All Flashcards
Define Electric Field.
A field created by charged objects that exerts a force on other charged objects. It can be attractive or repulsive.
What is electric field strength?
The force per unit charge experienced by a test charge placed in the electric field. Measured in N/C or V/m.
Define electrostatic equilibrium in conductors.
A condition where there is no net motion of charge within the conductor and the electric field inside the conductor is zero.
What is polarization?
The separation of positive and negative charges within an insulator (or even a neutral object) when placed in an electric field.
Define electric field lines.
Lines used to visualize the electric field, indicating the direction a positive test charge would move. Density of lines indicates field strength.
What is a test charge?
A hypothetical charge used to measure the electric field at a point. It is assumed to be small enough not to disturb the field it is measuring.
What is the effect of placing a conductor in an external electric field?
Charges redistribute on the surface of the conductor, creating an induced field that cancels the external field inside the conductor.
What is the effect of increasing the distance from a point charge on the electric field strength?
The electric field strength decreases proportionally to the square of the distance (inverse square law).
What is the effect of increasing the magnitude of a source charge on the electric field strength?
The electric field strength increases proportionally to the magnitude of the source charge.
What is the effect of polarization on a neutral object near a charged object?
A slight separation of charge occurs within the neutral object, creating an attraction between the objects.
What is the effect of electric field lines crossing?
Electric field lines cannot cross. Crossing implies an infinitely strong field at the intersection, which is not physically possible.
How do you find the net electric field due to multiple charges?
Use the principle of superposition: calculate the electric field due to each charge individually as vectors, then add the vectors to find the resultant electric field.
Describe the head-to-tail method of adding electric field vectors.
Place the tail of one vector at the head of the other. The resultant vector is drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector.
Describe the parallelogram method of adding electric field vectors.
Place the vectors at the same starting point, complete the parallelogram, and draw the resultant vector as the diagonal.