Class notes on Applied Physics-II for Polytechnic

Dr. Nur Hussain

Lecturer in Physics
Chirang Polytechnic
Bijni, Assam

June 13, 2021

Contents

0.1 Concept of electric charge according to ............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter-3, Electrostatics

Chapter-3-syllabus
1. Concept of electric charge according to modern electron theory, Inverse square law
of electrostatic force, Unit of charge, Electric field, Electric intensity, electric lines of
force and its property.

2. Electric potential and its unit, relation between potential and intensity, calculation of
electrostatic potential at a point due to a point charge.

3. Capacity of a condenser, principle of capacitor or condenser, series and parallel com-

bination of condensers, numerical problems.

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Chapter-3, Electrostatics Dr. Nur Hussain

0.1 Concept of electric charge according to .............

• The property of rubbed substances due to which they attract light objects is called
electricity.

• Electric charge: The electric charge is an intrinsic property of elementary particles

of matter which gives rise to electric force between various object.
The electric charge is a scalar quantity. The unit of electric charge is coulomb.

• Electrostatics: Electrostatic is the study of electric charge at rest.

• Type of electric charge:

1. There are only two types of electric charge- positive and negative.
2. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other.

• Additional property of electric charge means that total charge of a system is the alge-
braic sum of all the individual charges located at different points inside the system.
q = q1 + q2 + q3 + ........ + qn .

• Quantum: The minimum amount of which a physical quantity can change is called
its quantum.

• Quantization of physical quantity: The quantization of a physical quantity means

that it cannot vary continuously to have any arbitrary value but it can change discon-
tinuously to take anyone of only a discrete set of values.

• Inverse square law of electrostatic force:

[2013] Q: State and explain coulomb’s law of electrostatic force between two point
charges with mathematical expression. Define coulomb of charge. 2+1 = 3.
Coulomb’s law states that the force of attraction or repulsion between two stationary
point charges is-

1. directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of the two charges and
2. inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Figure 1: Two stationary point charge separated by a distance r.

F ∝ q1 q2 and
1
F∝ 2
r
combining both, (1)
q1 q2
F∝ 2
r
q1 q2
⇒F =k 2
r
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where k is the electrostatic force constant. The value of k depends on the na-
ture of the medium between the two charges and the system of units chosen to
measure F, q1 , q2 and r.
For two charges located in free space and in SI units, we have,
1
k= = 9x109 Nm2C−2 (2)
4πε0
where ε0 is the permittivity of free space.

• Unit of charge:

1. In SI system: The SI unit of charge is coulomb. In the above equation, if q1 =

q2 = 1C and r = 1m, then
1
F= = 9x109 N (3)
4πε0
Therefore, one coulomb is that amount of charge that repels an equal and similar
charge with a force of 9x109 N when placed in vacuum at a distance of one metre
from it.
2. In CGS system: The CGS unit of charge is statcoulomb.
1 coulomb = 3 x 109 statcoulomb = 3 x 109 e.s.u of charge. [e.s.u.= electrostatic
unit]
one e.s.u. or one statcoulomb is that charge which repels an identical charge in
vacuum at a distance of 1 centimetre from it with a force of one dyne.
3. Electromagnetic unit (e.m.u.): e.m.u. is the electromagnetic unit of charge or
abcoulomb.
1 1
1 coulomb = 10 abcoulomb= 10 e.m.u. of charge.

• Coulomb’s law in vector form: In vector form coulomb’s law may be expresses as,

Figure 2: Two stationary point charge separated by a distance r (vector form).

F~21 = force on charge q2 due to charge q1

1 q1 q2
F~21 = ˆ
r12 (4)
4πε0 r2

ˆ = r~12
where, r12 r , is a unit vector in the direction from q1 to q2 .
The coulombian force between unlike charges (q1 q2 < 0) are attractive.

