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ELECTROSTATICS

Electrostatics

Physics that deal with phenomena due to attraction or repulsions of electric charges but
not dependent upon their matrix. In other words it is a branch of physics that studies charges at
rest. Electrostatic phenomena arise from the forces that electric charges exert on each other. Such
forces and described by Coulomb’s law. Even though electrostatically induces forces seem to be
rather weak, some electrostatic forces such as the one between an electron and a portion, that
together make up a hydrogen atom, is about 36 times stronger than the gravitational force acting
between them.

Tubes of flux   Q

Q
Lines of force =



Flux density = D = Q 
A A

Flux per unit area.

When two charged bodies are placed close to each other both the charged bodies experience
a force. If the two bodies are charged with same polarity, the force is repulsions. In the other hand
if the two bodies are oppositely charges their the force is alternative.

Thus it is seen that the space around a charge is always under stress, and experiences a
force on another charge when placed there. The region or space in which stress exists is called the
electric or dielectric or electrostatic field.

The stress in the space is represented by the lines of force, which are emanate from positive
charge and end on negative charge. The lines of force of same direction each other but lines of
force of opposite directions attract each other. The direction of lines of force at any point is the
direction of movement of a unit positive charge placed at that point if allowed to moves freely.
They are always normal to the surface of the body from where those terminate.
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Coulomb’s law

The law governing the force, that is experienced when two charged bodies are placed near
each other, is called the coulomb’s law, which is quite similar to Newton’s gravitational law.

According to this law the force between the two charges (i) is directly proportional to the
product of the two charges (ii) inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them
and (iii) depends on the nature of the medium surrounding charges.

Mathematically force F between two point charges of strength Q1 and Q2 placed distance
‘d’ apart is given by

Q1Q2 Q1Q2
F or F  K
d2 d2

where K is any constant, the value of this constant depends upon the surrounding medium and the
system of units employed.

In RMKSA or SI system the force is measured in newton’s, distance in meters, charge in

coulombs and the force experienced between two charges is given by an expression

Q1Q2 9 109  Q1Q2

F  (In air) …(1)
4 0 r d 2 d2

where  0 is the permittivity of free space or air and is equal to 8.854 × 10 -12 F/M and  r is the
relative permittivity of the surrounding medium with respect to air.

Force is a vector quantity. Coulomb’s law provides additional information that the force
sets along the line joining two charges.

Let Q1  Q2  Q (say) ; d  lm ;  r  1

Q2 1 Q2
F    Q 2
 9  109
 …(2)
4 o d 2 4  8.854 1012 1
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In above equation F becomes equal to 9  109 NW, if Q2 = 1 i.e., Q1 = Q =1C. Hence, one coulomb
of charge may be defined as that charge (or quantity of electricity) which placed in air (strictly
vacuum) at distance repelled with a force of 9  109 Newton’s.

Coulomb’s law may be written as

Q1Q2
Fmedium  Newtons
4 0 r d 2

 Force between two charges in vacuum will be

Q1Q2
FVacuum 
4 0 d 2

Fmedium
  r
Fvacuum

i.e., relative permittivity of a medium is the ratio of forces experienced between two charges placed
same distance apart in vacuum and medium.

Field strength or Field intensity or Electric intensity

Electric intensity at any point within an electric field my be defined in either of the
following ways:

i) Electric field intensity at a point, distance d metres away from a positive charge +Q
is defined by the force experienced by a unit positive charge placed at that point.
Q Q
E  F  in medium  9  109
Q 4 d 2
rd 2
Q
Q in vaccum  9 109
4 0 d 2 d2
It is vector quantity and has both magnitude and direction. Its unit is
newton/coulomb.
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The field due to several charges may be obtained by vector addition of electric
intensities due to each charge taken separately.
ii) Electric intensity at a point may be defined as equal to the lines of force passing
normally through a unit cross section at that point. Let there is charge of Q

coulombs. The number of lines of force produced by it is Q [Tubes of flux   Q



and Number of lines of force = Q ]. If these lines fall normally on an area


surrounding the point, than electric intensity at that point is

E Q Q  Flux density D V/m.

