Chapter 23

Electric Potential
Introduction
• In one type of welding, electric charge
flows between the welding tool and
the metal pieces that are to be joined.
• This produces a glowing arc whose
high temperature fuses the pieces
together.
• The tool must be held close to the
metal pieces in order to maximize the
electric field.
• Electric potential energy is an integral
part of our technological society.
Electric Potential Energy in a Uniform Field
• In the figure, a pair of charged
parallel metal plates sets up a
uniform, downward electric field.
• The field exerts a downward force on
a positive test charge.
• As the charge moves downward
from point a to point b, the work
done by the field is independent of
the path the particle takes.

Uniform Field
A Positive Charge Moving in a
Uniform Field
• If the positive charge moves in the direction of the field, the
field does positive work on the charge.
• The potential energy decreases.
A Positive Charge Moving in a
Uniform Field
• If the positive charge moves opposite the direction of the
field, the field does negative work on the charge.
• The potential energy increases.
A Negative Charge Moving in a
Uniform Field
• If the negative charge moves in the direction of the field,
the field does negative work on the charge.
• The potential energy increases.
A Negative Charge Moving in a
Uniform Field
• If the negative charge moves opposite the direction of the
field, the field does positive work on the charge.
• The potential energy decreases.
Electric Potential Energy of Two Point
Charges
• The work done by the electric field of one point charge on
another does not depend on the path taken.
• Therefore, the electric potential energy only depends on
the distance between the charges.

The work done on q0 by this force as q0

moves from a to b:
Electric Potential Energy of Two Point
Charges
• The electric potential energy of two point charges only
depends on the distance between the charges.

• This equation is valid no matter what the signs of the

charges are.
• Potential energy is defined to be zero when the charges
are infinitely far apart.
Graphs of the Potential Energy
• If two charges have the same sign, the interaction is
repulsive, and the electric potential energy is positive.
Graphs of the Potential Energy
• If two charges have opposite signs, the interaction is
attractive, and the electric potential energy is negative.
Problem 23.1:
A point charge q1 = +2.40 μC is held stationary at the
origin. A second point charge q2 = -4.30 μC moves
from the point x = 0.150 m, y = 0 to the point x =
0.250 m, y = 0.250 m. How much work is done by
the electric force on q2?
Problem 23.7:
Two protons, starting several meters apart, are aimed directly at each other
with speeds of 2.00 x 105 m/s, measured relative to the earth. Find the
maximum electric force that these protons will exert on each other.

Solution:
Electrical Potential with Several Point
Charges
• The potential energy
associated with q0 depends
on the other charges and
their distances from q0.
• The electric potential
energy is the algebraic
sum:
Example 23.2: a system of point Charges
Two point charges are located on the x-axis, q1 = -e at x = 0 and q2 = +e at
x = a. (a) Find the work that must be done by an external force to bring a
third point charge q3 = +e from infinity to x = 2a. (b) Find the total potential
energy of the system of three charges.
Solution:

(a)

(b)
Problem 23.15:
A charge of 28.0 nC is placed in a uniform electric field that is directed vertically
upward and has a magnitude of 4.00 x 104 V/m. What work is done by the electric
force when the charge moves (a) 0.450 m to the right; (b) 0.670 m upward; (c) 2.60
m at an angle of 45.0° downward from the horizontal?
Electric Potential
• Potential is potential energy per unit charge.

• We define the potential V at any point in an electric field as the

potential energy U per unit charge associated with a test charge q0 at
that point:

• The SI unit of potential, called one volt

• The difference Va - Vb is called the potential of a with respect to b:

Electric Potential
• Potential is potential energy per unit charge.
• The potential of a with respect to b (Vab = Va – Vb) equals
the work done by the electric force when a unit charge
moves from a to b.
Electric Potential
• The potential due to a single point charge is:

• Like electric field, potential is independent of the test

charge that we use to define it.
• For a collection of point charges:
Finding Electric Potential from the
Electric Field
• If you move in the direction of the electric field, the
electric potential decreases, but if you move opposite
the field, the potential increases.
Electric Potential and Electric Field
• Moving with the direction of the electric field means moving in the
direction of decreasing V, and vice versa.
• To move a unit charge slowly against the electric force, we must
apply an external force per unit charge equal and opposite to the
electric force per unit charge.
• The electric force per unit charge is the electric field.
• The potential difference Va – Vb equals the work done per unit
charge by this external force to move a unit charge from b to a:
a
Va − Vb = −  E  dl
b

• The unit of electric field can be expressed as 1 N/C = 1 V/m.

