electric potential
(noun)
The potential energy per unit charge at a point in a static electric field; voltage.
Examples of electric potential in the following topics:
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Electric Potential Due to a Point Charge
- The electric potential of a point charge Q is given by $V=\frac{kQ}{r}$.
- Recall that the electric potential is defined as the electric potential energy per unit charge
- The electric potential tells you how much potential energy a single point charge at a given location will have.
- The electric potential at a point is equal to the electric potential energy (measured in joules) of any charged particle at that location divided by the charge (measured in coulombs) of the particle.
- The electric potential is a scalar while the electric field is a vector.
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Superposition of Electric Potential
- We've seen that the electric potential is defined as the amount of potential energy per unit charge a test particle has at a given location in an electric field, i.e.
- We've also seen that the electric potential due to a point charge is
- Recall that the electric potential V is a scalar and has no direction, whereas the electric field E is a vector.
- The summing of all voltage contributions to find the total potential field is called the superposition of electric potential.
- Explain how the total electric potential due to a system of point charges is found
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Relation Between Electric Potential and Field
- The electric potential at a point is the quotient of the potential energy of any charged particle at that location divided by the charge of that particle.
- Thus, the electric potential is a measure of energy per unit charge.
- In terms of units, electric potential and charge are closely related.
- In a more pure sense, without assuming field uniformity, electric field is the gradient of the electric potential in the direction of x:
- Explain the relationship between the electric potential and the electric field
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Energy Conservation
- This phenomenon can be expressed as the equality of summed kinetic (Ekin) and electric potential (Eel) energies:
- In all cases, a charge will naturally move from an area of higher potential energy to an area of lower potential energy.
- At the instant at which the field is applied, the motionless test charge has 0 kinetic energy, and its electric potential energy is at a maximum.
- where m and v are the mass and velocity of the electron, respectively, and U is the electric potential energy.
- Formulate energy conservation principle for a charged particle in an electric field
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Potentials and Charged Conductors
- All points within a charged conductor experience an electric field of 0.
- However, having the electric field equal to zero at all points within a conductor, the electric potential within a conductor is not necessarily equal to zero for all points within that same conductor.
- This can be proven by relating electric field and potential.
- Rewriting U as the product of charge (q) and potential difference (V), and force as the product of charge and electric field (E), we can assert:
- Thus we can conclude that, given that the electric field is constantly 0 for any location within the charged conductor, the potential difference in that same volume needs to be constant and equal to 0.
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Potential Energy Curves and Equipotentials
- A potential energy curve plots potential energy as a function of position; equipotential lines trace lines of equal potential energy.
- In and , if you travel along an equipotential line, the electric potential will be constant.
- So, every point that is the same distance from the point charge will have the same electric potential energy.
- Recall that work is zero if force is perpendicular to motion; in the figures shown above, the forces resulting from the electric field are in the same direction as the electric field itself.
- So we note that each of the equipotential lines must be perpendicular to the electric field at every point.
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Electric Field and Changing Electric Potential
- Any charge will create a vector field around itself (known as an electric field).
- As the test charge moves, the potential between it and another charge changes, as does the electric field.
- The relationship between potential and field (E) is a differential: electric field is the gradient of potential (V) in the x direction.
- Thus, as the test charge is moved in the x direction, the rate of the its change in potential is the value of the electric field.
- Calculate the electric potential created by a charge distribution of constant value
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Conductors and Insulators
- An insulator is a material in which, when exposed to an electric field, the electric charges do not flow freely—it has a high resistivity.
- All conductors contain electric charges that, when exposed to a potential difference, move towards one pole or the other.
- The positive charges in a conductor will migrate towards the negative end of the potential difference; the negative charges in the material will move towards the positive end of the potential difference.
- This flow of charge is electric current.
- Insulators are materials in which the internal charge cannot flow freely, and thus cannot conduct electric current to an appreciable degree when exposed to an electric field.
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Uniform Electric Field
- An electric field that is uniform is one that reaches the unattainable consistency of being constant throughout.
- A uniform field is that in which the electric field is constant throughout.
- Equations involving non-uniform electric fields require use of differential calculus.
- Uniformity in an electric field can be approximated by placing two conducting plates parallel to one another and creating a potential difference between them.
- For the case of a positive charge q to be moved from a point A with a certain potential (V1) to a point B with another potential (V2), that equation is:
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Dipole Moments
- The electric dipole moment is a measure of polarity in a system.
- Among the subset of electric dipole moments are transition dipole moments, molecular dipole moments , bond dipole moments, and electron electric dipole moments.
- It is brought on by the need to minimize potential energy.
- Torque (τ) can be calculated as the cross product of the electric dipole moment and the electric field (E), assuming that E is spatially uniform:
- Relate the electric dipole moment to the polarity in a system