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• Dielectric constant or relative permittivity:

Permittivity: Permittivity is the property of the medium which determines the electric
force between two charges situated in that medium.
Dielectric constant or relative permittivity: According to coulomb’s law, the force
between two point charges q1 and q2 placed in vacuum at a distance r from each other
is given by,
1 q1 q2
Fvac = (5)
4πε0 r2
when the same two charges are placed same distance apart in any medium other than
vacuum, then force between them becomes,
1 q1 q2
Fmed = (6)
4πε r2
ε is called the absolute permittivity or just permittivity.
Therefore,
Fvac ε
= (7)
Fmed ε0
The ratio εε0 of the permittivity (ε) of the medium to the permittivity (ε0 ) of the free
space is called relative permittivity or dielectric constant k of the given medium.
Therefore, k = εε0 = εr

Therefore dielectric constant or relative permittivity of a medium is defined as the

ratio of the force between the two charges placed some distance apart in free space to
the force between the same two charges when they are placed same distance apart in
the given medium.
Fvac
k= (8)
Fmed
• Some numerical problems:

1. Q. Two insulated charged copper spheres A and B have their centres separated
by a distance of 50 cm. What is the mutual force of electrostatic repulsion if the
charge on each is 6.5 x 10−7 C? The radii of A and B are negligible compared
to the distance of separation. (3 marks)
Sol n : Given,
q1 = 6.5 x 10−7 C,
q2 = 6.5 x 10−7 C
r= 50 cm = 0.50 m
Using Coulomb’s law,
1 q1 q2
F= ·
4πε0 r2
6.5 × 10−7 × 6.5 × 10−7
⇒ F = 9 × 109 . N
(0.50)2
⇒ F = 1.5 × 10−2 N

2. Q. The electrostatic force between two positive charges q1 and q2 separated by a

distance r in vacuum is given F. What is the force of repulsion if (i) each charge
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Chapter-3, Electrostatics Dr. Nur Hussain

is doubled, and the distance between them is halved; (ii)Also calculate the force
if the two charges are placed in water? (Dielectric constant of water =80). (3
marks)
Sol n : (i) According to the question,
1 q1 q2
F= · (9)
4πε0 r2
When the charge on each sphere is doubled and the distance between them is
0 0
halved then we can write the new charge (q1 ) and distance (r ) as follows:
0
q1 = 2q1
0
q2 = 2q2 .
0
r = 2r
0
Therefore the new electrostatic force (F ) in this case is given by,
0 0
0 1 q q
F = · 10 22
4πε0 (r )
0 1 2q1 · 2q2
⇒F = ·
4πε0 ( 2r )2 (10)
0 1 q1 q2
⇒ F = 16 ·
4πε0 r2

0
Comparing Eqs. 9 and 10 we can write, F = 16F.
(ii) When the same charge is placed in water then the force will be,
0 0
1 q1 q2
Fmed =
4πε (r0 )2
1 q1 q2 (11)
⇒ Fmed = 16 ·
4πε r2

where ε is the permittivity of the medium (water).

We know that the absolute permittivity (εr ) or dielectric constant (k) of a given
medium is given by,
ε Fvac
εr or k = =
ε0 Fmed
(12)
⇒ ε = k · ε0

From Eqs. 11 and 12, we can write,

1 q1 q2
Fmed = 16 · 2
4πε0 · k r
 
16 1 q1 q2 (13)
⇒ Fmed = ·
80 4πε0 r2

where, according to question, k = 80.

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Chapter-3, Electrostatics Dr. Nur Hussain

• Electric field: Electric field is a region around a charged particle or object within
which a force would be exerted on other charged particle.

• Electric field intensity: The electric field intensity or electric field strength, ~E, at a
given point is defined as the force experienced by a unit positive test charge placed at
that point, without disturbing the position of the source charge (Fig. 3).
~
~E = F (14)
q0

Figure 3: A charged body produces an electric field around it.

