What Happens When An Electric Dipole Is Present In A Non-Uniform Electric Field?

Electric charge is all around us, and there are several pieces of evidence to support this claim. Have you ever rubbed cotton on a towel and then brought it to your hair? You will see that a portion of your hair is drawn towards the cotton, connected mainly by electricity. We’ll explain the behaviour of opposing charges in how an Electric Dipole is. This idea is essential during electrostatics. In electromagnetism, there are two dipoles: An electric dipole and a magnetic dipole. 

What is an electric dipole?

An electric dipole is a pair of objects with equal and opposite charges separated by a significant distance. An example of an electric dipole is a pair of electric charges of similar magnitude, albeit opposite signs, usually separated by a short distance. 

Formula, Units, and Uses 

• An electric dipole is denoted by p.
• It is defined as the product of the magnitude of the charges and their separation.

                   p = Qa

• We all know that electric dipoles are vectors, which means that physics defines the direction from negative charge to positive charge. The line perpendicular to the axis at a given moment is called an electric dipole moment.
• The electric field near dipole moments tends to point in the same direction because it has dimensions of QD, representing unit values for an amount of current times displacement (qi).

Application 

• It provides valuable information about measuring microscopic distances between wires carrying smaller currents in electroscope experiments.
• It is used to calculate ionic charges, polarity, and size, find out how molecules are arranged, and help determine their shapes.

Unit – It’s unit in the metre–kilogram–the second system is the coulomb-metre; in the centimetre–gram–second system, it is the e.s.u-centimetre.

Examples of electric dipole 

• Carbon dioxide
•  HCl
•  H₂O
•  CH₃COOH
• NaCl (it has the highest dipole moment)

What is a non-uniform electric field?

A non-uniform electric field refers to a field with varied amplitude and direction at different places within a region.

What happens to a dipole in a non-uniform electric field?

When an electric dipole is put in a uniform or non-uniform electric field, it always feels torque. However, dipoles will experience the net force of attraction in a non-uniform electric field. In a non-uniform electric field, the electric dipole experiences torque and force.

Why does a dipole experience force and torque when placed in a non-uniform electric field?

The magnitudes of the two forces are unequal and in opposite directions. These unequal and unlike parallel forces, along with a couple, give rise to an effect. The effect will cause the dipole to rotate, aligning it to be parallel with the electric field. So this is how a dipole experiences force and torque when placed in a non-uniform electric field.

Electric dipole working in an electric field

• The electric field of a dipole in 3D depends on the location of the point. 
• The dipole field is inversely proportional to the cube of the distance.
• A point dipole is an extremely tiny dipole with a 2a that approaches zero.

Electric Dipole Moment and its Importance

• A dipole is a single pole divided into two opposing charges. This concept can be applied to chemistry and physics because, essentially, the same principle put forward by a pole having an equal but opposite charge applies universally, wherever you happen to be.
• As stated before, we know that most of the matter in nature will be neutral. This refers to whether or not that matter comprises positive or negative charges because, ultimately, many atoms and molecules will have an even number of protons and electrons, so one side of their respective poles will cancel each other out.
•  However, if there is an odd number or a majority of one charge at any given moment, then their combined effect becomes strong enough to alter the way they behave during chemical reactions. 

• Polar molecules possess permanent dipoles. These dipoles are randomly orientated without an external electric field but begin to line up in response to an applied electric field.

Difference between Electric Dipole and Magnetic Dipole

1. A fundamental difference between the electric dipole and a magnetic dipole is that an electric dipole is composed of two components—electric charges, which we call monopoles.
2. An electric dipole is composed of electrons and protons, whereas a magnetic dipole acts like a magnet, and the most elementary unit is called a current loop.
3. Magnetic dipole – A magnetic dipole is said to exist when a bar magnet is divided into two equal and opposite poles. Electric dipole – An electric dipole consists of two copper rods placed in water separated by a thin phenolic disk whose centre hole is filled with electrolyte. 
4. Magnetic dipoles or magnetic poles are used to magnetise materials. They consist of two equal and opposite magnetic poles. It doesn’t matter what shape they are. 
5. Unlike electric charges, these north and south poles aren’t capable of moving independently from each other.

Conclusion

In this article, we learned that an electric dipole is when a large distance separates a pair of objects with equal and opposite charges. We also learned about formulas, units, and applications of an electric dipole, and also we learned about the non-uniform electric field. Mainly, this article includes the working and mechanism of an electric dipole, a non-uniform electric field, and some important examples of an electric dipole. It also explains the significance of an electric dipole and the difference between an electric dipole and a magnetic dipole.