Coulombs Law and Electric Field

ir

Introduction
A number of simple experiments demonstrate the existence of electric forces and charges. For example,
after running a comb through your hair on a dry day, you will find that the comb attracts bits of paper. The
attractive force is often strong enough to suspend the paper. Another simple experiment is to rub an
inflated balloon with wool. The balloon then adheres to a wall, often for hours. When materials behave
in this way, they are said to be electrified or to have become electrically charged. You can easily electrify
your body by vigorously rubbing your shoes on a wool rug. Evidence of the electric charge on your body
can be detected by lightly touching (and startling) a friend. Under the right conditions, you will see a
spark when you touch, and both of you will feel a slight tingle. (Experiments such as these work best on
a dry day because an excessive amount of moisture in the air can cause any charge you build up to leak
from your body to the Earth.
Electric and magnetic phenomenon are generally bracketed together, since both derive from charged
particles. Magnetism, arises from charges in motion. However, in the frame of reference where all charges
are at rest, the forces are purely electrical. The subject of electrostatics, as the name suggest deals with
the physics of charges at rest.
Electro (Related to charge) + statics (stationary). Hence it deals with stationary charges

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Properties of Electric Charges

(i)
Charge comes in two varieties, which are called plus and minus, Like charges repel each other
and unlike charges attract each other.
Only two kinds of electric charges exist because any unknown charge that is found experimentally to be
attracted to a positive charge is also repelled by a negative charge. No one has ever observed a charged
object that is repelled by both a positive and a negative charge.
Charge is conserved : The charge of an isolated system is conserved. The algebraic sum of charges in
any electrically isolated system does not change.

(iii)

Charge is quantized : Protons and electron are considered the only charge carriers. All desirable
charges must be integral multiples of e. If an object contains n1 protons and n2 electrons, the net charge
on the object is
n1 (e) + n2 ( e) = (n1 n2) e.
Thus, the charge on any object is always an integral multiple of e and can be charged only in steps of e,
i.e. charge is quantized.
The step size e is usually, so small that we can easily neglect the quantization. Now, 1C contains n units
of basic charge e where

R.

(ii)

1C
~ 6 1012
19
1.6 10 C
The step size is thus very small as compared to the charges usually found on many cases we can assume
a continuous charge variation. This was verified by millikan oil drop experiment.
Meaning of a charged body
A material is said to be charged if there are more of one kind of charge than the other. A negatively
charged body has excess electrons over protons, while a positively charged body has excess positive
charges over electrons. The protons are tightly bound in the nucleus, making them very difficult to remove.
Charging a body therefore involves the removal, addition, and rearrangement of the orbital electrons. A
body becomes positively charged if it loses electrons, and negatively charged if electrons are added to it.
Now we study ways in which this addition, removal or rearrangement is achieved in practice.

n=

Page-1

WAYS OF CHARGING
1.
Charging by friction
Charging by friction is the oldest form of charging. It was found that when an amber rod is rubbed with
fur, the rod became negatively charged. The two bodies acquire opposite signs of electricity ; one gets
positively charged, while the other becomes negatively charged. When two bodies are charged by
friction, they acquire the same magnitude of charge. Furthermore, the bodies retain these excess charges
even when they are separated from each other.
Note : Charging involves transformation of mass.
2.

Charging by conduction
In charging by contact, an uncharged body is brought into contact with a charged body. The uncharged
body acquires the same sign of charge as the charged body. The total charge is distributed between the
two bodies.
uncharged
body

+ + +

B
+ + +

+
+
+
+

+
+

B
+
+ +

+
+

A
+

+
+

+
+

B
+

+
+

ir

Charging by induction
In charging by induction, an uncharged body is brought close to, but not touching, a charged body.
Charging by induction is an example of the rearrangement of charges between bodies. The sign of the
induced charge is opposite to that of the inducing charge. Furthermore, the induced charges last only
while the inducing charge is present. The induced charged disappear when the inducing charge is taken
away. (Charge can be retained if use grounding)

.S

3.

+
+
+
+
+

bodies retain charge

on separation

charging
by contact

charged
body

Note : Neutral does not mean chargeless.

Note : The bodies around is are almost neutral because there is microscopic balance of -ve and +ve
charge.

R.

Question
If a negatively charged body is attracting a body of unknown nature of charged body What are the
possible signs of the unknown charged body.

-ve charged body

Answer It can have any charge as a ve charged body can definitely attract +ve, charged body, It can
as well attract neutral or -ve charged body because of induction positive charge on a neutral body will
be closer to the -ve charge. Although the charge on +ve body should be small so that effect of the
distance overrule the slight effect of repulsion.
Note : Attraction is not the proof the nature of charge on bodies.

COULOMBS LAW
From experimental observations on the electric force, Coulombs law can be expressed, giving the
magnitude of the electric force of interaction between two point charges:
Fe = ke

| q1 || q 2 |
r2
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where ke is a constant
The Coulomb constant ke in SI units has the value
ke = 8.987 5 109 Nm2/C2 9 109 Nm2/C2
This constant is also written in the form
1
ke = 4
0

Ex.1

Sol.

where the constant 0 (lowercase Greek epsilon) is known as the permittivity of free space and has the
value.
0 = 8.854 2 1012 C2 / N m2
The electric force is a conservative force.
The electron and proton of a hydrogen atom are separated (on the average) by a distance of approximately
5.3 1011 m. Find the magnitudes of the electric force and the gravitational force between the two
particles.
Charge and mass of the electron and proton
Particle
Charge (C)
Mass (kg)
Electron (e)
1.602 1917 1019
9.109 5 1031
Proton (P)
+ 1.602 191 1019
1.672 61 1027

ir

From Coulombs law,

Fg = G

memp

.S

(1.60 10 19 C) 2
| e | | e |
9
2
2
Fe = ke
= (8.99 10 N m / C )
= 8.2 108 N
(5.3 10 11 m) 2
r2
Using Newtons law of universal gravitation

= (6.67 1011 N m2 / kg2)

r2
The ratio Fe / Fg 2 1039.

(9.11 10 31 kg ) (1.67 10 27 kg )
= 3.6 1047 N
(5.3 10 11 m) 2

R.

Gravitational force between charged atomic particles is negligible when compared with the
electric force.
Coulombs law in vector form
Remember that force is a vector quantity and must be treated accordingly. In vector form the force on
charge q1 due to charge q2 is expresed as
q1q 2
r
r2

F12 = ke

{q1 & q2 should be substituted with sign.}

r is a unit vector directed from q2 toward q1

F12

q1
+

F21

F12

^r

q2

(a)

F21
(b)

When the charges are of the same sign, the force is repulsive. When the charges are of opposite signs,
the force is attractive.
The electric force obeys Newtons third law, the electric force exerted by q2 and q1 is equal in magnitude
to the force exerted by q1 on q2 and in the opposite direction ; that is, F21 = F12.
If q1 and q2 are of opposite sign, as shown in figure (b), the product q1q2 is negative. A negative product
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indicates an attractive force, so that the charges each experience a force toward the other.
Coulomb forces follows principle of Superposition. i.e. the resultant force on any one of the charge is
equal to the vector sum of the forces exerted by the various individual charges. For example, if four
charges are present, then the resultant force exerted by charge 2, 3 and 4 on charge 1 is

F1 F12 F13 F14

r
+

q 2

(medium is )

.S

q1

ir

Charges in medium : Consider two point charges q1 and q2 kept in a medium of permittivity r (r 1
and is 1 for vacuum).
The medium will be consisting of atoms which are neutral but not chargeless. If any substance is present
in vicinity of a charge, the positive and negative charges of atom (nuclei and electrons) experience
electric force, which in turn leads to a partial separation of these charges. These partially separated
charges present on atoms apply additional electric force on charges which in combination with the force
of interaction between q1 and q2 gives the resultant field. If we know the force of interaction and the
additional electric force due to induced charges, we can forget about the presence of the substance itself
while calculating the resultant force, since the role of the substance has already been taken into account
with the help of induced charges.
Thus, the resultant force in the presence of a substance is determined simply as the superposition of the
external field and the field of induced charges.

F1 = F12 + F force on 1 due to polarisation.

1
q1 q 2
F1 represents net force on 1 and = 4
r2
r 0

Eg.

R.

q1 q 2
But force on q1 due to q2 is still F12 = 4 r 2
0 1/ 2
Very simple Eg Consider three point charges located at the corners of a right triangle as shown in figure,
q1 = q3 = 5.0 C, q2 = = 2.0C, and a = 0.10m. Find the resultant force exerted on q3.
y

q2

F23

+
q3

2a

q1 +

Sol.

F13

F23 = 9.0 N in the coordinate system shown in figure, the attractive force F23 is to the left (in the negative
x direction). The magnitude of the force F13 exerted by q1 on q3 is F3 = 11N the repulsive force F23
makes an angle of 45 with the x axis. Combing F13 with F23 by the rules of vector addition.
To demostrate the principle of superposition.

Eg.

Two identical small charged spheres, each having a mass of 3.0 102 kg, hang in equilibrium as shown
in figure. The length of each string is 0.15m, and the angle is 5.0. Find the magnitude of the charge on
each sphere.
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////////////////////////////////

L

a
L=0.15m
= 5.0

Sol.

