Integral form of the fundamental postulates

𝜌 Gauss’ Law
⃗ = 𝑣
𝛁 • ⃗𝑬
𝜖0 in differential form
⇒
𝜌𝑣 1
⃗⃗ 𝒅𝑽 =
∫𝛁•𝑬 ∫ 𝒅𝑽 = ∫ 𝜌𝑣 𝒅𝑽
𝜖0 𝜖0
𝑽 𝑽 𝑽
𝑄𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑
=
𝜖0
By Divergence Theorem,

∫ 𝛁 • ⃗𝑬 ⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗ 𝒅𝑽 = ∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝑺
𝑽 𝑺
⇒
𝑄𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 Gauss’ Law
⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝑺 =
𝜖0 in integral form
𝑺
& 𝜌
⃗ = 𝑣
𝛁 • ⃗𝑬 Gauss’ Law
𝜖0 in differential form

b)
2nd Postulate in
⃗ = ⃗0
𝛁 × ⃗𝑬 differential form
⇒

⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
∫ 𝛁 × ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝑺 = ∮ ⃗0 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝒅𝑺 = 0
𝑺 𝑺

By Stoke’s Theorem,

⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
∫ 𝛁 × ⃗𝑬 ⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝒅𝑺 = ∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝒍
𝑺 𝑪
 ⇒
2nd Postulate in
⃗⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
∮𝑬 𝒅𝒍 = 0 integral form
𝑪
⃗ = ⃗0
𝛁 × ⃗𝑬 2nd Postulate in
differential form
Note:

gives the voltage drop along path 𝐶
⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
∫ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝒍
𝑪

which is the algebraic sum of the voltages drops around any
⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝒍 closed loop (circuit) add up to zero
𝑪
 i.e.,
⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝒍 = 0 Kirchoff’s Voltage Law
𝑪
⃗ , line integral of 𝐸⃗ depends only on the end points
⃗⃗ = 0
 Since 𝛁 × 𝑬
⇒ Electrical work done for a moving charge around a closed path in an
electrostatic field is zero

⇒
⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝒍 = 0 states conservation of energy in an electrostatic field
𝑪

Gauss’ Law
Consider a charge distribution in free space:
Discrete Charge Volume charge Surface charge Line charge
Distribution density density density
𝑞𝑖 𝜌𝑣 𝜌𝑠 𝜌𝑣
𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏
𝑚 3 𝑚 2 𝑚

These charges create an electric field, ⃗𝑬

⃗ . If 𝑺 is a closed surface,
where 𝑄𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 is the total
𝑄𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑
⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝑺 = charge enclosed within surface 𝑆
𝜖0
𝑺
Electric field vector due to the unit charge at origin:
 𝒒 𝑹 ̂ 𝑉
⇒ ⃗⃗ = 𝑬𝝆
𝑬 ̂=
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝑹𝟐 𝑚

Electric field vector due to the unit charge at a point different than origin:

⃗⃗ ∶ 𝑽𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑷

𝑹

⃗⃗ ′ ∶ 𝑽𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕

𝑹

𝒒 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ 𝑉
⇒ ⃗𝑬
⃗ = 𝑬𝝆
̂=
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹 𝟑
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ | 𝑚

⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗ =𝑹
𝝆 ⃗⃗ ′
 ⃗
𝝆
̂=
𝝆
𝝆
𝒒 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′
⃗𝑬
⃗ = 𝑬𝝆
̂= 𝟐 ⃗⃗ ⃗⃗ ′ |
⃗⃗ ′ | |𝑹
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹 −𝑹
𝒒 𝒒 𝝆 ̂
⃗𝑬
⃗ = 𝑬𝝆
̂= ̂
𝝆 =
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝝆𝟐 𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝝆𝟐

Statement of Coulomb’s law:

The force between two point charges is proportional to the product of the charges & inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between the charges:

