Gausss Law In Electrostatics
Concepts: Electric field due to a point charge:
- The electric field due to a point charge is given by the equation:
(\overrightarrow{E}) is the electric field vector.
(q) is the magnitude of the point charge.
(r) is the distance from the point charge to the observation location.
(\hat{r}) is the unit vector pointing from the point charge to the observation location.
Electric flux:
- Electric flux is a measure of the amount of electric field passing through a given surface. It is given by the equation:
Where (\Phi_E) is the electric flux (\overrightarrow{E}) is the electric field vector. (\hat{n}) is the normal unit vector perpendicular to the surface. (dA) is the differential area of the surface.
Gauss’s law:
- Gauss’s law states that the total electric flux through any closed surface is equal to the total charge enclosed by that surface. It is given by the equation:
Where, represents the total electric flux through the closed surface. (Q_{enc}) is the total charge enclosed by the closed surface. (\epsilon_0) is permittivity of free space.
Applications of Gauss’s law:
Electric field of a uniformly charged sphere: For a uniformly charged sphere, the electric field at a distance (r) from the center of the sphere is given by:
-
Inside the sphere ((r<R))
-
Outside the sphere ((r>R ))
Electric field of a uniformly charged infinite plane:
For a uniformly charged infinite plane with surface charge density (\sigma), the electric field at a distance (d) from the plane is given by:
Electric field of a charged conducting sphere: For a charged conducting sphere, the electric field at a distance (r) from the center of the sphere is given by:
- Inside the sphere (r<R):
- Outside the sphere (r>R):