(1)
(2)

Fx = T sin Fe = 0
Fy = T cos mg = 0
|q| = 4.4 108C
There is no way we could find the sign of the charge from the information given. In fact, the sign of the
charge is not important. The situation will be exactly the same whether both spheres are positively
charged or negatively charged.

.S

ir

Question:
Suppose we propose solving this problem without the assumption that the charges are of equal magnitude.
We claim that the symmetry of the problem is destroyed if the charges are not equal, so that the strings
would make two different angles with the vertical, and the problem would be much more complicated.
How would you respond?
Ans. You should argue that the symmetry is not destroyed and the angles remain the same. Newtons third law
requires that the electric forces on the two charges be the same, regardless of the equality or none quality
of the charges. The solution of the example remains the same. The symmetry of the problem would be
destroyed if the masses of the spheres were not the same. In this case, the strings would make different
angle with the vertical and the problem would be more complicated.

+
+
+
+

+ +
+ +
+
+
++

Fe
E q
0

Q
q0
+

R.

The electric field

The concept of a field was developed by Michael Faraday. An electric field is said to exist in the region
of space around a charged object. When another charged object, qo (the test charge) enters this space,
we say the test charge experiences an electric force, Fe due to this field.
We define the electric field due to the source charge at the location of the test charge to be the
electric force on the test charge per unit charge.

The vector E has the SI units of newtons per coulomb (N/C). The direction of E, as shown figure, is the
direction of the force a positive test charge experiences when placed in the field It is important to
remember that Electric field E is produced by charge Q, which is separate from the field produced by
the test charge itself.
Also, note that the an electric field is a property of its source, the presence of the test charge is not
necessary for the field to exist. The test charge is used to detect the electric field.
Fe
When using E q , we must assume that the test charge q0 is small enough that it does not disturb the
0

charge distribution responsible for the electric field. If vanishingly small test charge q0 is placed near a
uniformly charged metallic sphere, as in figure (a) the charge on the metallic sphere, which produces the
electric field, remains uniformly distributed. If the test charge is great enough (q0 >> q0), as in figure (b)
the charge on the metallic sphere is redistributed and the ratio of the force to the test charge is different
: (Fe / q0 Fe/q0). That is, because of this redistribution of charge on the metallic sphere, the electric
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field it sets up is different from the field it sets up in the presence of the much smaller test charge q0..
+ q0

(a)

+ q0 >> q0

(b)

Why concept of electric field necessary?

Modern understanding of electric interaction between two charges is visualized in terms of the electric
field concept. A charge produces an electric field around itself ; this field then exerts force on the other
charge. Thus, the interaction between two charges is a two step process.

For two charges, the measurable quantity is the force on a charge which can be directly determined using
Coulombs law . Why then introduce this intermediate quantity called the electric field?

ir

When charges are stationary, the concept of electric field is convenient, but not really necessary. Electric
field in electrostatics is an elegant way of characterising the electrical environment of a system of charges.

.S

The true physical significance of the concept of electric field, however,emerges only when we go
beyond electrostatics and deal with time-dependent electromagnetic phenomena.

R.

Suppose we consider the force between two distant charges q1, q2 in accelerated motion. The greatest
speed with which a signal or information can go from one point to another is c, the speed of light. Thus,
the effect of any motion of q1 on q2 cannot arise instantaneously. There will be some time delay between
the effect (force on q2) and the cause (motion of q1). It is precisely here that the notion of electric field
(strictly, electromagnetic field) is natural and very useful. The field picture is this: the accelerated motion
of charge q1 produces electromagnetic waves, which then propagate with the speed c, reach q2 and
cause a force on q2. The notion of field elegantly accounts for the time delay. Thus, even though electric
and magnetic fields can be detected only by their effects (forces) on charges, they are regarded as
physical entities, not merely mathematical constructs. They have an independent dynamics of their own,
i.e., they evolve according to laws of their own. They can also transport energy. Thus concept of field is
now among the central concepts in physics.
Field due to a point charge
According to Coulombs law, the force exerted by point charge q on the test charge q0 is :

qq
Fe k e 20 r
r
q0

^r

P
q

^r

P
r

+
(a)

(b)

where r is a unit vector directed from q toward q0. By E = Fe/q0, the electric field created by q is :

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q
E e k e 2 r
r
The source charge sets up an electric field at point P, directed away from q.
q0
E
q
+

^r

q ^r

r
(d)

(c)

If q is negative, as in figure (c), the force on the test charge is toward the source charge, so the electric
field at P is directed toward the source charge, as in figure (d)

Superposition of electrostatic fields

If we are dealing with many charges then electric field at a point p is the vector sum

q
E k e 2i ri
i r1

.S

ir

where ri is the distance from the ith source charge q, to the point P and ri is a unit vector directed from
qi toward P. If some more charge are added, more terms are added to the summation. However, there
is no change to the terms that were already there, provided that the original charges do not move. If we
know the electric fields generated by two different sets of charges separately, the electric field generated
by both together is simply the vector sum of the two separate fields. The two fields, which each occupy
three-dimensional space, are superimposed on one another. Because it has this property, the electric
field is said to satisfy the principle of superposition.