Force on q0 (test charge),

~F = 1 qq0
r̂ (15)
4πε0 r2
Therefore, electric field intensity,
~
~E = F = 1 q r̂ (16)
q0 4πε0 r2

• Unit and dimension of electric field:

Unit of E = NC−1
We know that, current I = Charge
time , writing the dimension,

[C]
[A] =
[T ] (17)
⇒ [C] = [AT ]

Now dimension of electric field,

[MLT −2 ] [MLT −2 ]
[E] = = −1
= [MLT −3 A−1 ] (18)
[C] [AT ]

• Electric lines of force and its property:

An electric line of force can be defined as the curve along which a small positive
charge would tend to move when free to do so in an electric field and tangent to which
at any point gives the direction of the electric field at that point.

• Properties of electric lines of force:

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Figure 4: An electric line of force.

1. The lines of force are continuous smooth curves without any break.
2. The lines of force start at positive charges and end at the negative charges. They
cannot form closed loop.
3. The tangent to a line of force at any point gives the direction of the electric field
at that point.
4. No two lines of force cross each other.
5. These are imaginary lines.

• Electrostatic potential and its units:[ Questions asked in 2013, 2014 and 2019 ]
Electric potential at a point in an electric field is the amount of work done in moving a
unit positive charge from infinity to that point against the electrostatic forces. Electric
potential = (work done)/(charge).
SI unit of potential is volt.

• Electric potential due to a point charge:[ Questions asked in 2013,2014 and 2019 ]
2019:Q: Define electric potential. Deduce the expression for electrostatic poten-
tial at a point due to a point charge 1 + 3 = 4 Marks.
Let us consider a positive point charge q is placed at the origin. We want to calculate
the potential at point P. By definition, the electric potential at point P will be equal to
the amount of work done in bringing a unit positive charge from infinity to that point
P.

Figure 5: Electric potential due to a point charge.

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Suppose a test charge q0 is placed at a point A at a distance x from O. By Coulomb’s

law the electrostatic force acting on charge q0 is,
1 qq0
F= (19)
4πε0 x2
Direction of force is away from q.
The small work done in moving the test charge q0 from A to B from small displacement
~ against the electrostatic force is,
dx
~ = Fdx cos180◦ = −Fdx The total work done in moving the charge q0
dW = ~F · dx
from infinity to the point P will be,
Z Z r
W= dW = − Fdx
∞
Z r
1 qq0
⇒W =− dx
∞ 4πε0 x2
r
qq0 r −2 qq0 x−2+1
Z
⇒W =− x dx = − (20)
4πε0 ∞ 4πε0 −2 + 1 ∞
−1 r
qq0 x
⇒W =−
4πε0 −1 ∞
qq0 1
⇒W =−
4πε0 r
Hence work done in moving a unit positive charge from infinity to point P is given by,
W 1 q
V= = (21)
q0 4πε0 r

• Relation between electric field intensity and potential:

As shown in Fig. 6, let us consider the electric field due to +q located at the origin
O. Let A and B be two adjacent points separated by distance dr. The two points are
so closed that electric field ~E between them is almost constant. Let V and V + dV
between the potentials at the two points. The external force required to move the test

Figure 6: Relation between potential and field.

charge q0 against the electric field ~E is given by, ~F = −q0 ~E

The work done to move the test charge from A to B,

~
W = ~F · dr
(22)
~ = −q0 Edr,
⇒ W = −q0 ~E · dr
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Also, the work in moving the test charge from A to B is:

W = charge × potentialdi f f erence

⇒ W = q0 × (VB −VA )
(23)
⇒ W = q0 dV
‘
Equating the work done,

− q0 Edr = q0 dV
dV (24)
⇒E =−
dr

• Numerical problems:

1. Q: The work done in moving a charge of 3C between two points is 6J. What is
the potential difference the two points?
Sol n : Given, q=3C, W=6J, V=?
We have,