⃗⃗ 𝟐 − 𝑹
⃗ 𝟏𝟐 = 𝑹
𝝆 ⃗⃗ 𝟏

⃗𝑭𝟏𝟐 = 𝒒𝟐 ⃗𝑬
⃗ 𝟏𝟐
𝒒 ⃗ 𝟏𝟐
𝝆 𝒒𝟏 𝟏 𝝆 ⃗ 𝟏𝟐
⃗𝑭𝟏𝟐 = 𝒒𝟐 ( 𝟏 ) = 𝒒 𝟐 ( )
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝝆
⃗ 𝟏𝟐 |𝟑 𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝝆
⃗ 𝟏𝟐 |𝟐 |𝝆
⃗ 𝟏𝟐 |
𝒒 𝟏
⃗𝑭𝟏𝟐 = 𝒒𝟐 ( 𝟏 ̂ )
𝝆
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝝆⃗ 𝟏𝟐 |𝟐 𝟏𝟐
Electrostatic Potential

⃗⃗ ∶ 𝑽𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑷

𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ ∶ 𝑽𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕
𝑹
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗ =𝑹
𝝆 ⃗⃗ ′

⃗
𝝆 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′
̂= =
𝝆
𝝆 |𝑹
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ |

⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ 𝟏 ̂ 𝟏
𝝆 ̂
𝝆
𝟑
= 𝟏 𝟐
= =
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ | ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ | |𝑹
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ | 𝟏 𝝆𝟐 𝝆𝟐

⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ ̂
𝝆 ̂
𝝆𝝆 ⃗
𝝆
𝟑
= = =
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ | 𝝆𝟐 𝝆𝟑 𝝆 𝟑

𝟏 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝑷) = ∫ 𝒅𝒒 ′
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝟑
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹
𝑫′
⃗⃗ ′ |

𝟏 ⃗
𝝆
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝑷) = ∫ 𝒅𝒒′ 𝟑
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝝆
𝑫′

𝟏 ̂
𝝆
⃗⃗ (𝑷) =
𝑬 ∫ 𝒅𝒒′ 𝟐
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝝆
𝑫′

𝟏 ̂
𝝆
⃗⃗ (𝑷) =
𝑬 ∫ 𝝆′𝑽 𝒅𝑽′ 𝟐
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝝆
𝑫′
 𝟏 ̂
𝑹
𝛁( ) = − 𝟐
𝑹 𝑹
𝟏 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′
𝛁( )=− 𝟑
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ | ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ |
𝟏 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ 𝟏
′
𝛁 ( )=+ 𝟑
= −𝛁 ( )
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ | ⃗
⃗ ⃗
|𝑹 − 𝑹 |⃗ ′ ⃗
⃗
|𝑹 − ⃗
⃗
𝑹 ′|

𝟏 𝟏
⃗⃗ (𝑷) =
𝑬 ∫ 𝒅𝒒′ . − 𝛁 ( )
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ |
𝑫′

𝟏 𝒅𝒒′
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝑷) = −𝛁 ( ∫ )
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹
⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ |
′ 𝑫
⃗𝑬
⃗ (𝑷) = −𝛁(𝑽)

𝟏 𝒅𝒒′
𝑽(𝑷) = ∫
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ |
′ 𝑫
⃗
⃗⃗ = 0
Check 𝛁 × 𝑬
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝛁 × (−𝛁𝑽)=0

𝟏 𝒅𝒒′
𝑽(𝑷) = ∫
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ |
′ 𝑫

𝟏 𝝆′𝑺 𝒅𝑺′
𝑽(𝑷) = ∫
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹⃗⃗ − 𝑹⃗⃗ ′ |
′ 𝑫
 𝟏 𝒅𝒒′
𝑽(𝑷) = ∫
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹⃗⃗ − 𝑹
⃗⃗ ′ |
′ 𝑫

𝟏 𝝆′𝒍 𝒅𝒍′
𝑽(𝑷) = ∫
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 |𝑹⃗⃗ − 𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ |
′ 𝑫

𝑵
𝟏 𝒒′𝒊
𝑽(𝑷) = ∑
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 ⃗⃗ − 𝑹
|𝑹 ⃗⃗ ′ |
𝒊
Physical meaning of Electrostatic Potential
Charge q is moved from point ‘a’
to ‘b’ on contour C.