R.

Illustrations
Ex.
Two identical positive point charges q are placed on the x-axis at
x = a and x = + a, as shown in figure.
(i) Plot the variation of E along the x-axis.
(ii) Plot the variation of E along the y-axis.
E

+q

+q

x=a

Sol.

x=+a

(i)

E on point charge is undefined

The variation of along the x-axis.
Electric field directed along the
positive x-axis is taken as positive

(ii)

The direction of electric field along the positive y-axis is taken as positive.
Ey =

2kqy
( y a 2 )3 / 2

Emax =

8 kq
27 a 2

a /2
a /2

occurs at

Page-7

a
2
Three point charges lie along the x axis as shown in figure. The positive charge q1 = 24.0 C is at
x = 3.00m, the positive charge q2 = 6.00 C is at the origin, and the resultant force acting on q3 is zero.
What is the x coordinate of q3?
y=

Ex.

3.00m
x
q2

Sol.

ke

3.00m-x

q3

F23

+
q1

F13

| q1 | | q 3 |
| q 2 | | q3 |
= ke
2
(3.00 x ) 2
x

.S

ir

Noting that ke and |q3| are common to both sides and so can be dropped, we solve for x and find that
(3.00 x)2 |q2| = x2 |q1|
This can be reduced to the following quadratic equation :
solving this quadratic equation for x, we find that the positive root is x = 1m. There is also a second root,
x = 3m. This is another location at which the magnitudes of the forces on q3 are equal, but both forces
are in the same direction at this location.

R.

Question
Suppose charge q3 is constrained to move only along the x axis. From its initial position at x = 1m, it is
pulled a very small distance along the x axis. When released, will it return to equilibrium or be pulled
further from equilibrium? That is, is the equilibrium stable or unstable?
Ans. If the charge is moved to the right, F13 becomes larger and F23 becomes smaller. This results in a net
force to the right, in the same direction as the displacement. Thus, the equilibrium is unstable.
Note that if the charge is constrained to allowed to move up and down along y -axis in figure, the
equilibrium is stable. In this case, if the charge is pulled upward (or downward) and released, will move
back toward the equilibrium position and undergo oscillation

Ex.

Four identical charges are fixed at the corners of a square of side a. Find electric field at point p which is
at a distance z lying on the line perpendicular to the plane of the square passing through the centre of
square.
p

q
q

Ans.

qz . 2 2
q 0a 3
Page-8

Electric field of a continuous charge distribution :

The total electric field at P due to all elements in the charge distribution is approximately.

q
E k e 2 i ri
i r1
Considering the charge distribution as continuous, the total field at P in the limit qi 0 is

q
lim
E k e qi 0 2 i ri = k dq r
e 2
r
i r1
OPTIONAL

1.
2.
3.

ir

4.

Problem solving tactics for calculating the electric field from continuous charge
distributions
Identify the type of charge distribution and compute the charge density or .
Divide the charge distribution into infinitesimal charges dq, each of which will act as a tiny point charge.
The amount of charge dq, i.e., within a small element dl, dA or dV is
dq = dl
(charge distributed in length)
dq = dA
(charge distributed over a surface)
dq = dV
(charge distributed throughout a volume)
Draw at point P the dE vector produced by the charge dq. The magnitude of dE is

.S

6.
7.

5.

1 dq
dE = 4
2
0 r
Vector dE is along radial line joining dq to P, dE is directed away for positive charge dq while directed
towards dq for negative dq.
Resolve the dE vector into its components. Identify any special symmetry features to show whether any
component(s) of the field that are not cancelled by other components.
Write the distance r and any trigonometric factors in terms of given coordinates and parameters.
The electric field is obtained by summing over all the infinitesimal contributions.

E dE =

dq

R.

4 r 2
0

8.

Perform the indicated integration over limit of integration that include all the source charges.

Ex.

