as the drift speed.

Example 1 (Current in Wire)
A= 1mm2, I = 5.0A, q=e, each copper atom contributes 1.3 electrons for the
current. What is vd?

Solution
The number of atoms per unit of volume is


is the density of the material

u is the atomic mass

M is the mass of each atomic unit.

Substituting these values for N we obtain


Each atom contributes 1.3 electrons, so the number of total electrons per unit of
volume is


Sometimes the current is not uniform in a single wire. When this happens it
is important to define a current density J


2. Conduction mechanisms
In the absence of an electric field, electrons are either moving in a random
fashion (thermal velocity) or not moving at all. In this case the average, drift,
velocity of the electrons in zero.
However, when there is a current, electrons are slowly moving in the opposite
direction of the current with a small average velocity called drift velocity.
Now remember that a charge can move whenever it is subjected to a force.
And a force in a charge can be generated by an electric field.
Consequently, in order to keep the charge moving in a given direction with a
drift velocity, an electric field must be there all the time, otherwise, the
charge will keep on bumping into other positive charges in an almost random
fashion until it either come to rest or has an average velocity of zero.
So, in order to produce a current, it is necessary to have an electric field.
The intensity of this current is going to be proportional to the materials
characteristics. This statement can be summed up in an equation that we call
the microscopic version of the Ohm’s Law (don’t forget, that is a Law! There
is no way to derived it mathematically!!)



Where is the conductivity of the material and J is the current density. The
conductivity is a measure of how easy it is for an electron to move in a
medium.
A perfect conductor, or superconductor, has = infinity.
Another quantity related to conductivity is the resistivity of a material.


The resistivity tells us how hard it is to create a current in a material.


3. Resistance and Ohm’s Law (Macroscopic Version)

The macroscopic version of the Ohm’s Law can be obtained from the
microscopic version by considering a conductor cylinder of cross sectional
area A with a constant electric field.

The above equation will be used to solve most problems of electrical circuits
that we find.

4. Electric Power
The energy, W, lost by the system as the charges move through the electric
field, throughout a resistance is


This power is the amount of energy dissipated per unit of time by a resistor.

5. Electromotive Force
Recall that every conductor tends to reach electrostatic equilibrium (current
flow equal to zero). Under electrostatic equilibrium the conductor is an
equipotential.
However, we can use an electric power source to keep a potential difference
across the conductor.
In other words, by connecting the conductor to this power source, we can
maintain a difference of potential throughout the conductor and an electric
field that is non-zero. Under this condition the conductor is no longer in
electrostatic equilibrium and we have a flow of current.

Recall what happens to a charged capacitor when we introduce a conductor
between its plates.
If the conductor has the same thickness as the capacitor’s plate separation,
the capacitor becomes discharged (charges move from one plate of the
capacitor to another). Initially there is a momentary difference of
potential which then becomes zero.
During the discharging process, there is a momentary current – a
movement of charge from one plate to another -, through the conductor.
After a finite amount of time the electric current, electric field and electric
potential difference between the capacitor plates becomes zero.
The same thing happens if we connect a wire between the back sides of the
plates of the capacitor.

However, if we want to keep a constant current flowing in a given circuit, we
have to replace the capacitor with another device capable of maintaining the
potential difference in the circuit for a long period of time. This device is a
battery.
A battery is a capacitor capable of separating charges once it is connected to a
conductor. Because it can separate charges it can also maintain a difference
of potential for a long period of time (not mili seconds as in the case of
capacitors). The charge separation is usually done through chemical
processes.
For this reason, batteries are referred as a source of electromotive force.
An ideal source of electromotive force is one that maintains a constant
voltage across its terminal under all conditions.
The units of electromotive force is the volts.
Symbols for circuit diagrams.

6. Simple Circuits
We can use Ohm’s Law to determine a current through a circuit that has been
subjected to a potential difference.

I=V/R

For the problems we will be solving, the wires used to connect our circuits
are assumed to be perfect conductors, R=0.
For resistors in series we have the same current flowing through them.
Consequently, the equivalent resistance can be obtained using Ohm’s Law or

For n resistors in series we have


First set of equations (five equations, five unknowns (R2, V1, V2, I, V))


Second set of equations (four equations, four unknowns (R2, V1, I, V))


Third set of equations (three equations, three unknowns (R2, V1, V))


Fourth set of equations (Two equations, Two unknowns (R2, V))


For resistors in parallel, the current is divided at the junction but the potential
difference is the same

For n resistors, we have the same situation.



