Experiment ED2; Equipotential Mapping.

Introduction;
It is not easy to measure or map the electric fields (E) in space. This experiment was done to
provide a means of producing and mapping electric fields in uniform conductor, which can have
the same form as an electric field in free space when the electrodes shapes and potential are the
same.
BRIEF THEORY.
We can base our experiment on our knowledge of Gauss law. According to Gauss law, the total
flux of electric fields (E) out of any closed surface is equal to 1/
o
times the total charge within
the surface: in different form this may be written as;
Div E =/
0 ..(1)
Where the charge distribution at any is point and is the permittivity of free space. Equation (1)
applies to the medium in which the charges are fixed.
(b). in free space, where there is no charge, equation 1 becomes,
Div E =0(2)
(c). in a conductor in which the charges are free to move, we obtain the current density,
J =E.(3)
Where is the conductivity of the conductor. Under steady conditions, we have
Div j = 0 (4)
Combining equations (2), (3), and (4)., we get
Div E =(1/)=div j= 0 (5)
(d). in any medium the feld is related to potential (v) by
E = -grad V (6)
By substituting (2), we get
Div grad =
2
V = 0 (7)
Equation 7 is valid for both a conductor in which the steady currents are flowing in free space.
We thus have the same differential equation to solve for the condition of steady current flowing
between the electrodes and the free space. The differential equation above (
2
V = 0) is
commonly known as Laplaces equation. It has one solution for each set of boundary conditions.
Thus if we keep the boundary conditions the same, we may examine the EQUIPOTENTIAL
surfaces between the electrodes and the free space by performing experiments on steady current
flow between the same electrodes in a uniform conducting medium, e.g., water.
In the following experiment only two dimensional cases were considered . The conducting
medium was water with uniform depth in a shallow tank. The electrodes are perpendicular to the
water surface. The equipotential were considered as equipotential lines on the water surface.
The use of steady potentials and fields with water (or any other electrolyte) would be in the long
run give trouble with the polarization and chemical decomposition at the electrodes. To
overcome this, we approximate to the steady states by using low alternating voltages. Even at the
frequency of 2 KHz the inhomogeneity caused by charges moving together and separately in the
water is negligible and still the steady state condition is effectively satisfied.
In this experiment, the potentials are mapped directly by balancing them against potentials
provided by a Rayleigh potentiometer, using earphones as a null detector. The principle is similar
to that of a Wheatstone bridge.

THE EXPERIMENT SET-UP DIAGRAM.




R1 and R2 are two decade resistance boxes making the Rayleigh potentiometer, such that
R1 + R2= 1000 always.
The probe is a bare wire, or some of pointer, that is moved through water between the
electrodes to determine the position at which the ear phones detect minimum signal.
If we regard the first and the second electrode to as being V
0
volts potential (the output of
signal generator). Then the potential at the probe is V = R
2
V0/
(R1+R2)

EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE ;
1. The tank was dried and then the tank was placed onto a sheet of graph paper which was
to provide a co- ordinate system.
2. Small amount of water was put to level the bottom of the tank with wedges, then filled it
uniformly to a level of about 1 cm.
3. The two long straight electrodes were arranged parallel to one another in the middle of
the tank, their distance between them being about two thirds of their lengths.
4. The circuit was connected as shown in the circuit diagram. The probe would be moved
along a line such that the sound in the earphones was always a minimum. This line is
therefore the equipotential.
5. A table of values of V,R
1
, and R
2
used was made. The value of the voltage used gave the
best signal.
6. The first pair of values: R1 and R2 were set and the end of the probe dipped in the water.
It was moved until minimum signal sound was heard in the headphones. The
corresponding point was marked to scale on the map. Other points were located in the
same way, their numbers sufficient to draw contour for the particular value of V.
7. Other values of R1 and R2 were taken in turn and a complete set of contours or
equipotential lines drawn.
8. Similarly one electrode was replaced with a pin electrode, dipped into the water and the
equipotential contour mapped for this arrangement.
9. The process was repeated using a circular strip electrode.
After the experiments with the given sets of the contours corresponding to the electrode
configurations, the field lines for each configuration was drawn from the background knowledge
of relation between electric field and potential. The lines were made continuous from one
electrode to another while fulfilling the necessary conditions at the electrodes.
The condition;
The field lines should be perpendicular to the electrodes (the equipotential lines).
THE DATA COLLECTED WAS AS FOLLOWED;
(a) Using straight electrodes;
R
1
R
2
V
0
CO-ORDINATES
500 500 5 (1,8) (1,5) (1,3)
600 400 5 (-2,8) (-2,5) (-2,3)
700 300 5 (-4,8) (-4,5) (-4,3)

(b) Using circular electrodes;
R
1
R
2
V
0
CO-ORDINATES
500 500 5 (-3,-8) (-2,8) (-3,-2) (-2.5,6) (-3,2) (-3,-4)
600 400 5 (-3.5,8) (-4,5 ) (-4.5,1) (-4.5,-8) (-4,-4) (-4.5,0)
700 300 5 (-5,8) (-5.5,4) (5.5,0) (-6,-6) (-5.5,-3)

(C) Using pin type electrodes;
R
1
R
2
V
0
CO-ORDINATES
500 500 5 (5,0) (6,-2) (5.5,-1) (5,1) (5.5,2)
600 400 5 (2.5,0) (3,-1) (2.5,1) (3,2)
700 300 5 (0,0) (-1,-1) (0.5,1) (0,3)

DATA QUANTISATION AND ANALYSIS:
The relation between the electric field and the potential is given as follows;
(a) The difference between two arbitrary points .in space is a function of electric field
which permeates space.

(b) Consider a charge that is slowly moved an infinitesimal distance along the axis. We
suppose that the difference in electric potential between the final and the initial positions of
the charge is db. By definition, the charge dip in the charges electric energy is given by
Dip =q db.
From the contour diagrams that were obtained it can be seen that, nearer to the electrodes the
contours were close together than the zones far away from the electrodes. This is because the
field strength is usually strong at the electrodes. This can also be observed from the equation that
we had, i.e., the distance between the initial positions of the charges affects the potential.
The shape of the electrode also determines the shape of the equipotential lines that we obtain.
This can be directly being observed from the lines that we obtained. Straight electrodes produced
straight lines, circular electrodes produced circular lines and the pin type electrode produced very
narrow contours that tend to the shape of the pin end of the electrode.
Finding the direction of the lines of force using the equipotential lines;
We could easily outline the direction of the lines of force of the field lines by following the
condition that the field lines should be perpendicular to the equipotential lines. If we drew lines
perpendicular to the equipotential lines and join them then we could be able to obtain the
location of the electrodes.