A thin rod of length has a uniform positive charge per unit length . Calculate the electric field at a point
P that is located along the long axis of the rod and a distance a from one end
y
x
E

Ans.

dq=dx

dx

x
a

k e l
a (l a )

Question:
Suppose we move to a point P very far away from the rod. What is the nature of the electric field at such
a point ?
Ans. If P is far from the rod (a >> ), then in the denominator of the final expression for E can be neglected,
and E kel/a2.
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Electric field due to finite rod at perpendicular distance x from the wire.
y = x tan
x
dy = x sec2 d

K dy cos
dEx =
( x sec ) 2

dEy =
so

Ex =

K dy sin
( x sec ) 2

dy

K
(sin 2 sin 1)
x

K
(cos 1 cos 2)
x
1 and 2 are to be used with sign.

Ey =

For eg in this figure

/3
/4

ir

Results:
For semi infinite wire
Ex
E y

K
x

.S

K
=
x

2 K
at 45 with OP.
x
For infinite wire
K
x
Ey = 0

Ex = 2

R.

E=
(ii)

,2 =
3
4

(i)

1 =

Electric field due to arc

= charge distribution / unit length. Find field at the centre due to arc.
So only the horizontal components are cancelled and only vertical
components are added.
/2

dE = 0

K (R d) cos
R2

2K sin 2
E net =
R

dr

Rd

Electric field due to the ring

(at a point P lying a distance x from its center along the central axis perpendicular to the plane of the ring)
Page-10

dq
+
+
+

+ +
+
+

dEx

dE

dE

The magnitude of the electric field at P due to the segment of charge dq is

dq
r2
This field has an x component dEx = dE cos along the x-axis and a component dE perpendicular to
the x-axis. The resultant field at P must lie along the x-axis because the perpendicular components of the
field created by any charge element is canceled by the perpendicular component created by an
element on the opposite side of the ring.

dE = ke

1
+
+

+
+

dE2

.S

ir

+ +

dE1

kex
dq x
dq
dEx = dE cos = k e 2 = 2
( x a 2 )3 / 2
r r
All elements of the ring make the same contribution to the field at P because they are all equidistant from
this point. Thus, we can integrate to obtain the total field at P
kex
Q
( x a 2 )3 / 2

R.

k x

( x 2 ea 2 )3 / 2 dq

Ex =

dq

+
+
+

+ +

+
+

+
+

Ex.

+ +
+
+

+
+

dEx
dE

dE

+
+

dE2

dE1

A thread carrying a uniform charge per unit length has the configurations shown in Fig. a and b.
Assuming a curvature radius R to be considerably less than the length of the thread, find the magnitude of
the electric field strength at the point O.

O
R

R
(a)

(b)
Page-11

[Ans. (a) E =
Ex.
Ans.

2
; (b) E = 0 ]
4 0 R

Suppose a negative charge is placed at the center of the ring in and displaced slightly by a distance
x << a along x-axis. When released, what type of motion does it exhibit ?
In the expression for the field due to a ring of charge, we let x << a, which results in

k eQ
x
a3
Thus, from Fe = qE , the force on a charge q placed near the center of the ring is
Ex =

k e qQ
x
a3
Because this force has the form SHM, the motion will be simple harmonic.
Fx =

Always look for the condition of SHM as F x

A system consists of a thin charged wire ring of radius R and a very long uniformly charged thread
oriented along the axis of the ring, with one of its ends coinciding with the centre of the ring. The total
charge of the ring is equal to q. The charge of the thread (per unit length) is equal to . Find the interaction
force between the ring and the thread.

.S

Ex.

ir

Question
What will be the changes in the result if the ring is non uniformly charged.

q
[Ans. F = 4 R ]
0

R.

Electric field due to disk (at a point P that lies along the central perpendicular axis of the disk and a
distance x from the center of the disk.
Let disk has radius R has a uniform surface charge density .
dq
R
r
x

dr

The ring of radius r and width dr shown in has a surface area equal to 2rdr. The charge dq on this ring
is 2r dr. Using this result of field due to the ring
kex
dEx = 2 2 3 / 2 (2r dr)
(x r )
To obtain the total field at P, we integrate this expression over the limits r = 0 to r = R. x is a constant
R

Ex = kex

2r dr

( x 2 r 2 )3 / 2
0

= 2k e 1 2
2 1/ 2
(x R )
Page-12

R.

.S

ir

This result is valid for all values of x > 0 and x<0. but for x = 0 the
answer is not valid as thereis discontinuty at x = 0.
We can calculate the field close to the disk along the axis by assuming
that R >> x ; thus, the expression in bracket reduces to unity to give us
the near-field approximation.

Ex = 2ke = 2
0
The field created by a uniformly charged infinite sheet is same..

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