Electrostatics is concerned with the field and potential of stationary electrical charges and electric charge distributions. Problems are this type are almost exclusively concerned with mathematics of geometries using the inverse-square law.

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Kinetic energy of two charged balls at infinite distance between them

If I have two balls with masses and charges $m_1, q_1^{+}$, $m_2, q_2^{+}$, initially held at distance $d$, and then released, how can I know the kinetic energies of each of the balls at infinite ...
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1answer
31 views

What is the electric field in a parallel plate capacitor?

When we find the electric field between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor we assume that the electric field from both plates is $${\bf E}=\frac{\sigma}{2\epsilon_0}\hat{n.}$$ The factor of two ...
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2answers
80 views

Force Between Two Conducting Spheres

Aakash PHYSICS JEE (Main & Advanced) Study Package - 5 & 6 (Class XII) Chapter - Electric Charges and Field Assignment (page 12) SECTION - A; Q.no - 1 ...
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1answer
22 views

Potential on a Charged Sheet

I know the field difference across a charged sheet-but what's the potential on a charged sheet? Is it just asymptotic? If we had a thin cylindrical sheet would it be the same? Zero field inside the ...
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1answer
52 views

Why is the void devoid of an electric field?

For a region devoid of charge, maxwell's equation yields $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{E} = 0$ which still allows a constant field. So why is in electrostatics for the vacuum always $\mathbf{E} = 0$ assumed? ...
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21 views

Speakers and Static from Hands

Why is it that when you touch the a bare male end of a speaker feed that the speaker makes hissing noises? Is it just (eddy?) currents running through you?
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2answers
41 views

Do black holes have charges?

Do black holes have charges? If so, how would they be measured? Also, does electricity behave the same way? Black holes affect photons, which are carriers of EM radiation, so do black holes have any ...
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1answer
59 views

What are the limits of applicability of Coulomb's Law?

Coulomb's law is formally parallel to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, which is known to give way to General Relativity for very large masses. Does Coulomb's Law have any similar limits of ...
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3answers
127 views

Gauss' law and an external charge

Gauss' law states that the net outward normal electric flux through a closed surface is equal to $q_{total, inside}/\epsilon_0$. However, I'm a bit confused of why the presence of an external charge ...
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2answers
161 views

Is there a momentum for charge?

Since mass and charge behave similarly, so, just like center of mass, I define a point center of charge, that is defined by $$\vec r_{qm} = \frac {\sum{q_i \vec r_i}} {\sum{q_i}}$$ where $\vec r_i$ ...
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3answers
105 views

Horizontal $E$-field for a charged conducting disk

For part of a simulation I am writing, I need to know the electric field emitted from a charged conducting disk. If the disk was laid out in the $x$-$y$ plane, I am interested in the field in that ...
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1answer
36 views

What types of materials can be electrically charged by rubbing?

What types of materials can be electrically charged by rubbing? Is there a certain type of materials in which static electricity can be produced by rubbing together two different materials?
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74 views

Definition of electric charge and proper explanation

Is there a definition of electric charge and proper explanation of it? It is said "Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when close to other ...
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76 views

The electric potential and the electric field

I'm preparing for my school exam in physics and I found that I don't understand the derivation of $E = -\nablaφ$. Here is a derivation from my book: 1) Imagine that 1 and 2 are infinitely close ...
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22 views

Electrostats and Photoelectric effect [closed]

Here I think , one beam will knock out just one electron. So I am not able to even understand what the question says , please someone give a hint as to what the question asks
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1answer
41 views

Electric Field in Dieletric

I have a simple doubt. The textbook I'm working with says that if $E_0$ is the electric field in some region without diletric, then if we introduce a dieletric of constant $k$ the new field will ...
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2answers
66 views

Confused about the electric field at the surface of a conductor

We know that the electric field at the surface of a conductor only have a normal component equal to $\rho/\varepsilon$ (finite number). But let’s consider the point $\text{P}$ (at the surface of a ...
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30 views

Energy content after moving point charge [closed]

I have the following exercise: In point A there is a charge with $Q_1 = 3.3\times10^{-5} C$ In point B charge $Q_2 = 8.5\times10^{-6} C$ In point C charge $Q_3 = -6\times10^{-6} C$ This happens ...
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6answers
329 views

Electrostatic Potential Energy Derivation

How is the boxed step , physically as well as mathematically justified and correct ? Source:Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_potential_energy As work done = $- \Delta U $. for Conservative ...
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1answer
34 views

Sign issue on electrostatic potential energy

I have been working on a problem about finding the electrostatic potential energy stored on a capacitor of concentric spheres with inner radius $a$ and outer radius $b$ and with charge $Q$. I've got ...
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2answers
51 views

Electrostatic Potential Definition

In the book, Introduction to electrodynamics by David J. Griffiths, he introduces potential separately as a function and potential energy through that function. How can potential be defined before ...
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1answer
49 views

Fundamentals of electrostatics

Suppose I have a Gold Leaf Electroscope and the leaves are observed to diverge by a certain amount. Now if I send a beam of X-rays and allow it to fall upon the electroscope for a very short period of ...
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4answers
192 views

Energy Gain with capacitor?

I have a question about energy gain in capacitors. Assume the following system: As the electron gets accelerated inside the capacitor, it will have more kinetic energy coming out than going in. But ...
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44 views

The electrical field of a conductive sphere containing a charge - gounded vs not grounded

Let's suppose we have a sphere but unlike theoretical ones it'll has have some thickness say $\Delta r$ and inner radius $R$. What I was wondering about is how will it behave if we place some charge ...
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2answers
57 views

Why does the area of the plates affect the capacitance?