  Q  D; 
iii) Electric field intensity is also defined as the rate of fall of potential in the duration
of lines of force. In other words electric intensity at any point in an electric field is
equal to the potential gradient at that point.

Gauss’s law

This law states that the total flux emerging from a closed surface S is equal to the charge
enclosed by the surface. Hence,

 [Link]  Q,
S

where Q is the total charge enclosed by the surface. The surface over which integral is taken is
called the Gaussian surface. A Gaussial surface should be a closed surface and the field lines
should be either tangential or normal to the surface.
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Proof

S
Dn
V d
Q D
r ds
P

Let Q be a point charge situated within a closed surface S. let P be any point on the surface
contained within a small surface area dS. Let D be the flux density at the point P. Then,

Q Q
D E  
4 r 2
4 r 2

Flux passing through the elemental area dS = [Link]. Therefore, total flux passing through the
surface S is obtained by integrating this expression over S.

Q Q dS Q
i.e.,    DdS
S
. 
4 r
S
2
dS 
4 r
S
2

4  d
S

dS
where d    solid angle.
r2

Again  d   4 , the solid angle subtended at the point by the closed surface.
S

For a closed surface enclosing number of charges statement of Gaussis theorem will be as
follows.

In a homogeneous medium if a charge of total electric lines of forces i.e., flux   crossing

the surface (coming out from the surface) will be equal to the charge enclosed,
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 [Link]   Q
S

Electric field due to a charged plate

Parallopiped

Let  S is the surfaced charge density, in C/m2.

According Gauss’s theorem

 [Link]   Q
S

  [Link]   [Link]  ...............   [Link]   S .S

S1 S2 S6

or, DS  DS21   S .S  S1  S2  S3  S4  S5  S6  S 

or, 2DS   S .S

S S
or D and E 
2 2 0 r
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Capacitance

Capacitance is the property of a circuit element to store electric charge. Two conductors
separated from each other by air insulating material form a capacitor. The insulating material is
called the dielectric. A device designed to have a capacitance of definite or controllable value is
called a capacitor.

Let us consider two conducting plates A and B, separated by air. Each plate has a large
number of free electrons. When the plates are connected to a d.c. supply, electrons are attracted
from plate A to the positive side of the battery, resulting in a deficiency of electrons on plate A.
The electrons are repelled from the negative side of the battery and collected on negative plate B.
Since there is no path from B to A, the electrons accumulate on B. The charge on plate A is +Q ,
while that on B is – Q . When this condition occurs, the potential difference between A and B is
equal to the supply voltage. The capacitor is said fully charged. At this point, the current in the
circuit will be zero, and a direct current can not pass through the capacitor. Thus a capacitor blocks
direct current.

Parallel – plate capacitor (Uniform dielectric medium)

Let A = area of each plate mm2

d = distance between the plates in m.
 r  relative permittivity of capacitor
Dielectric
V = voltage applied between the plates d
E = V/d – V/m
The flux density in the dielectric
V
Q 
D  …(1)
A A

where Q if the charge stored by the capacitor and  is the flux.

From eqn.(1) D  Q or  E  Q or  V Q
A A d A
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CV
or  V  r or C   A   0 r A …(A)
d A d d

Parallel – plate capacitor (Medium partly air)

The medium consists partly of air

partly of another dielectric of thickness ‘t’ and
relative permittivity  r . The electric flux t
r
Q 
density D   is same for both the 0
A A

medium. But electric intensities are different.

Let the applied voltage is V and voltage 1  2
drop across dielectric (1) and (2) are V1 and V2
d

Respectively.