W = qV
W
⇒V =
q
(25)
6
⇒V =
3
⇒ V = 2volt
2. Q: The electric potential at 0.9 m from a point charge is +50 V. What is the
magnitude and sign of the charge?
Sol n : As,
1 q
V= ×
4πε0 r
q
⇒ 50 = 9 × 109 × (26)
0.9
50 × 0.9
⇒q= = 5 × 10−9C
9 × 109
As the potential is positive the charge must be positive.
√
3. Q: Calculate the potential at the centre of the square ABCD of each side 2m
due to charges 2, -2, -6 and 6µCq at four corners of it.
√ √
Sol n : Diagonal of the square is ( 2)2 + ( 2)2 = 2m
Now r = AO = 22 = 1m (Fig. 7).
Therefore, potential at the centre of the square is given by,
 −6 2 × 10−6 3 × 10−6 6 × 10−6

9 2 × 10
V = 9 × 10 − − +
1 1 1 1 (27)
4
⇒ V = 2.7 × 10 volt
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Figure 7: Four different charges are placed at the four different corners of he square ABCD.

• Capacity of a condenser:

• Capacity: A capacitor is an arrangement of two conductors separated by an insu-

lating medium that is used to store electric charge and electric energy. The pictorial
representation of a capacitor is shown in Fig. 8.

Figure 8: Pictorial representation of a capacitor.

• Principle of a capacitor:
PYQ=2017:Q: State and explain the principle of condenser. 3 Marks
Let us consider a positively charged metal plate A and place an uncharged plate B

Figure 9: Principle of a capacitor.

close to it, as shown in Fig. 9. Due to induction, the closer face of plate B acquires
negative charge and its farther face acquires a positive charge. The negative sign of
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plate B tends to reduce the positive charge, while the positive charge on plate B tends
to increase the potential of plate A. As the negative charge on plate B is closer to plate
A than its positive charge, so the net effect is that the potential of A decreases by a
small amount and hence its capacitance is increases by small amount.
Now if the positive face of plate B is earthed, its positive charge gets neutralised due
to the flow of electrons from the earth to the plate B. The negative charge on plate B
is held in position due to the positive charge on A. The negative charge on B reduces
the potential of A considerably and hence increases its capacitance by a large amount.
Hence we see that the capacitance of an insulated conductor is considerably increased
when we place earthed connected conductor near it. Such a system of two conductor
is known as capacitor.

• Capacitance of a capacitor: As shown in Fig. 10, usually a capacitor is consists of

two conductors having charges +Q and -Q. The potential difference between them is
V = V+ − V− . Here Q is called the charge on the capacitor. Note that charge on the
capacitor does not mean the total charge given to the capacitor which is +Q − Q = 0.

Figure 10: Two conductors separated by an insulator form a capacitor.

For a given capacitor, charge Q on the capacitor is proportional to the potential differ-
ence V between the two conductors. Thus,

Q∝V
(28)
⇒ Q = CV

The proportional constant C is called the Capacitance of the capacitor. Clearly,

Q
C= (29)
V
The The capacitance of the capacitor can be defined as the charge required to be
supplied to either of the conductors of the capacitor so as to increase the potential
difference between them by unit amount.

• SI unit of Capacitance: The SI unit of capacitance is farad.

A capacitor has a capacitance of 1 farad if 1 coulomb of charge is transferred from its
one conductor to another on applying a potential difference of 1 volt across it.

• Parallel plate capacitor: The simplest and most widely used capacitor is parallel
plate capacitor. It consists of two large plan parallel conducting plates, separated by
small distance. Let,
A= area of each plate
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Figure 11: Parallel plate capacitor.

d= distance between the two plates

±σ = uniform surface charge densities on the two plates.
±Q = ±σ A = total charge on each plate.
In the outer regions above the upper plate and below plate, the electric fields due to
the two charged plates cancel out. The net field is zero,
σ σ
E= − =0 (30)
2ε0 2ε0
In the inner region between the two capacitor plates, the electric fields due to the two
charged plates add up. The net field is,
σ σ σ
E= + = (31)
2ε0 2ε0 ε0
The capacitance of parallel plate capacitor is given by,
ε0 A
C= (32)
d