The Electron Volt
• When a particle with charge q moves from a point
where the potential is Vb to a point where it is Va, the
change in the potential energy U is
Ua − Ub = q(Va − Vb)
• If charge q equals the magnitude e of the electron
charge, and the potential difference is 1 V, the change
in energy is defined as one electron volt (eV):

1 eV = 1.602  10-19 J
Example 23.3: Electric force and Electric potential
A proton moves a distance d = 0.50 m in a straight line between points a and b in
a linear accelerator. The electric field is uniform along this line, with magnitude E
= 1.5 x 107 V/m in the direction from a to b. Determine (a) the force on the
proton; (b) the work done on it by the field; (c) the potential difference Va - Vb

Solution:

(a)

(b)

(c)
Example 23.4: potential due to two point Charges
An electric dipole consists of point charges q1 = +12 nC and q2 = -12 nC
placed 10.0 cm apart. Compute the electric potentials at points a, b, and c.

Solution:

In a similar way you can show that the potential at point b (where r1 = 0.040 m
and r2 = 0.140 m) is Vb = 1930 V and that the potential at point c (where r1 = r2
= 0.130 m) is Vc = 0.
Example 23.7: moving through a potential difference
A dust particle with mass m = 5.0 x 10-9 kg and charge q0 = 2.0 nC starts
from rest and moves in a straight line from point a to point b. What is its
speed v at point b?

Solution: Ka +Ua = Kb + Ub
Electric Potential and Field of a
Charged Conductor
• A solid conducting sphere of radius R has a total charge q.
• The electric field inside the sphere is zero everywhere.
Electric Potential and Field of a
Charged Conductor
• The potential is the same at every point inside the sphere
and is equal to its value at the surface.
Ionization and Corona Discharge
• At an electric-field magnitude of about
3  106 V/m or greater, air molecules
become ionized, and air becomes a
conductor.
• For a charged conducting sphere,
Vsurface = Esurface R.
• Thus, if Em is the electric-field
magnitude at which air becomes
conductive (known as the dielectric
strength of air), then the maximum
potential Vm to which a spherical
conductor can be raised is Vm = REm.
Example 23.9: oppositely charged parallel plates
Find the potential at any height y between the two oppositely charged
parallel plates

Solution:
Example 23.10: an infinite line charge or charged
conducting cylinder
Find the potential at a distance r from a very long line of charge with
linear charge density (charge per unit length) λ.

Solution:
The potential of any point a with respect to any other point b,
at radial distances ra and rb from the line of charge, is

For the cylinder

at any point for which r > R
Example 23.11: a ring of charge
Electric charge Q is distributed uniformly around a thin ring of radius a.
Find the potential at a point P on the ring axis at a distance x from the
center of the ring.

Solution:
Equipotential Surfaces and Field
Lines
• An equipotential surface is a
surface on which the electric
potential is the same at every point.
• Field lines and equipotential
surfaces are always mutually
perpendicular.
• Shown are cross sections of
equipotential surfaces (blue lines)
and electric field lines (red lines) for
a single positive charge.
Equipotential Surfaces and Field
Lines for a Dipole
Field and Potential of Two Equal
Positive Charges
Equipotentials and Conductors
• When all charges are at
rest:
– the surface of a conductor
is always an equipotential
surface.
– the electric field just
outside a conductor is
always perpendicular to
the surface.
Equipotentials and Conductors
• If the electric field had a tangential component at the
surface of a conductor, a net amount of work would be
done on a test charge by moving it around a loop as
shown here—which is impossible because the electric
force is conservative.
Potential Gradient
• The components of the electric field can be found by
taking partial derivatives of the electric potential:

• The electric field is the negative gradient of the

potential:

E = −V
Example 23.14: Potential and field of a ring of
charge
Problem 23.26:
A total electric charge of 3.50 nC is distributed uniformly over the surface of
a metal sphere with a radius of 24.0 cm. If the potential is zero at a point at
infinity, find the value of the potential at the following distances from the
center of the sphere: (a) 48.0 cm; (b) 24.0 cm; (c) 12.0 cm.
Problem 23.37:
Two large, parallel, metal plates carry opposite charges of equal magnitude. They
are separated by 45.0 mm, and the potential difference between them is 360 V. (a)
What is the magnitude of the electric field (assumed to be uniform) in the region
between the plates? (b) What is the magnitude of the force this field exerts on a
particle with charge +2.40 nC? (c) Use the results of part (b) to compute the work
done by the field on the particle as it moves from the higherpotential plate to the
lower.
Problem 23.44: