Electric Potential at a Point that Is Said to be One Volt

Electric potential is the amount of work needed to move a unit of charge from one particular point to another point in an electric field. Mathematically, it is the negative of the electric potential energy at every unit of charge. Electric potential is measured in volts. The electric potential at a point is said to be one volt when the electric field intensity at that point is one newton per coulomb. The voltage present between two different points is equal to the work done per unit of charge in moving a charge from point A to, say, B, divided by the charge itself. Electric potential is a scalar quantity, which means it has magnitude but no direction. 

What is electric potential?

Electric potential measures the electric field strength at any given point in space. The electric potential difference between two points is the energy required to move a unit of charge between those two points. An electric potential can be used to calculate the electrical work done in moving a charge between two points or to find the voltage across a component in an electrical circuit. It is measured in volts.

The electric potential for each and every charge is calculated by dividing the energy (potential energy) by the quantity of charge (charge quantity). The formula can be stated as follows:

V = k x [q/r]

Where,

V= electric potential

q= point charge

r= distance

k=coulomb (constant)

What is the electric potential at a point?

Electric potential is a measure of the work required to move a unit of positive charge from a certain point to another in an electric field. The electric potential at a point is equal to the electric potential energy of a unit of positive charge at that point. Electric potential is measured in the SI unit of volt (V) and the SI-derived unit is joules per coulomb.

In other words, the electric potential is the energy per unit of charge at a given point in an electric field. The electric potential at a point is determined by the type and amount of charge present at that point. The electric potential is always zero at infinity, and it increases as you move closer to the source of charged particles. Therefore, the reference level used to define electric potential at a point is infinity.

Mathematically, 

SI unit being volt (V),

1 V = (JC -1)

Which is 1 joule coulomb-1

V= electric potential

q=source positive charge

r= positive charge’s position vector

When is the electric potential at a point said to be one volt? 

When moving one coulomb of positive charge from infinity to a certain point, one joule of work is done, and the electric potential at that point is said to be one volt. 

Why is the force on a test charge zero at the reference level?

When talking about the electric potential at a point, the electric force on a test charge is said to be zero at the reference level. This shows that, when all other variables are kept constant, the electric force between two charges will be zero, if the charges are placed at the same reference level. The force on a test charge is determined by its position relative to other charges in the vicinity. If the test charge is placed closer to one of the other charges, the electric force will be greater than if it were placed further away. 

Moreover, this statement is often used as a basis for electrostatics and Gauss’s law. The zero-force at the reference level means that the electric field is perpendicular to the surface of a conductor. If there is an electric field present, then it must be perpendicular to every surface in the conductor. 

Conclusion

Measured in volt, electric potential (voltage) is a measure of how much work can be done per unit charge to move a charge from one point to another in an electric field. The electric potential at a point is the energy per unit charge needed to move a test charge from that point to infinity.