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The amount of labour required to shift a unit charge from a reference point to a specific place in an electric field is known as electric or electrostatic potential. The reference point is usually Earth, but it could be anywhere outside the effect of electric field charge.
Electrostatics is a discipline of physics that studies the properties of slow-moving or stationary electric charges. The following are a few examples of the electrostatic phenomenon:
Photocopiers and laser machines display electrostatic potential.
Clothes made of nylon rubbed up against other fabrics.
Dust particles bouncing freely in the air are polarised to the television screen.
Electrostatic Potential
The external work required to move a charge from one position to another in an electric field is known as the electric potential difference. More specifically, it is referred to as the energy per unit charge in relation to a charged object that is so small that the field disturbance is insignificant.
Furthermore, the test charge is expected to travel through the field with low acceleration to avoid accumulating kinetic energy or generating radiation.
Electric Potential Due to a Point Charge
Electrons and other point charges are amongst the fundamental building blocks of matter. Furthermore, just like a point charge, spherical charge distributions (as on a metal sphere) produce external electric fields. As a result, we must examine the electric potential caused by a point charge.
We can calculate the work required to transfer a test charge (q) from a vast distance to a distance (r) from a point charge (Q).
We will ignore the work-potential relationship (W = -qΔV).
Thus, the formula of electric potential due to a point charge is
V = kQ/r (Point Charge).
Electric Dipole
When a pair of positive and negative charges (q and –q) are separated by a distance (d), it is known as an electric dipole. The point where q and –q meet is called the dipole’s centre.
As a result, we can say that an electric dipole is generated when equal and opposite charges are separated by a specified distance.
The Direction of Electric Dipole Moment
The electric dipole moment is a vector quantity that travels from negative to the positive charge in a specific direction. It’s important to remember that this orientation standard is only used in Physics. The line that travels along the path of an electric dipole is known as the dipole’s axis.
The Physical Significance of Electric Dipole
Both electrostatics and chemistry rely on the electric dipole. The distance between two charges is zero because the centres of positive and negative charges in most molecules are in the same place.
The zero dipole moment is shared by carbon dioxide and methane. As the centres of positive and negative charges do not coincide, polar molecules exhibit a persistent dipole moment.
Electrostatic Potential Due to an Electric Dipole
An electric dipole consists of two equal and opposite charges separated by 2a.
p, a vector quantity, is used to represent the dipole moment.
The distance between the location where the potential is calculated and the dipole’s mid-point is represented by r.
The angle between the position vector r and the dipole moment p determine the dipole’s potential.
The square of r is inversely proportional to dipole potential.
What Is a Capacitor?
A capacitor is a two-terminal electronic component that can store energy in the form of an electric charge. It generally consists of two metal plates separated by an insulator, such as ceramic or glass. Capacitance has a range of storage capacities, from very little to very large.
Determining the Value of Capacitance
The conducting plates have some charges – q1 and q2 (Usually, if one plate has +q, the other has a –q charge).
Q ∝ V
Q = CV
C = QV
The ratio of a system’s change in electric charge to the equivalent change in its electric potential is known as capacitance.
Conclusion
Electrostatic potential refers to the capacity of work needed to move a charge’s position in an electric field. In this article, we have learned to calculate electric potential due to a point charge with the formula V = kQ/r (Point Charge). We also discovered the electrostatic potential due to an electric dipole. These calculations can help us identify the voltage of a device.