⃗⃗⃗ is tangent to C.
𝑑𝑙

The force experienced by q is 𝐹𝐸

⃗ 𝑬 = 𝒒𝑬
𝑭 ⃗⃗
To maintain constant speed,
⃗ 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 = −𝑭
𝑭 ⃗𝑬
Work done from ‘a’ to ‘b’
𝑏

𝑊 = ∫ ⃗⃗𝑭𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝒅𝒍
𝑎
𝑏 𝑏 𝑏

⃗⃗ 𝑬 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑊 = ∫ −𝑭 ⃗⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝒅𝒍 = ∫ −𝒒𝑬 𝒅𝒍 = 𝒒 (− ∫ ⃗𝑬 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝒅𝒍)
𝑎 𝑎 𝑎
𝑏

𝑊 = 𝒒 (− ∫ −𝛁𝑽 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝒅𝒍)
𝑎

𝒅𝑽
𝛁𝑽 • 𝒍̂ =
𝒅𝒍
𝑏 𝑏
𝒅𝑽
𝑊 = 𝒒 (+ ∫ 𝛁𝑽 • 𝒍̂𝒅𝒍) = 𝒒 (+ ∫ 𝒅𝒍)
𝒅𝒍
𝑎 𝑎

𝑊 = 𝒒 (+ ∫ 𝒅𝑽) = 𝒒(𝑽(𝒃) − 𝑽(𝒂))

𝑎

𝑏
𝑬 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑊 = 𝒒(∆𝑽) = 𝒒 (− ∫ ⃗⃗⃗ 𝒅𝒍)
𝑎
𝑏

∆𝑽 = 𝑽(𝒃) − 𝑽(𝒂) = − ∫ ⃗⃗𝑬 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗

𝒅𝒍
𝑎
⃗
∆𝑽 is the work done to move a unit charge from ‘a’ to ‘b’ in the presence of 𝑬
⃗𝑬 : Conservative field =>
 𝑏
⃗𝑬: Conservative field => ⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
−∫𝑬 𝒅𝒍 is path independent

⃗𝑬: Conservative field =>

⃗ • ⃗⃗⃗⃗
∮ ⃗𝑬 𝒅𝒍 =𝟎
𝑪

If a reference point, 𝑷𝟎 with a reference voltage, 𝑽(𝑷𝟎 ) is defined:

𝑷

𝑽(𝑷) − 𝑽(𝑷𝟎 ) = − ∫ ⃗⃗𝑬 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗

𝒅𝒍
𝑷𝟎
𝑷

𝑽(𝑷) − 𝑽𝒓𝒆𝒇 = − ∫ ⃗⃗𝑬 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗

𝒅𝒍
𝒓𝒆𝒇.

Absolute reference point: ∞ Absolute Potential: 0

𝑷

𝑽(𝑷) − 𝑽(∞) = 𝑽(𝑷) − 𝟎 = 𝑽(𝑷) = − ∫ ⃗⃗𝑬 • ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗

𝒅𝒍
∞

Localized charge at origin

It creates 𝑽(𝑷) at P
𝑹

𝑽(𝑷) = − ∫ ⃗⃗𝑬 • 𝟏. 𝒅𝑹. 𝑹

̂
∞
𝑹
𝒒 𝑹 ̂
𝑽(𝑷) = − ∫ ̂
• 𝟏. 𝒅𝑹. 𝑹
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝑹𝟐
∞

|
𝑹 𝑹
𝑹
𝒒 𝒅𝑹
𝑽(𝑷) = − ∫
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝑹𝟐
=
𝒒 𝟏
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝑹
| ∞
∞

∞
𝒒 𝟏 𝟏
𝑽(𝑷) = [ − ]
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝑹 ∞
𝒒
𝑽(𝑷) = (𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒔)
𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝑹