ELECTRIC FIELD

An electric field surrounds electrically charged particles and time-varying magnetic fields. The electric field depicts the force exerted on other electrically charged objects by the electrically charged particle the field is surrounding. The concept of an electric field was introduced by Michael Faraday. The electric field is a vector field with SI units of newtons per coulomb (N C1) or, equivalently, volts per meter (V m1). The SI base units of the electric field are kgms3A1. The strength or magnitude of the field at a given point is defined as the force that would be exerted on a positive test charge of 1 coulomb placed at that point; the direction of the field is given by the direction of that force. Electric fields contain electrical energy with energy density proportional to the square of the field amplitude. The electric field is to charge as gravitational acceleration is to mass and force density is to volume. A field is associated with a region in space, and we say that a field exists in the region if there is a physical phenomenon associated with points in that region. In other words, we can talk of the fields of any physical quantities as being a description of how the quantity varies from one point to another in the region of the field.

2 Important Characteristics of Electric Field:

Direction the direction of an electric field at a point is defined as the direction of the force upon a positive charge Intensity force experienced by a positive charge of 1 Coulomb placed at that point

COULOMBS LAW
Coulomb stated that the force between two very small objects separated in a vacuum or free space by a distance which is large compared to the square of the distance between them, or where Q1 and Q2 are the positive or negative quantities of charge, R, is the separation, and k is proportionality constant. If the International System of units (SI) is used, Q is measured in coulombs (C), R is in meters (m), and the force should ne newtons (N). This will be achieved if the constant of proportionality k is written as

The new constant is called the permittivity of free space and has the magnitude, measured in farads per meter (F/m).

Coulombs Law is now

FIGURE 1. If Q1 and Q2 have like signs the vector force F2 on Q2 is in the same direction as the vector R12.

Let the vector r1 locate Q1 while r2 locates Q2. Then the vector R12 = r2 r2 represents the directed line segment from Q1 to Q2, as shown in Figure 1. The vector F2 is the force on Q2 and is shown for the case where Q1 and Q2 have the same sign. The vector form of Coulombs law is

Where a12 = a unit vector in the direction of R12, or

Examples:

Exercise: 1.

ELECTRIC FIELD INTENSITY

Electric Field Intensity is the force per unit charge when placed in the electric field. Electric field intensity is a vector quantity; it has both magnitude and direction and is denoted by E. The magnitude of the electric field strength is defined in terms of how it is measured. Suppose that an electric charge can be denoted by the symbol Q. This electric charge creates an electric field; since Q is the source of the electric field, we will refer to it as the source charge. The strength of the source charge's electric field could be measured by any other charge placed somewhere in its surroundings. The charge that is used to measure the electric field strength is referred to as a test charge (denoted by Qt) since it is used to test the field strength. When placed within the electric field, the test charge will experience an electric force (F t) - either attractive or repulsive. The magnitude of the electric field is simply defined as the force per charge on the test charge.

Electric Field Intensity due to a Point Charge

Example: Find the E at P(1, 1, 1) caused by four identical 3-nC charges located at P1(1, 1, 0), P2(-1, 1, 0), P3(-1, -1, 0) and P4(1, -1, 0), as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Exercises:
1.

2.

Electric Field Intensity due to a Continuous Volume Charge

where: Q = total charge (C) v = volume charge density (C/m3)

Example: Find the total charge contained in a 2 cm length of the electron beam shown.

Exercise:
1.

Electric Field Intensity due to a Line Charge

where: L = uniform line charge density (C/m) = radial distance between the line charge and point

Example: Consider an infinite line parallel to the z-axis at x = 6, y=8. Find E at the general field point P(x, y, z) Solution: replace by the radial distance between the line charge and point, P, R = sqrt((x-6)2 + (y-8)2). Let a be the unit vector of R.

Exercise:
1.

Electric Field Intensity due to a Sheet of Charge

where: S = surface charge density (C/m2)

Exercise:
1.

ELECTRIC FLUX
Electric flux is the number of electric field lines penetrating a surface or passing through a surface. Electric flux is denoted by (psi) and the total charge by Q. Then,

ELECTRIC FLUX DENSITY

Electric flux density is measured in coulombs per square meter, is given the letter D, which was originally chosen because of the alternative names of displacement flux density or displacement density. The electric flux density D is a vector field and is a member of the flux density class of vector fields, as opposed to the force fields class, which includes the electric field intensity E. The direction of D at a point is the direction of the flux lines at that point, and the magnitude is given by the number of flux lines crossing a surface normal to the lines divided by the surface area.

Figure 2. The electric flux in the region between a pair of charged concentric spheres. The direction and magnitude of D are not functions of the dielectric between the spheres.

Referring to Figure 2, the electric flux density is in the radial direction and has a value of

For Q lines of flux are symmetrically directed outward from the point and pass through an imaginary spherical surface of area . The radial electric field intensity of a point charge in free space is,

Therefore,

Example:

Exercises: 1.

2.

DIVERGENCE THEOREM
The divergence is an operator that measures the magnitude of a vector fields source or sink at a given point; the divergence of a vector field is a (signed) scalar. For example, for a vector field that denotes the velocity of air expanding as it is heated, the divergence of the velocity field would have a positive value because the air expands. If the air cools and contracts, the divergence is negative. In this specific example the divergence could be thought of as a measure of the change in density. A vector field that has zero divergence everywhere is called solenoidal. Let x, y, z be a system of Cartesian coordinates on a 3-dimensional Euclidean space, and let i, j, k be the corresponding basis of unit vectors. The divergence of a continuously differentiable vector field F = Fx i + Fy j + Fz k is defined to be the scalar-valued function:

Although expressed in terms of coordinates, the result is invariant under orthogonal transformations, as the physical interpretation suggests. The common notation for the divergence F is a convenient mnemonic, where the dot denotes an operation reminiscent of the dot product: take the components of , apply them to the components of F, and sum the results. As a result, this is considered an abuse of notation. Example: Calculate the divergence of F=(y,xy,z). Solution: F1x=0,F2y=x,F3z=1 divF=0+x+1=x+1. The divergence theorem, also known as Ostrogradsky's theorem, is a result that relates the flow (that is, flux) of a vector field through a surface to the behavior of the vector field inside the surface. More precisely, the divergence theorem states that the outward flux of a vector field through a closed surface is equal to the volume integral of the divergence of the region inside the surface. Intuitively, it states that the sum of all sources minus the sum of all sinks gives the net flow out of a region. Suppose V is a subset of Rn (in the case of n = 3, V represents a volume in 3D space) which is compact and has a piecewise smooth boundary. If F is a continuously differentiable vector field defined on a neighborhood of V, then we have

The left side is a volume integral over the volume V, the right side is the surface integral over the boundary of the volume V. Here V is quite generally the boundary of V oriented by outwardpointing normals, and n is the outward pointing unit normal field of the boundary V. (dS may be used as a shorthand for ndS.) In terms of the intuitive description above, the left-hand side of the equation represents the total of the sources in the volume V, and the right-hand side represents the total flow across the boundary V.

Example: Compute SFdS where F=(3x+z77,y2sinx2z,xz+yex5) and S is surface of box 0x1,0y3,0z2. Use outward normal n. Solution: Given the ugly nature of the vector field, it would be hard to compute this integral directly. However, the divergence of F is nice: divF=3+2y+x. We use the divergence theorem to convert the surface integral into a triple integral SFdS=BdivFdV where B is the box 0x1,0y3,0z2. We compute the triple integral of divF=3+2y+x over the box B: SFdS=103020(3+2y+x)dzdydx=1030(6+4y+2x)dydx=10(18+18+6x)dx=36+3=39.

Exercise:
1.

CONDUCTORS
The electrons of different types of atoms have different degrees of freedom to move around. Because these virtually unbound electrons are free to leave their respective atoms and float around in the space between adjacent atoms, they are often called free electrons. This relative mobility of electrons within a material is known as electric conductivity. Conductivity () is determined by the types of atoms in a material (the number of protons in each atom's nucleus, determining its chemical identity) and how the atoms are linked together with one another. Materials with high electron mobility (many free electrons) are called conductors, while materials with low electron mobility (few or no free electrons) are called insulators. Conductance (G) is the ability of a material to pass electrons. Conductance is the reciprocal of resistance R. The factors that affect the magnitude of resistance are exactly the same for conductance, but they affect conductance in the opposite manner. Therefore, conductance is directly proportional to area, and inversely proportional to the length of the material. Whereas the symbol used to represent resistance (R) is the Greek letter omega (). In terms of resistance and conductance: 1 1 R=,G= G R

Metallic Conductors
Metallic conductors are those which allow the electricity to pass through them without undergoing any chemical change. For example, copper, silver etc. In metallic conductors, the conductance is due to the movement of electrons under the influence of applied electrical potential. The stream of electrons constitutes the current. In metals, the conductivity strongly depends on the number of valence electrons available per atom. In general, the electrical conductance of solids depends upon the energy gap between the filled valence band and next higher vacant energy band. The outermost filled energy band is called valence band and the next empty band in which electrons can move is called conduction band. The spaces between valence band and conduction band represent energies forbidden to electrons and are called energy gaps or forbidden zone.