The reason for the difference between the equation for the equivalent
capacitance and equivalent resistance resides in the fact that the capacitance
is inversely proportional to the potential difference whereas the current is
directly proportional to V.

4. Kirchhoff’s Laws and Multiloop Circuits
Some circuits can not be solved by using a combination of series and parallel
circuits. In these cases, we use Kirchhoff’s Law which states
The sum of the voltages changes across all the circuit elements around closed
loop is zero.
The sum of the currents at any node is zero.

Example 28-5



Three Equations, three unknowns (I1, I2, I3)


Substituting I1 and I2 in the equation for the current, we get one equation with
one unknown (I3) or


Exercise 28-5

Example 28-6
Four Equations, four unknows (IK, INa, IL, VM)


Four Equations, four unknows (IK, INa, IL, VM)


Using the equation for INa, we get three Equations with three unknowns (IK, IL,
VM)


Three Equations, three unknowns (IK, IL, VM)

Two Equations, Two unknowns (IK, VM)

Final Solution



Three Equations, Three Unknowns (I1, I2, I3)


Two Equations, two unknowns (I2, I3)


One Equation, one unknown ( I3)

5. Circuits with Capacitors

When a capacitor is placed in a circuit, it can be charged and uncharged.
It is possible to determine how the voltage, current and charge in a capacitor
changes with time by analyzing what we call an RC (resistance/capacitor)
circuit.
Charging capacitor
we write the equation for an RC circuit using the Kirchhoff Law.


Discharging a capacitor (see Figure 28-33)
we write the equation for an RC circuit using the Kirchhoff Law as
before.
For this specific case, there is an important difference; the charge in the
capacitor decreases with the current.


Example 28-8


Exercise 28-8


Example and Exercise 28-9 (see Figure 28-34 (a))
What is the current through R1 the instant that the switch is closed?
A long time after the switch is closed?

Solution:

The instant the switch is closed the voltage through the capacitor plates is still
zero (the voltage builds up slowly).
Since R2 is in parallel with C, the voltage along R2 is also zero.
Because R1 is in series with R2 and C, the voltage across R1 will be the voltage
supplied by the battery.

After a long time, the capacitor will be fully charged and there will be no current
flowing through it so all the current flows through the R1 and R2 resistances. The
value of this current is given by Ohm’s Law.


And the value of the voltage across the capacitor will be the same as the voltage
across the R2 resistor.


Physics 22 Chapter 27
The Magnetic Field

1. The Magnetic Field
There are several magnetic based devices that have important technological
applications;
The oldest of them is the compass, which uses the Earth’s magnetic field
as a Navigation tool.
It is possible to convert electrical to mechanical energy by magnetic
means.
Scientists today are trying to use the magnetic field to confine very hot
gases to produce nuclear fusion. This same process of fusion occurs in
the Sun’s core where the large mass of the Sun, or its gravitational force,
confines hot gases in a given volume.
Light itself, and other forms of radiation such as X-ray, UV, microwave,
radar waves etc, originates in an interaction between the magnetic and
electric fields, then the name electromagnetic radiation.
Video, audiocassette recorders, electric motors, TV picture tubes,
computer disks etc.

In addition to technological applications, some birds, bacteria and sea turtles
use Earth’s magnetic field for navigation (they have their own biological
magnetic sensor).

In the same way that we can define an electric field, we can also define a
magnetic field, which we represent by the letter B.
Electric charges generate an electric field however there is no such a thing as
magnetic charges (or magnetic monopoles) that generate a magnetic field.
At least nobody has discovered one yet.
Instead, the basic source of magnetic field is the electric current, i.e.,
electric charges in movement generate a magnetic field.

2. The Magnetic Force

By the same token there is an electric force, there is also a force associated
with the magnetic field.
If we subject a charge q to a magnetic field the charge will not experience any
magnetic force if it is at rest.
However, if the charge is moving with respect to the magnetic field, it will
experience a magnetic force that
Is always perpendicular to the vector velocity v and the magnetic field B.
The magnitude will be directly proportional to the charge q, velocity v and
the magnetic field B.
The force is greatest whenever B is perpendicular to v, zero if v is parallel
or antiparallel to B and proportional to the sine of the angle between v and
B.
In mathematical terms, the Magnetic force can be written as


That would be the total force in the charge if there is no electric or gravitational
fields.