V  V1  V2  E1.t  E2 .  d  1

D D D D
 .t  . d  t   .t  . d  t 
1 2  0 r 0

D t
  d  t     d  t   t 
D

 0   r   
0
 r 

D  
  d   t  t  
0    r 

Q   t 
Again, D  Q V  d   t   r  
A A 0

CV   t 
or V  d   t   r 
A 0
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 
 A 
 C 0 
   t   
d
   t 
  r   

Capacitance increases here compared to air capacitor.

Parallel – plate capacitor (Composite medium)

Let V is the applied voltage and voltage

across the dielectric are V1 , V2 and V3
respectively.
r1 r2 r3 V  V1  V2  V3  E1t1  E2t2  E3t3

D D D
 t1  t2  t3
1 2 3

t1 t2 t3 D  t1 t t3 
  2
 0   r1  r 2   r 3 
V

Q  t1 t2 t 
    3 
A 0   r1  r 2  r 3 

Q 0 A
C  
V  t1  t2  3 
t
    r3 
 r1 r2

Above expression may be obtained directly from expression (A) as follows

C A 
0 A
d d
r

If the space between the plates is filled with slabs of different thickness and relative permittivities
the above expression can be generalized into
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0 A
C
 d r

Capacitors in series

C1 C2 Let
C1 & C2  Capacitance of two capacitors.
V1 V2 V1 & V2  Voltage across two capacitors
V V = Applied voltage across combination
C = Combined equivalent or joining
capacitance,
In series cominbation, charge on all capacitors is the same, but p.d. across each as different.

V  V1  V or Q Q Q
C C1 C2

1 1 1 C1C2
or   C  F
C C1 C2 C1  C2

Now , Q  CV  C1V1  C2V2

 C1  CV and C2  CV
V1 V2

Multiplate capacitor

A multi-plate capacitor is used to get a large plate area

into a small space. The alternate plates are connected together.
The inner plates form part of the capacitor on each side. If
there are ‘n’ plates, the arrangement is equivalent to (n – 1)
capacitors in parallel.
 
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The total capacitance is given by

C   n  1 . A   n  1  0 r A
d d

where A = Area of each plate (m2)

d = thickness of each dielectric or distance between each plate (m).

Energy stored in a charged capacitor

During the charging period, if the voltage between the plates of the capacitor increasesx by
dv volts dt seconds and ‘i´ is the instantaneous value of charging current, then the increase in stored
charge dof is

dv
d of  idt  Cdv  i  C
dt

 Power supplied in time dt is

dv
v.i  v.C
dt

 Energy supplied in time dt is

dv
  [Link]  v.C. .dt
dt

 [Link] joules.

 The total energy supplied to the capacitor when the voltage increases from zero to V volts is

V
 v2  1
 f   [Link]  C    CV 2 loules.
o  2 0 2

Energy stored in a uncharged capacitor

When an uncharged capacitor is connected to a d.c. supply the voltage across it rises
gradually and it starts storing energy. During this process it draws a current from the supply. This
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current is called charging current. It charges with time. When the voltage across the capacitor rises
to full supply voltage we say that it is fully charged. In this condition no further current is drawn
from the supply. Since the voltage rises from zero to V volts, average value of the voltage is

V  0 V
2 2

Energy supplied to charge the capacitor

  Voltage  Current  Time

V Q 1 1 1
   t  VQ  .V .  C.V   CV 2 joules.
2 t 2 2 2

Force of attraction between oppositely charged parallel plates

Two parallel conducting plates A and B having  A B 

constant charges positive Q and negative Q  
 
respectively are shown in this figure. Let the force of
 F F 
attraction between these two plates be F newtons.  
If one of the plates is pulled apart by a distance  
 
the, then work done = Fxdx joules.  
Since there is no charge in the charges of plates,  
therefore no electrical energy comes into the
x dt
arrangement during the movement dx.

