Lecture 2:

Electrostatic Work, Potential

energy, and potential
electrostatic work
1. A charge is at P(4,3). Find its distance and direction with the
origin.

2. A charge of 60N acts at an angle of 60o (with the horizontal). Find

the component vectors.
 
3. A laser beam is aimed 15.95° above the horizontal at a mirror
11,648 m away. It glances off the mirror and continues for an
additional 8570  m at 11.44° above the horizon until it hits its target.
What is the resultant displacement of the beam to the target?
4. Three forces act on a point: 3 N at 0°, 4 N at 90°, and 5 N at
217°. What is the net force?
Consider two point charges q and q’ separated by a distance r as
shown: (q’ is very small compared to q and is not fixed at that
point)
A B
q r q’ F
For q’, observe:
1. It experiences a net force acting toward the right
2. The net force is due to the electric field set by q
3. The effect of the net force would be to move q along its direction
4. The net force on q diminishes as it moves out of the field of q and becomes zero at
point B where q’ rests
Electrostatic Work, W
In electrostatics, when an electrical force acts
to displace an electric charge, it performs
electrostatic work on the charge. The work
done is:
W = Fdcosθ
where:
W - work done in J or erg
F - electrostatic force in N or dyne
d - displacement in m or cm
θ - the angle separating the force and
displacement vectors, in degrees
Points to remember:
1. The product Fc cosθ is equal to the component of the force acting
in the same direction as the displacement, which means that it is only
the component of the force in the same direction as the displacement
which performs the work.
2. Work is a scalar quantity. It is independent of the path taken by a
displaced charge, say across two points, a and b. The work
magnitude is always the same regardless of the shape of the path the
charge takes from a to b.
3. There is no work done by a force acting perpendicular to the
displacement of the charge. (cos 90o = 0)
4. Negative work is done by a force acting opposite the displacement
of the charge. (cos 180o = -1)
Points to remember:
5. If many charges act to perform work on a single specific charge,
the total work done is the scalar sum of the individual work
performed by the many charges. Since the force can be traced to the
electric field, the work equation means that the field performs the
work. The equation is
W = Eq’d
where:
W -work done in J or erg
E - electric field in N/C or dyne/statC
q’ - the charge magnitude being worked on
d - the displacement created, in m or cm
The electric field set up is a function of q. Thus
the work performed by q on q’ is also given by
w=
where:
W - work done in J or erg
q - the charge which performs the work
q’ - the charge which receives the work
r - the distance of separation between
charges
 
  
Electric Potential Energy
In mechanics, work and energy are equal concepts. Energy is
defined as the capacity to perform work. The same is true in
electrostatics. Observe q and q’:
A B
q r q’ F
U=
where: U – potential energy in J or erg
q, q’ – the charges interacting
r – distance of separation of the charges in m or cm
Points to remember:
1. The properties of potential energy and work are the
same. In the previous figure, the electric potential
energy on q’ at A is thus
U=
and the electric potential energy at pt B is
U=
Note that since rB is greater than rA, UA is greater than UB. Why??
 
Points to remember:
2. The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy
cannot be created nor destroyed it is just transformed
from one form to another. The total energy is always the
sum of the kinetic and potential energies of a body.
The total energy at point A is equal to the total energy at pt B:
TEA = TEB
when expanded:
KEA + UA = KEB + UB
where KE = ½ mv2 and U = kqq’/r
Points to remember:
3. The potential energy on a charge is zero taken at
an infinite distance.
4. The total potential energy on a single charge due
to many charge acting on it is the scalar sum of the
individual potential energies due to the many
charges.
5. The total potential energy of a system of charges is
the scalar sum of the net potential energies of all the
charges in the system.
  
Electric Potential
Observe q and q’:
A B
q r q’ F
The ratio of the potential energy at a point and the charge placed
on its is called the potential at that point.
Mathematically, V=
where: V – the potential at a point, in volts
U – potential energy, in J
q’ – the charge which experiences the potential
  
Electric Potential
Another name for potential is voltage. It is a
property of a charge exerted at a point.
Other voltage equations include:
V=
where:
V – voltage in volts
F – force due to a charge, in N
d – distance of the point from q, in m
q’ – charge which experiences the voltage
Electric Potential
Another name for potential is voltage. It is a
property of a charge exerted at a point.
Other voltage equations include:
V = Ed
where:
V – voltage in volts
E – electric field strength due to q in N/C
d – distance of the point from q, in m
  
Electric Potential
Another name for potential is voltage. It is a
property of a charge exerted at a point.
Other voltage equations include:
V=
where:
V – voltage in volts
k – Coulomb’s constant
q – the charge which exerts the voltage, in C
r – the distance of the point from q, in m
Potential Difference
Consider the previous figure, note that two points A and
B acquire a potential VA and VB respectively.
Note that VA is always greater than VB, such that if we take the
difference between the two potentials,
VA-B = VA - VB
(read as the potential difference across point A – B)

The potential difference across two points creates the work or supplies the energy to
charges, which in turn move in a distinct manner.
Points to remember:
1. Potential is a scalar quantity. Positive
charges exert positive potential; negative charges
negative potential.

2.When many charges interact, the total

potential at a point due to them is obtained by
scalar addition.
3. Points near positive charges have high
potential, points farther have low potential;
positive occupied by positive charges are high
potential.

4. Positive near negative charges have low

potential; positions occupied by a negative
charges are low potential points.
5. In response to potential difference across two
points, positive charges always move from the
high potential to the low potential point; electrons
move in the opposite direction.
6. Equal potential surfaces contain points
equidistant from a charge and are understood to
carry equal potentials.
7. Electric potential or voltage is not the same as
electric potential energy.
Problems:
1. A point charge of 5 microcoulomb is held fixed at the origin of
coordinates.
a) A second point charge q = -0.5 µC and mass 3 x 10 -4 kg is
placed on the x-axis 0.8 m from the origin. What is the electrical
potential energy of the pair of charges?
b) The second point charge is released at rest. What is the speed
when it is 0.4 m form the origin?
2. Three equal point charges of 3 x 10-7 C are placed at the corners
of an equilateral triangle whose side is 1 m. What is the potential
energy of the system?
Problems:
3. How much work is needed to move a charge of 3 µC from the
earth to a point that is 150 mm from a charge of 35.5 µC and 50
mm from a charge of -20 µC?
4. Two points in an electric field have a potential difference of 5.0 V.
If 25 J of work is required to move a charge between these points,
how large must the charge be?
5. A charge of 2.5 x 10-8 C is placed in an upwardly directed
uniform electric field having magnitude 5x 104 N/C. What work is
done by the electrical force when the charge is moved:
a) 0.45m to the right
b) 0.8m downward
c) 2.6 m at an angle of 45o from the horizontal
Problems:
6. Two points q1 = 40 x 10 -9 C and q2 = -30 x 10-9 C are 10 cm apart.
Point A is midway between them; point B is 8 cm from q1 and 6cm
from q2. Find:
a) the potential at A
b) the potential at B
c) the work that must be done to carry a charge of 25 x 10-9 C from B
to A.
7. A pair of large parallel plates 5.25 mm apart are charged until
they have a potential difference of 1.5 kV. What is the electric field
intensity between the plates?