ELECTRIC POTENTIAL

ENERGY
AND
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ENERGY CONSIDERATIONS
When a force, F, acts on a particle, work is done on the
particle in moving from point a to point b
 
b
Wa  b  F dl
a
If the force is a conservative, then the work done can be
expressed in terms of a change in potential energy

Wa  b  U b  U a   U
Also if the force is conservative, the total energy of the
particle remains constant
KEa  PEa KEb  PEb
WORK DONE BY UNIFORM
ELECTRIC FIELD
Force on charge is
 
F q0 E
Work is done on the
charge by field
Wa  b Fd q0 Ed
The work done is independent of path taken from
point a to point b because
The Electric Force is a conservative force
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ENERGY
The work done by the force is the same as
the change in the particle’s potential energy

Wa  b  U b  U a   U
b  
U b  U a  F ds  qEuniform  yb  ya 
a
The work done only depends upon the
change in position
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ENERGY
General Points
1) Potential Energy increases if the particle
moves in the direction opposite to the force on it

Work will have to be done by an

external agent for this to occur
and
2) Potential Energy decreases if the particle
moves in the same direction as the force on it
POTENTIAL ENERGY OF TWO
POINT CHARGES
Suppose we have two charges q and q0
separated by a distance r
The force between the two charges is
given by Coulomb’s Law
1 qq0
F
4  0 r 2
We now displace charge q0 along a
radial line from point a to point b
The force is not constant during this displacement
rb rb
1 qq0 qq0  1 1 
Wa  b  Fr dr   2
dr    
r r
4  0 r 4  0  ra rb 
a a
POTENTIAL ENERGY OF TWO
POINT CHARGES
The work done is not
dependent upon the path
taken in getting from
point a to point b

The work done is related to

the component of the force
along the displacement
 
F dr
A SYSTEM OF POINT
CHARGES
Suppose we have more than two charges
Have to be careful of the question being
asked
Two possible questions:
1) Total Potential energy of one of the
charges with respect to remaining
charges
or
2) Total Potential Energy of the System
 CASE 1: POTENTIAL ENERGY OF ONE
CHARGE WITH RESPECT TO OTHERS
Given several charges, q1…qn, in
place
Now a test charge, q0, is brought into
position
Work must be done against the
electric fields of the original charges
This work goes into the potential energy of q0
We calculate the potential energy of q0 with respect to each of
the other charges and then
1 q0 qi
Just sum the individual potential energies PEq0 
i 4  0 ri

Remember - Potential Energy is a Scalar

CASE 2: POTENTIAL ENERGY OF A
SYSTEM OF CHARGES
Start by putting first charge in position
No work is necessary to do this
Next bring second charge into place
Now work is done by the electric field of the first
charge. This work goes into the potential energy
between these two charges.
Now the third charge is put into place
Work is done by the electric fields of the two previous
charges. There are two potential energy terms for this
step.
We continue in this manner until all the charges are in place
The total potential is then 1 qi q j
PE system  
given by i j 4  0 ri j
 ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
The potential energy of a charged particle in an electric
field depends on the size of the charge. If we increase the
charge, then the potential energy is increased, but we have
the same potential energy per unit charge.
The potential energy per unit charge has a unique value
at any point in an electric field.
Potential U
V
(scalar) q
This is independent of the charge and characteristic only of
the electric field under investigation.
The electric potential difference V between any two points i
and f in an electric field is :
V = Vf –Vi = U/q = -W/q Definition of potential difference
This is the negative of the work done by the electrostatic
force to move a unit charge from one point to another.
 W Definition of potential
V
q

where W is the work done by the electric field on a charged

particle that moves in from infinity to point f.
In both cases, if you move in the direction of E,
potential V decreases
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL

The potential at a given point

Represents the potential energy that a positive
unit charge would have, if it were placed at that
point
It has units of
Energy joules
Volts  
charge coulomb
 Example 4 A

Points A, B, and C lie in E C

B
a uniform electric field.
What is the potential difference between points A and B?
ΔVAB = VB - VA
a) ΔVAB > 0 b) ΔVAB = 0 c) ΔVAB < 0

The electric field, E, points in the direction of decreasing

potential
Since points A and B are in the same relative horizontal
location in the electric field there is on potential difference
between them
 Example 5 A

Points A, B, and C lie in E C

B
a uniform electric field.
Point C is at a higher potential than point A.
True False

As stated previously the electric field points in the direction of

decreasing potential

Since point C is further to the right in the electric field and

the electric field is pointing to the right, point C is at a lower
potential

The statement is therefore false

 Example 6 A

Points A, B, and C lie in E C

B
a uniform electric field.
If a negative charge is moved from point A to point B, its
electric potential energy

a) Increases. b) decreases. c) doesn’t change.

The potential energy of a charge at a location in an electric field
is given by the product of the charge and the potential at the
location
As shown in Example 4, the potential at points A and B are
the same

Therefore the electric potential energy also doesn’t change

 Example 7 A

Points A, B, and C lie in E C

B
a uniform electric field.
Compare the potential differences between points A and C
and points B and C.

a) VAC > VBC b) VAC = VBC c) VAC < VBC

In Example 4 we showed that the the potential at points A and

B were the same

Therefore the potential difference between A and C and the

potential difference between points B and C are the same

Also remember that potential and potential energy are scalars

and directions do not come into play
WORK AND POTENTIAL
The work done by the electric force in moving a test
charge from point a to point b is given by
b  b  
Wa  b F dl q0 E dl
a a
Dividing through by the test charge q0 we have
b
 
Va  Vb E dl
a
Rearranging so the order of the subscripts is
the same on both sides
  b
Vb  Va  E dl
a
 POTENTIAL
b 
From this last result Vb  Va  E dl
a
  dV
We get dV  E dl or  E
dx
We see that the electric field points in the
direction of decreasing potential

We are often more interested in potential differences

as this relates directly to the work done in moving a
charge from one point to another
 Example 8
If you want to move in a region of electric field without
changing your electric potential energy. You would move
a) Parallel to the electric field
b) Perpendicular to the electric field

The work done by the electric field when a charge moves

from one point to another is given by
b   b  
Wa  b F dl q0 E dl
a a

The way no work is done by the electric field is if the

integration path is perpendicular to the electric field giving a
zero for the dot product
 Example 9
A positive charge is released from rest in a region of
electric field. The charge moves:
a) towards a region of smaller electric potential
b) along a path of constant electric potential
c) towards a region of greater electric potential
A positive charge placed in an electric field will experience a
force given by F q E
dV
But E is also given by E 
dx
dV
Therefore F q E  q
dx
Since q is positive, the force F points in the direction opposite
to increasing potential or in the direction of decreasing
potential
 UNITS FOR ENERGY
There is an additional unit that is used for energy in
addition to that of joules

A particle having the charge of e (1.6 x 10-19 C) that is

moved through a potential difference of 1 Volt has an
increase in energy that is given by

W qV 1.6 10 19 joules

1 eV
EQUIPOTENTIAL
SURFACES
It is possible to move a test charge from
one point to another without having any
net work done on the charge
This occurs when the beginning and end
points have the same potential
It is possible to map out such points and a
given set of points at the same potential
form an equipotential surface
EQUIPOTENTIAL
SURFACES
Examples of equipotential surfaces

Point Charge Two Positive Charges

NUMERICALS UPTO 25.3