Hence, work done = Charge in stored energy

2
Initial stored energy  Q joules.
2C

If the capacitance becomes ) C – dc) after movement though dx, then

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1 Q2 1 Q2 1
Find stored energy   . .
2  C  dc  2 C 1  dc  C 
1 Q2
2 C

 . . 1  dc
C  if dc C

 F .dx  
Q2 Q2

2C 2C

1  dc 
C
Q2

2C 2
.dc

or, F 
Q2 dc V 2 dc
2

2C dx 2 dx
1
 .V 2 .
2
d A
dx x
1
2
  1

 V 2 . . A   2 
 x 

V 2 . . A 1
  1
2
or, F      .A V   . . A.E 2 newtons.
2x 2
2 x 2

This is the expression for force between the plates V. The negative sign shows that it is a
force of attraction.

Spherical Capacitor

1. Outer sphere is earthed

Let us consider a spherical capacitor consisting of two connective spheres A and B of radius
a and b metres respectively separated by a dielectric of relative permittivity  r . Outer
sphere is earthed.

  
 
 
 
  
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Let a positive charge of positive Q coulombs is given to the inner sphere, a charge of
negative Q coulombs will be induced on the inner surface of the outer sphere B and a charge
of positive Q coulombs induced on the outher surface of sphere B will go to earth.
The electric intensity at any point P in the dielectric, r metres from the centre, due to charge

on the inner sphere is Q newtons.

4 r 2
The electric intensity at any point P due to the charge on the outer sphere is zero since point
P is within the sphere.
 PD between spheres A and B = work done in carrying a positive charge of one coulombs
from sphere A to B
b
Q 1 
b b
Q Q dr
 dr  a r 2   4  r  a
a
4 r 2
4

Q  1 1  Q b  a 
  
4  a b  4 ab

Q Q ab
 Capacitance C    4
V Q b  a  ba
4 ab

2. Inner sphere is earthed

Let us consider a spherical capacitor consisting of the connective spheres of radius a and b
metres separated by dielectric of relative permittivity  r and inner sphere is earthed.

Q2
   Q1
    
b
 B  
r
   
A a  
 

   
  
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Let a charge of Q coulomb is given to the outer sphere B. Out of the total charge Q, Q1
amount of charge will be distributed on the inside surface of outer sphere are Q2 amount
of charge will be distribujted over the outer surface of the other sphere B. Therefore,
Q  Q1  Q2

Charge Q1 on the inner surface of outer sphere B will induce a charge of Q1 coulombs

on the outer surface of inner sphere A, and Q1 coulombs on the inner surface of sphere
A, which will go to earth.

Now there are two capacitors connected in parallel.

i) One capacitor consisting of inner surface of sphere B and the outer surface of inner
sphere A having capacitances
ab
C1  4 farads.
ba
ii) Another capacitor consisting of outer surface of sphere B and earth having
capacitance
C2  4 .bF
ab
 Total capacitance  C  C1  C2  4  4 b
ba
2
 4 b farads
ba

Capacitance of a spherical capacitor with composite

Let there is Q1 coulomb of charge on the inner

b most sphere. Then Q amount of flux is radially
emanating from it.
r1
Surface are an arbitrary spherical surface of
a
1 
2 3 radius r is 4 r 2 . Thus the flux density on the
r2 surface is Q and the field intensity
4 r 2
Q
ED 
 4 r 2
 P a g e | 16

Therefore the potential difference between the inner most and outer most spheres is

a b r
2
Q Q Q
V  dr   dr   dr
r1
4 r 2
a
4 r 2
b
4 r 2

Q  1 1 Q 1 1 Q 1 1 
         
41  R1 a  4 2  a b  4 3  b r2 

C  Q  4 Farads
V  1  1 1  1  1 1  1  1 1 
           
 1  R a   2  a b   3  b r2  

Cylindrical capacitor

The plates of capacitors of this type, such

as of single core cable are two co-axial
cylinders as shown in this figure. The electric r
field produced in this case is non uniform but
radially symmetrical in nature. The distance
between the plates is very small compared with
x
the length i.e, the fringing effect may be
 
 Q
neglected. Let the inner radius is r and outer
1m
radius outer radius is Rm respectively. Relative  
permittivity of the dielectric is  r (say). Let the
charge per unit length of the capacitor on the
outer surface of inner cylinder be Q1
coulomb/metre and on the inner surface of
outer cylinder be Q1 coulomb/metre. For all

practical purpose the charge of Q1 C/m on the

surface of inner cylinder can be assumed to be located along its axis. The outer cylinder is earthed.
 P a g e | 17

  
    
   
  r  
   
 R
  
  

Surface area of the co-axial cylinder of radius x metres and length 1m is 2 x 2 m2.

