Electrostatics Part I

Objectives: 1.1-1.2/
Objectives 3.1-3.11

Objectives
Define static electricity
Describe how static electricity develops
State the law of conservation of electric charge
Define the coloumb
Relate charge to electric current Q= It
Apply Coulombs law and vector approach to find
the resultant Electric Force
Describe properties of an electric field
Determine the electric field strength of a point
Charge
Apply equations of motion to describe linear and
projectile motion in an uniform electric field

Static Electricity
Static electricity is an excess of
electric charge trapped on the
surface of an object

Static Electricity
Recall that matter consists of Atoms and atoms in
turn consist of electrons, protons and neutrons.
Electrons = negative charge
Protons= positive charge

1. Neutral charge has protons = electrons

2. Negative charge: electrons > protons
3. Positive charge: protons > electrons
.How is Static Electricity Produced?
When two non-conductors are rub together
electrons (negative charges) of one dry material
are transferred to and build-up on another

Conservation of Charge (Q)

Law of Conservation of Electric
Charge:
The net amount of any charge
produced in a system is zero.
The amount of electric charge remains
constant in a closed system.
Electrons are simply transferred from
one material to another.

Coulomb (Q) : SI Unit of

Charge
Coulomb: the amount of charge
transferred in one ampere in one second.
Q = It
Coulomb = Amp-sec
The electric charge on an electron is very
small and it is NEGATIVE:
e = -1.6x 10-19 Coulombs
Protons have equal and opposite charge
of electrons
e = + 1.6 x 10-19C

Activity
A steady current of 2.5 A exists in a
wire for 4.0 min
(a) How much total charge passed by a
given point in the circuit during those
4.0 min?
(b) How many electrons would this be

Coulombs (Inverse Square)

Law
The law looks at theforcescreated
between twocharged objects.
This force can either be attractive or
repulsive.
Magnitude of Force is :
Directly proportional to the product of
the charges
9
K
=
9.0
x
10
Inverse proportional to the square of the
2
2
Nm
/C
distance between the charges
K = 1/4o

Coulombs Law

Like
charges:
Force is
directed
away from
each other

Applying Coulombs Law To Two

Fixed Charges
1. Find the electric force a proton exerts
on an electron in a hydrogen atom,
given that the average distance
between them is 0.53 x 10-10 m.
o.Tips: Ignore the signs when applying
Coulombs law.
o.Determine the direction of force based on
attraction or repulsion.
2. Which charge exerts a greater force on
the other: Q1 = 1 uC and Q2 = 50uC,
separated by a distance l?

Using Vector Addition to Find

Resultant Electric Force
Recall that force is a vector quantity :
both magnitude and direction
The net force is vector sum of all
forces acting on the object.

Using Vector Addition to Find

Resultant Electric Force

ELECTRIC FIELD

Electric Field Strength (Intensity)

Electric field
isany region where
a charged object
experiences an
electric force.
Electric field:
Force per unit
charge

Direction of field
lines depends on
the direction of
acceleration of a
small positive test
charge in that
field

Electric Field due to a One-Point

Charge
E depends only the charges creating
the field, not the test charge.

Electric field is best expressed in

terms of the permittivity space constant
USE THIS EQ.

Doing Work in Electric Field

Doing Work in an Electric Field

Force Acting on A Charged Particle

in an Electric Field
E = F/q
F = qE

Motion of Charged Particles in an

Electric field
When a particle of charge q and mass m is
placed in an electric fieldE, the electric force
exerted on the charge is qE.
If this is the only force exerted on the particle:
The acceleration of the particle is therefore:

Eis uniform (that is, constant in magnitude

and direction), then the acceleration is
constant.

Motion/Electric Field

Projectile Motion in Electric

Field

Equations of Motion

Keep in Mind
No acceleration in x direction:
therefore time taken to go through
the field =
sx = ux t + 1/2axt2 [no ax]
Initial velocity in y direction = 0
Voy or Uy = 0
Vertical displacement or deflection:
Sy = uyt + ayt2 , where ay = qE/m

Question
An electron enters an uniform electric field as
shown in fig 23.25 with vi = 3.00x106 m/s and
E= 200 N/C. the horinzontal length of the plate is
l = 0.100m.
a) Find the acceleration of the electron.
b) Find the time it takes for the electron to travel
through the field
c) What is the vertical displacement of the
electron in the field
d) Find the speed of the electron as it emerges
from the field

Projected at an Angle
An electron and a proton are fired at a velocity
ofan angle ofabove the horizontal into a uniform
electric field created by two charged plates with a
separation of 2cm and a length of 10cm and a
potential difference of 2kV. The charges enter the
field 0.5cm above the bottom plate, as shown in
the figure below.Locate the positions at which the
proton and electron collide with the plates.
The mass of an electron is 9.11x 10-31 kg, the
mass of a proton is1.67x10-27 kg. The charge on
an electron is1.67x 10-19 C, and the charge on a
proton is 1.67x 10-19 C .

Solution

Applications of static Energy in everyday life

Photocopier machine
uses static electricity to copy print to a page. The
ink is charged so that it will stick to the paper in the
designated areas.
Spray painting cars:
The paint is charged. Because the paint particles
have the same charge, they repel each other so
they spread out evenly. The charged paint particles
are attracted to the car and stick to the body
Reduce pollution in furnaces:
They give the smoke an electric charge; when it
passes by walls of the opposite charge, most of the
smoke particles cling to the wall. This reduces the
pollution entering into the atmosphere.

METHODS OF REDUCING
STATIC ELECTRICITY
Static electricity can be useful but also annoying or even
damaging ( think of lightning)
Below are two primary ways to reduce static electricity.
1. Increasing Moisture/Reduce dryness:
Recall that static electricity favours dryness. Adding
moisiture (water or oil) prevents build up of charges.
e.g. moisturising hair will prevent sparks while combing.
2. Grounding: the process of making an object neutral or
uncharged by connecting to a very large object most times the
ground.
Example: the use of lightning rods channel the electricity of the
lightning to the ground.