• Combination of capacitor in series: When the negative plate of one capacitor is

connected to the positive plate of the second and the negative of the second to the
positive of the third and so on, then capacitors are said to be connected in series
(Fig. 12).
Let three capacitors of capacitances C1 ,C2 and C3 are connected in series. A potential
difference V is applied across the combination. This sets up charges ±Q on the two
plates of each capacitor. [What actually happens is, a charge +Q is given to the left
plate of capacitor C1 during the charging process. The charge +Q induces a charge
−Q on the right plate C1 and a charge +Q on the left plate of C2 and so on.]
The potential difference across the various capacitors are,
Q Q Q
V1 = ,V2 = ,V3 = (33)
C1 C2 C3
For series circuit, the sum of these potential differences must be equal to the applied
potential difference.
Q Q Q
V1 = ,V2 = ,V3 = (34)
C1 C2 C3

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Figure 12: Capacitor connected in series.

For a series circuit, the sum of these potential differences must be equal to the applied
potential difference. Therefore,
V = V1 +V2 +V3
Q Q Q
⇒V = + +
C1 C2 C3
(35)
V 1 1 1
⇒ = + +
Q C1 C2 C3

Clearly, the combination can be regarded as an effective capacitor with charge Q and
potential difference V. Therefore,
Q
Cs =
V
1 V
⇒ = (36)
Cs Q
1 1 1 1
⇒ = + + , using Eq. 35
Cs C1 C2 C3

• Capacitors in parallel: When the positive plates of all the capacitors are connected to
one common point, the capacitors are said to be connected in parallel. Fig. 13 shows
three capacitors of capacitances C1 ,C2 and C3 connected in parallel. A potential differ-
ence V is applied across the combination. All the capacitors have common potential
difference but different charges given by, Q1 = C1V, Q2 = C2V and Q3 = C3V . The
total charge stored in the capacitor is,

Q = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 = (C1 +C2 +C3 )V (37)

If C p is the equivalent capacitance of the parallel combination, then,

Q = C pV (38)

From Eqs. 37 and 38, we get,

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Figure 13: Capacitor connected in series.

C pV = (C1 +C2 +C3 )V

⇒ C p = C1 +C2 +C3 (39)

Eq. 39 is the resultant capacitance of three capacitors connected in parallel.

• Numerical problems:

1. Two capacitors of capacitance 6µF and 12µF are connected in series with a
battery. The voltage across the 6µF capacitor is 2V. Compute the total battery
voltage.
Sol n : Since the capacitors are connected in series, the charge on each capacitor
must be same.
Therefore,
Charge on 6µF = Charge on 12µF
⇒ 6µF × 2 volt = 12µF ×V volt
6×2 (40)
⇒V = = 1 volt
12

Therefore, battery voltage =V1 +V2 = (2+1) V= 3 V. Ans

2020 Q: Three capacitors of capacitances 5µF, 10µF and 20µF are connected in se-
ries across a 12 V battery. Find the potential difference across each capacitance.
[3 marks]
Sol n : Since the capacitors are connected in series, the charge on each capacitor
must be same. Therefore,
Q = C1V1 = C2V2 = C2V2 = C3V3 (41)
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And,

V = V1 = V2 +V2 +V3
Q Q Q
⇒ 12 = + +
C1 C2 C3
12 1 1 1
⇒ = + + (42)
Q 5 10 20
12 × 20(µF ·V )
⇒Q=
7

Therefore, from Eqs. 40 and 42, we get,

Q
V1 = = 6.87V (43)
C1
Similarly,
Q
V2 = = 3.428V (44)
C2
And,
Q
V3 = = 1.714V (45)
C3
2015 Q: Three capacitors 1µ f d, 2µ f d and 3µ f d are connected in parallel. Find the
equivalent capacity of this combination. [3 marks]
Sol n : The equivalent capacitance C = (1 + 2 + 3)µF = 6µF.

******************End of the chapter*************

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