So, the electric field intensity at a point x metres from the centre of the inner cylinder,

Q Q 1
Ex   . V
2 0 r x 2 0 r x m

Potential difference between the plates (i.e, between core and sheath)

 
R R
Q 1 Q
V   Ex dx   . dx  ln R volts
r r
2 0 r x 2 0 r r

Q 2 0 r
Capacitance of cylindrical capacitor, C  
 
F
V ln R
r

Potential gradient in the cable

Since cable is a form of cylindrical condenser,

R
therefore, electric intensity at a distance x from the 0
centre 0 of the cable is given by
Q 1
Ex  . V/m
2 0 r x

Since potential gradient = Electric Intensity

Q 1 g max
g  . …(1)
2 0 r x g min
g

x
 P a g e | 18

Again, V 
Q
2 0 r
 r
.ln R

2 0 r .V
Q …(2)
 
or ,
ln R
r

substituting value of ‘Q’ from equn.(2) in equn.(1) we get

2 0 r .V 1 V
g 
   
.
ln R 2 0 r .x x ln R
r r

Since potential gradient varies inversely as x, so, potential gradient will be maximum when
x is minimum i.e., x = r and for x – R potential gradient will be minimum

V
 g max  V
 r
r ln R m

V
g min  V
 r
and
R ln R m

g max
Also R
g min r
 P a g e | 19

Insulation resistance of a cable capacitor

dr
In a cable capacitor, useful current
flows along the axis of the core but there is
r1 r

always present some leak current. This leakage

current is radial i.e., at right angles to the flow
r2
of useful current. The resistance offered to this
leakage current is called insulation resistance
l
of the cable. If cable-length, then leakage is
also greater. It means that more current will
leak. In other words insulation resistance
decreases.

Hence, it is found that insulation resistance is inversely proportional to the cable length.
However, conductor resistance is directly proportional to the cable length.

Consider ‘l’ metre of a single core cable of inner radius r1 and outer radius r2. Imagine an
annular ring of radius and radial thickness dr.

If resistivity of insulating material is  , then resistance of this narrow ring is

 dr  dr
dR  
2 r  l 2 rl

 Insulation resistance of ‘l’ metre length of cable is

 dr  dr   r 
r2 r2

 dR  r 2 rl or R  2 l r r  2 l ln  2 r1  
1 1
 P a g e | 20

Capacitance of two-wire live

A B
Let us consider the two wire line shown Q
in figure 1, where ‘r’ is the redius of the line
and id’ is the distance between their centres
and d’ is vary large compared to ‘r’. If a x dx
positive charge Q coulombs per metre length
of conductor is given to conductor A than a
negative charge Q coulombs per metre length
of conductor will ‘a’ induced on conductor B.
d

Let us consider a point  at a distance of x metres from conductor A. Electric field intensity
Q
at point  due to charge on conductor A  acting towards S.
2 0 x

Q
Electric field intensity at point  due to induced charge on B  acting Forward B.
2 0  d  x 

Resultant electric field intensity at point  , E 

Q Q Q 1 1 
E      
2 0 x 2 0  d  x  2 0  x  d  x  

d x
Q 1 1 
d r d r
Q
ln x  ln  d  x r
d r
V  
r
E .dx  
r
  
2 0  x  d  x   2 0


Q

ln d  r
r
C 
 0
 
F
 0 ln d  r
r