Why does the area of the plates affect the capacitance? Lets say I have a parallel plate capacitor with a charge of 10C and a potential difference of 5V. By the definition $C=Q/V$, the capacitance is ...
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55 views

Curie's principle in electromagnetic field theory

I am looking for some explanation and if possible also some references about the applications of Curie's principle in electromagnetic field Theory, precisely in the computation of magnetic (resp. ...
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1answer
31 views

Electromotive Force Definition for Induced Current

If in DC , Emf is the work done to carry a unit positive charge from -ve to +ve terminal . What is induced EMF then , in a similar sense ? To carry a unit charge around a loop once along a fixed ...
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32 views

About the electrostatic voltage

What's the difference between electrostatic voltage and normal voltage, like the battery's voltage. How to calculate the charge on a charged plate if we knew its electrostatic voltage?
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How do you find the total electric potential energy? [closed]

Examine the charge distribution shown in this system (see below). Sphere 1 has a charge of +3.0 × 10-4 C; sphere 2 has a charge of –3.0 × 10-4 C; and sphere 3 has a charge of +3.0 × 10-4 C. Here is ...
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1answer
42 views

Potential of a Body

I have a doubt about the electric potential of a body. Well, I know that given a continuous distribution of charge we can find the potential at a point $a$ using the following relation: ...
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1answer
53 views

Induced charge on sphere

I have a conducting sphere ($radius = a$) at potential $V_0$. It is enclosed by another thin shell ($radius = b, b > a$) which has a charge density $\sigma (\theta) = \sigma_0 \cos(\theta)$ for the ...
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0answers
45 views

Electric Potential and Electric field intensity [closed]

A hollow charged metal sphere has a radius r . If the potential difference between it's surface and a point at a distance 3r from the center is V, then the electric field intensity at a distance 3r ...
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1answer
73 views

Electrostatic Potential Energy Calculation (Sign Problem)

In the derivation of electrostatic potential energy , how is $ds=-dr$ step justified ? Why we use a differential position vector ? Why doesn't directly work and potential energy give the correct ...
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0answers
38 views

Static electrical attraction [closed]

Coulomb's law is used to calculate the electrical attraction between 2 charged particles, what formula do I use to calculate an electrical attraction magnitude between 2 plates? Let's assume the first ...
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1answer
45 views

How to find Electrostatic Potential Difference?

I have a really simple doubt about finding the potential difference in electrostatics. Well, first of all, the definition of potential difference is very clear to me: we take a path between the points ...
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1answer
33 views

Gaussian surface in a charged infinite plance sheet

The following question arises on the use of Gauss law. In the charged finite sheet problem, we consider a Gaussian surface on only one side of the sheet. But, In the case of an infinite sheet, we ...
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5answers
107 views

Workdone in an equipotential surface is zero?

An equipotential surface is one in which all the points are at the same electric potential. If a charge is to be moved between any two points (say from point A to point B) on an equipotential surface, ...
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1answer
172 views

Why the direction of dipole moment is from negative charge to positive charge?

An electric dipole moment is defined as $p = q\times 2d$. How to understand it physically? Why the direction of the electric dipole moment is from negative charge to positive charge?
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1answer
48 views

Where are exactly the charges of charged capacitor?

a capacitor is connected to a battery and is charged, are there charges inside the wires or they just accumulate on the surfaces of capacitor?
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174 views

How can I prevent my son building up static on his trampoline?

Whenever my three year old son plays on his trampoline, it doesn't take very long for him to start building up a significant amount of static electricity. His hair stands on end (which is quite ...
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38 views

Nature of electricity [duplicate]

Suppose a lightning strikes and there is an iron rod and a coconut tree. How does the electricity know that rod is the least resistant path before hand.
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1answer
50 views

Electric field and potential [closed]

An oil drop of radius 0.70mm containing a charge of -4.8 x 10-19 C is placed in an electric field if the drop remain stationary at the point find the magnitude and direction of electric field ...
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1answer
88 views

Make water droplets charged?

Normally water molecules are electrically neutral. But I have seen somewhere ideas about electric energy generators mentioning that water droplets might be used in some applications as they are ...
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2answers
60 views

Why isn't this capacitor charging?

Let's say you have a parallel plate capacitor and you connect one plate to the positive terminal of a battery and the other plate to the negative end. So this is like a static situation, you have a ...
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3answers
134 views

Can I charge a capacitor using 2 batteries?

1 capacitor, 2 separate batteries (Battery A and Battery B). Connect A+ to one side of the capacitor and B- to the other side of the capacitor. A and B are not connected, there is no closed circuit. ...
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121 views

Energy stored in charge capacitor [closed]

Two identical parallel-plate capacitors, each with capacitance $C$, are charged to potential difference $V$ and connected in parallel. Then the plate separation in one of the capacitors is doubled. ...
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1answer
61 views

Find the dielectric constant of the medium?

Two point charges a distance $d$ apart in free space exert a force of $1.4\times10^{-4}N$. When the free space is replaced by a homogeneous dielectric medium, the force becomes $0.9\times10^{-4}N$. ...
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1answer
66 views

Can someone explain this intuitively please?

In a static situation we defined voltage as energy/unit charge, or j/c. As the distance between the charged particles increased, the voltage decreased. Now why do we not apply this in a simple DC ...
3
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2answers
97 views

Electric Field One-Form

I know for instance that we can interpret the electric field as the one-form that given a vector gives the change in potential in the direction of the vector, however I'm very unsure about how to ...
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3answers
105 views

Is electron velocity at induction higher than in a wire?

When looking to the electrostatic induction on a microscopic level, do the electrons really move with high velocities or they move like when a current passes through the wire (slowly).

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