All Flashcards
How do you calculate electric potential due to multiple charges?
Use scalar superposition: sum the individual potentials from each charge.
How do batteries create electric potential difference?
Chemical processes in batteries create charge separation, resulting in electric potential differences.
What happens when conductors touch?
Electrons move until they reach the same electric potential.
Define electric potential.
Electric potential is the electric potential energy per unit charge at a point in space; measured in volts (V).
What is electric potential difference?
The change in electric potential energy per unit charge when moving a test charge between two points.
Define equipotential lines.
Lines connecting points of equal electric potential; always perpendicular to electric field vectors.
What are electric field vectors?
Vectors that point in the direction of decreasing potential (from high to low), showing the direction a positive test charge would move.
What is voltage?
Electric potential difference; the driving force behind electric current.
What is the effect of charge separation in a battery?
It creates an electric potential difference.
What happens when equipotential lines are closer together?
The electric field is stronger.
What happens when a positive charge moves from high to low potential?
It loses electric potential energy.