Energy Bands for Solids

a) The insulator shows a large energy gap b) The semiconductor has only a small energy gap c) The conductor exhibits no energy gap between the valence and conduction bands

**With a field E, an electron having a charge Q = -e will experience a force

In free space, the electron would accelerate and continuously increase its velocity. This velocity vd is termed as the drift velocity, and it is linearly related to the electric field intensity(E) by the mobility of the electron (e in m2/V.s) in a given material so that,

Current density (J) is linearly related to the charge density as well as to the velocity. Therefore,

where e is the free electron charge density, a negative value. The relationship between J and E for metallic conductor, however, is also specified by the conductivity

where is measured in Siemens per meter (S/m). One siemens is (1S) is the basic unit of conductance in the SI system and is equal to one ampere per volt (A/V). Formerly, the unit of conductance was called the mho and was symbolized by . The conductivity then may be expressed in terms of charge density and the electron mobility.

**when J and E are uniform, then

Example:

1.

2.

Semiconductors
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator.

CHARGE CARRIERS IN SEMICONDUCTORS There are two types of current carriers present in a semiconductor material, electrons and holes. At high temperature, electrons move from valance band to conduction band and as a result a vacancy is created in the valence band at a place where an electron was present before shifting to conduction band. The vacancy is a hole and is seat of positive charge having the same value of electron. Therefore the electrical conduction in semiconductors is due to motion of electrons in conduction band and also due to motion of holes in valence band. Both carrier move in an electric field, and they move in opposite directions; hence each contributes a component of the total current which is in the same direction as that provided by the other. The conductivity is therefore a function of both hole and electron concentration and mobilities,

Mobility constants for semiconductors at 300K: Silicon (Si) Germanium (Ge) e = 0.12 m2/Vs h = 0.025 m2/Vs e = 0.36 m2/Vs h = 0.17 m2/Vs

Exercise:
1.

DIELECTRICS
Dielectrics are non-conducting substances, they have no charge carriers or no free electrons. Rather, they are bound in place by atomic and molecular forces and can only shift positions slightly in response to external fields. They are called bound charges, in contrast to the free charges that determine conductivity. The bound charges can be treated as any other sources of the electrostatic field. If an external field is applied, it turns out that charges are induced on the surface which in turn produces a field and opposes the external field. The opposing field does not exactly cancel the external field but only reduces it. The characteristic which all dielectric materials have in common is their ability to store electric energy. This storage takes place by means of a shift in the relative positions of the internal, bound positive and negative charges against the normal molecular and atomic forces.

Dipole Moment
The electric dipole moment (p) of anything be it an atom stretched in an external electric field, a polar molecule, or two oppositely charged metal spheres is defined as the product of charge and separation.

where Q is the positive one of the two bound charges composing the dipole, and d is the vector from the negative to the positive charge. The units of p are coulombs-meters.

Polarization of Dielectrics
Dielectric polarization arises from the electrical response of individual molecules of a medium and may be classified as electronic, atomic, orientation, and space-charge or interfacial polarization, according to the mechanism involved. The polarization (P) is the dipole moment per unit volume, with the SI unit of coulomb per square meter, or

Different materials polarize to different degrees which is represented by the quantity e (chi sub e) known as the electric susceptibility but for most every material, the stronger the field (E), the greater the polarization (P). Add a constant of proportionality and we're all set.

The electric susceptibility is a dimensionless parameter that varies with material. The electric susceptibility e of a dielectric material is a measure of how easily it polarizes in response to an electric field. This, in turn, determines the electric permittivity of the material and thus influences many other phenomena in that medium, from the capacitance of capacitors to the speed of light. Its value ranges from 0 for empty space to whatever. The constant of proportionality (epsilon nought) is known as the permittivity of free space.

The bound charge within the closed surface is taken through the integral:

And the total enclosed charge, bound charges plus free charges:

The electric flux density D is related to the polarization density P by

The relative permittivity or dielectric constant of the material is another dimensionless quantity and is equal to (1 + Xe). And, , is the permittivity.

Example: A slab of dielectric material has a relative dielectric constant of 3.8 and contains a uniform electric flux density of 8nC/m2. If the material is lossless, find: (a) E; (b) P

CAPACITANCE
The capacitance (C) of an electrostatic system is the ratio of the quantity of charge separated (Q) to the potential difference applied (V).

where d is the separation, S is the area,

is the charge density and

is the permittivity.

Energy Stored in a Capacitor (WE)

Example:

Exercise:
1.

Total Capacitance in Parallel

Total Capacitance in Series

Charge Distribution and Voltage Distribution when Capacitors are in Parallel

Charge Distribution and Voltage Distribution when Capacitors are in Series

Example: 1. The total capacitance of two capacitors is 0.03F when joined in series and 0.16F when connected in parallel. Find the capacitance of each capacitor.

2. Three capacitors are connected in series across a 135-volts supply, the voltages across them are 30, 45, & 60 and the charge in each is 4500C. Find the capacitance of each capacitor and that of the combination.

TABLE 1. Conductivity for a Number of Metallic Conductors

TABLE 2. Relative Permittivity for Common Insulating and Dielectric Materials