The units for magnetic field is



In honor of Nikola Tesla (Serbian American inventor)
1 Tesla is a very strong magnetic field. Because of this another unit is used
called Gauss (G) where 1G= 10-4T.
Earth’s Magnetic field is a little less than 1 G. The fields of a toy magnet
may be 100 G
Example 29-1 and exercise.
The electromagnetic force is given by the sum of the electric and magnetic
force or


Example 29-2 (velocity selector).

Exercise 29-2 (velocity selector).


3. Motion of Charged Particles in a Magnetic Field

The magnetic force does no work on a charged particle.
This can be seen from what follow

Because the magnetic force does no work in a charged particle, its kinetic
energy and speed are constant.
In an uniform magnetic field a charge particle describe a circular path given
by the radius


This variation in orbital radius is used in a mass spectrometer which sorts
ionized atoms and molecules according to their charge to mass ratio.


Example 29-3


Exercise 29-3




Cyclotron frequency is the number of turns a charged particle takes around a
uniform magnetic field in a second.
The period, T, for one revolution is


The frequency, f, is


The Cyclotron is a device that combines both electric and magnetic field to
accelerate charged particles up to high energies.
It has applications in medicine (in the production of radioisotopes, for
instance) and research.
Example 29-4



Example 29-4

If the particle motion is not perpendiular to the magnetic field, the particle
motion can be resolved into two velocity vectors; one parallel to the B-field
and other perpendicular.
As a result, the particle will describe a spiral path around the magnetic field
lines.

4. The Magnetic Force in a Current
Magnetic forces arise whenever a charge is moving. Since current is charge
in movement, we should expect a magnetic force acting in a current.


The current on the wire of figure 29-24 is upward.
Example 29-5.


The direction of the force is upwards.

Exercise 29-5.


The Hall Effect.
When a magnetic field is applied to a conductor that carries an electric
current, the magnetic force separates the negative charges from the
positive ones.
This charge separation creates an electric field and, consequently, an
electric force contrary to the magnetic force.
After some time these electric and magnetic forces cancel each other and
you have an state of equilibrium where the magnetic force is equal to the
electric force.

The electric potential can be measured. If you know B, I and t, you can
find out about the nature and density of the charge carriers.

Nonuniform fields and Curved conductors.
For a small segment, dL, of a conductor we can find the force, dF, as .

Example 29-6

Exercise 29-6

5. A Current Loop in a Magnetic Field
Applications of current loops
Electric motors.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
(NMR).

Magnetic forces on a current loop cause a torque in the loop; it is this torque
that drives the electric motor and the motion of protons in NMR.

Derivation of the magnetic torque in a loop of current.


The plane of the loop in the left side is tilted by an angle
theta with respect to the plane of the paper

Notice that the torque depends on the angle  that the vector normal to the
loop makes with the B-field.
The torque makes the current loop rotates with the angular velocity vector
normal to the arm of the loop that has a length b.
As the angle  changes with the torque, so does the torque which becomes
zero whenever theta is equal to zero.
However, because the angular velocity at this point is different of zero (the
loop has some inertia), the current loop will continue to rotate past this point
and then the torque will revert direction until the loop starts rotating in the
other direction.
After that, the current loop will keep on oscillating.
However, if we build a loop in which the current direction changes with the
same frequency as the frequency of rotation, we will have a loop that will
keep rotating in the same direction (without oscillation). That is the principle
of the electric motor.

Example 29-7
Item(a)


Item(b)


Exercise 29-7


Physics 22 Chapter 28
Sources of Magnetic Field

1. The Biot-Savart Law
In 1820, two scientists; Jeann Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart determine
experimentally the relationship for the magnetic field of an infinitesimal
length of a current carrying wire.

where

and called the permeability constant.

The direction of dB is given by the right hand rule


The field points towards the plane.


In order to calculate the total field, we have to integrate the above equation.

Example 1 (The field of a current loop).



Exercise 1 (The field of a current loop).


