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Electrostatics

Sk Jahiruddin

gu Assistant Professor
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Sister Nibedita Govt. College, Kolkata
Author was the topper of IIT Bombay [Link] Physics 2009-2011 batch
He ranked 007 in IIT JAM 2009 and 008 (JRF) in CSIR NET June
2011
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He has been teaching CSIR NET aspirants since 2012

Ph

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©Sk Jahiruddin, 2020 Electrostatics

Contents

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1 Coulomb’s Law 4

2 Electric Field 6

2.1

gu Superposition principle . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 Gauss Law and applications 15

7
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3.1 Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3.2 Electric flux and Gauss Law . . . . . . . . . 18

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3.3 Applications of Gauss Law . . . . . . . . . . 21

4 Divergence and Curl of Electric Field 27

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5 Electric Potential 28

6 Surface charge and discontinuity of electric

field 31

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7 Electrostatic energy 35

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8 Conductors 44

9 Image Problem 47

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10 Multopole expansion of electric field

10.1 Electric Dipole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

56

62
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10.2 Torque and Force on a Dipole in an Electric
and field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

10.3 The Force Between Electric Dipoles . . . . . 66

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In this section, we will be interested in electric charges

at rest. This means that there exists a frame of reference
in which there are no currents; only stationary charges. Of

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course, there will be forces between these charges but we
will assume that the charges are pinned in place and cannot
move. The question that we want to answer is: what is the
electric field generated by these charges?

1
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Coulomb’s Law
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The basic principle of electrostatics is based on the fact the
electric charges attract or repel other charges depending on
their relative signs and the law of force is given by Coulomb’s
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law.

The form of the law does not depend on the choice of

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origin. The force on the charge q2 located at the position ~r2

due to a charge q1 located at the position ~r1 is proportional
to the product of the charges q1 and q2 and is inversely
proportional to the square of the distance r between the
charges. In vector form, the form of Newton’s law is written

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as
−→ q1 q2 r̂
F12 = (1.1)
4π0 r2

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Figure 1.1: Coulomb’s law and direction

−→
We may note a few things about Coulomb’s law. If F12
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is the force on charge q2 due to the charge q1 , by Newton’s

third law, the force on the charge q1 due to q2 is equal and
−→ −→
opposite F21 = F12 .

There is an another way to write the law, as you see in

the picture. Let r1 and r2 denote the positions of q1 and
q2 with respect to some origin in space. Then the relative

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vector r from q2 to q1 is r = r1 − r2 , and the force between

q1 and q2 is
q1 q2 r1 − r2
F12 = (1.2)

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4π0 |r1 − r2 |3
In most of the times it will also be written as
q1 q 2 x 1 − x 2
F= (1.3)
4π0 |x1 − x2 |3

2
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Electric Field
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The definition of E(x) is the force per unit charge that would
be exerted on a small ”test charge” q if it were located at x
, in the limit q → 0
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F
E(x) = lim (2.1)
q→0 q

The test charge is taken to be small so that it does not affect

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the other charges. Because the force F on q is proportional

to q, the electric field is independent of the test charge. This
definition provides a technique in principle for measuring
the defined quantity E(x) : Take a small charge to x and
measure F/q

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The electric field exerts a force on a charged particle q,

given by
Fq = qE(x) (2.2)

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2.1 Superposition principle

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If the source of the electric field is due to multiple charges,
the field is simply the vector sum of the fields due to each
field. This is known as the superposition principle.
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In the case of multiple charges, qi positioned at ~ri , the
total electric field just add up vectorically.
N
~ 1 X qi (~r − ~ri )
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E(P ) = (2.3)
4π0 i=1 |~r − ~ri |3

For continuous charge distribution

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x − x0
Z
1 0 3 0
E(x) = 3 ρ (x ) d x (2.4)
4π0 0
|x − x |

Example: Figure 2.1 below shows six identical charges,

one at each vertex of a regular hexagon in the xy plane
centered at the origin.

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Figure 2.1: Six charges at the corner of a regular hexagon

(a) What is the electric field at any field point x in the

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xy plane? (b) What is the field on the x axis? (c) As

an example of asymptotic approximation, what is the field
on the x axis far from the origin, accurate through order
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x−4 ? (d) If the 6 th charge is removed from the group, what

is the field at the origin for the remaining 5 charges (k =
1, 2, . . . , 5)?