Approximation for z>>>a



Notice that the magnetic field behaves just like the electric field of an electric
dipole. Approximation for z>>>a
A current loop constitutes a magnetic dipole.
The field of any steady current at large distances approximates to that of a
dipole. So does the magnetic field of Earth.

Example 2 (The field of a Straight wire).


Exercise 2 (The field of a Straight wire).

2. The Magnetic Force Between two Condutors
Let two conductor wires be close to each other. What is the magnetic force
between them?
First calculate the magnetic field at one of the conductor wires


Next use the equation for the magnetic force of a magnetic field in a
current carrying wire.


If the currents flow in the same direction, the force is attractive. If the
current flow in the opposite direction, the force is repulsive.

3. Ampere’s Law
Ampere’s Law is the magnetic counterpart of Gauss’s Law.
Ampere’s Law can be stated as follows:


Ampere’s Law is taken always around an enclosed circle surrounding a
current.
Although it is very difficult to demonstrate mathematically, The Biot-
Savart Law follows logically from Ampere’s.
Ampere’s Law applies only to steady current, which do not change in
time.
Example 30-3 (Current encircled by Figure 30-19).



Exercise 30-3 (Current encircled by Figure 30-19).



Exercise of Figure 30-21 (Current in an Amperian loop subjected to a
non-uniform magnetic field).


Variation of the above exercise where the magnetic field is uniform.

4. Using Ampere’s Law

As mentioned before Ampere’s Law is the magnetic counterpart of
Gauss’s Law.
Similarly to Gauss’s Law, in order to solve problems using Ampere’s Law,
we must have a certain degree of symmetry.
Remember that the electric field is perpendicular to its source.
The magnetic field, on the other hand, encircles its source.
Field of a straight, infinitely long, wire.
Choose an Amperian loop in which the B-field is constant.
Then calculate the integral in Ampere’s Law.


This result is exactly equal to the one obtained using Biot-Savart Law.


Example 30-4. Long straight wire of diameter R with current I uniformly
distributed through its cross sectional area.


Inside the boundaries of the conductor


Outside the boundaries of the conductor

Exercise 30-4 (Current encircled by Figure 30-19).




Item (a) Inside the boundaries of the conductor


Item (b) Outside the boundaries of the conductor


Co-Axial cable (Figure 30-60).


Example 30-5. Infinite flat sheet with current per unit width J.




Exercise 30-5.

5.1 Solenoids

Qualitative treatment

A long tightly wound coil is a solenoid.
Recall that the magnetic field lines encircle the current source.
In between the loops of a coil, the vertical component of the magnetic
field tends to cancel out.
This implies that the total field tends to be only in the horizontal direction.
Also, the field produced by the lower part of the coil tends to cancel the
field produced by the upper part in the outside of the coil.
However, they reinforce each other on the inside of the coil.
What we have is a B-field in the general horizontal direction where it is
weker outside and stronger inside.
If the coils are close enough to each other and its diameter small
compared to its length, the outside field goes to zero and the inside field is
uniform.
The solenoid is the magnetic counterpart of the parallel plate capacitor.

Quantitative treatment

Using the fact that the outside field of a solenoid is zero, you can use
Ampere’s Law to find the field on the coil’s inside.


Where n is the number of turns per unit length.

Since the final result is independent of L, the field inside the solenoid is
uniform throughout its cross section.
The above derivation applies for solenoids with circular, square and any
other geometric cross section.


Example 30-6. An MRI solenoid.


Exercise 30-6.


5.2 Toroid
Qualitative treatment
A solenoid bent into a doughnut shape is a toroid.
As in the case of the solenoid, the field lines are parallel to the walls of the
toroid.
However, unlike the solenoid, the field varies within the cross section of
the toroid.


The magnetic field has this value within toroid is zero inside the inner
edge and outside the outer edge.
This relation is valid for a toroid with any cross section.


6 Gauss’s Law for the Magnetic Field

Unlike the electric field, there is no magnetic charge for the magnetic

field. For this reason, the magnetic flux over an enclosed surface is zero.


This is one of the four basic equations of electricity and magnetism.

We have seen three of them, namely Coulomb’s Law, Ampere’s Law (for
steady currents, constant in time) and Gauss’s Law for the magnetic field.

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