Solution: (a) Let the charges be numbered with the

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index k from 1 to 6. Then the position of the k th charge is

kπ kπ
x0k = îa cos + ĵa sin

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3 3
The field for arbitrary x is then obtained from superposition
prrinciple by adding the contribution from all the charges
6
q X (x − a cos kπ/3)î + (y − a sin kπ/3)ĵ
E(x) =

gu
4π0 2
k=1 [(x − a cos kπ/3) + (y − a sin kπ/3) ]
2 3/2

(2.5)
where a is the distance from the origin to any of the charges.
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The field is singular, i.e., goes to infinity, at the six charges,
but is finite everywhere else. (b) We set y = 0 in equation
(2.5) and get
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q X (x − a cos kπ/3)
Ex (x, 0) = (2.6)
4π0 [x2 − 2ax cos kπ/3 + a2 ]3/2
k=1

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−qa X sin kπ/3
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Ey (x, 0) = 3/2
= 0 (2.7)
4π0 2 2
[x − 2ax cos kπ/3 + a ]
k=1

It is clear that Ey (x, 0) must be zero, because of the symmet-

ric positions of the charges; in the sum in the last equation
(2.7) terms with k = 3 and 6 are 0 and the other terms
cancel in pairs.

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At the origin, E is 0, which is easily seen from the equa-

tions or just physically because the fields due to charges on
opposite vertices cancel.

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(c) The y component is zero on the x axis. For x  a ,
the x component must be calculated by expanding (2.6) in
a power series in the small quantity a/x using the method

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of Taylor series. The result is

Ex (x, 0) ≈
1


4π0 x2
6q 9qa2
+
2x4

(2.8)
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The leading term is, as expected, the same as for a point
charge 6q at the origin.

(d) We could start from (2.6) but sum only from k = 1 to

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5. However, the superposition principle enables us to answer

the question more easily if we realize that the field of charges
1 to 5 is the same as the field of charges 1 to 6 superposed on
the field of a charge −q at (a, 0). But the field at the origin
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due to the original 6 charges is 0, so the field of charges 1

to 5 is (note the sign!)
+q î
E 5charges (0, 0) = (2.9)
4π0 a2

Example: What is the electric field on the midplane of

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a uniformly charged thin wire of length 2`? The charge per

unit length is λ.

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Figure 2.2: A charged wire. (0, 0, z 0 ) is a source point and

(x, 0, 0) is a field point.
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Figure 2.2 shows the wire extending from (0, 0, −`) to

(0, 0, +`) along the z axis. Because of axial symmetry it
is sufficient to find the electric field on the x axis. As
shown, the charge element λdz 0 produces field dE at the
point (x, 0, 0) Because the distribution is symmetric about

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z = 0, the resultant field due to the entire wire will be in

the x direction. The x component of E is, by integrating

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Z `
1 xλdz 0 λ`
Ex (x, 0, 0) = = √
4π0 −` (x2 + z 02 )3/2 2π0 x x2 + `2
(2.10)
We might derive this result in another, more geometrical
way. The contribution dEx due to dq 0 = λdz 0 is î · dE =

gu √ R
dE cos θ, where cos θ = x/ x2 + z 2 . Then Ex is cos θdE,
leading again to the same result.

Note that the field in the midplane is radial. Generaliz-

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ing to any point on the xy plane, at distance r from the z
axis,
λ`r̂
E(r) = √ (2.11)
2π0 r r2 + `2
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where r̂ is the radial unit vector in the xy plane.

It is interesting to consider the limiting behavior of this

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field for far points and near points. Far from the line charge,


i.e., r  ` , the field is Er = λ`/ 2π0 r2

As we’d expect, this is the same as the field of a point

charge q = 2`λ at the origin; from far away the line charge
looks, to a first approximation, like a point. Near the wire,
i.e., r  ` , the field is Er = λ/ (2π0 r) .

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If the line charge is infinititly long, then the field on the

x axis is obtained from equation (2.10) by extending the
integral from −∞ to +∞. Evaluating that integral gives,

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for any point in the midplane,
λr̂
E(r) = (2.12)
2π0 r

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This is the same result that we found for a finite line charge
for points near the line. From close enough the finite line
looks, to a first approximation, infinitely long.
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Example: What is the electric field on the axis of a cir-
cular loop of uniformly charged thin wire with total charge
q ? Let a be the radius of the wire circle.
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Figure 2.3: A charged wire. (0, 0, z 0 ) is a source point and
(x, 0, 0) is a field point.
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In Figure 2.3 the wire is in the xy plane centered at

O . The charge element dq produces field dE at the point
(0, 0, z), as shown. Because the charge distribution is axially
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symmetric, the resultant field of the entire wire is in the

√

z direction, and dEz = dE cos ξ = dE z/ a2 + z 2 . Each
charge element makes the same contribution to dEz because
√
they are all at the same distance a2 + z 2 from the field

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point. Therefore the Electric field is

qz
Ez (0, 0, z) = (2.13)

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4π0 (a2 + z 2 )3/2
A charged disk, or a charged plane, can be built up from
elemental annuli, so (2.13) can be integrated over the loop
radius to find the field of a disk or plane.

3
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Gauss Law and applications
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3.1 Flux

The notion of flux is an important one in physics. It refers

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to the flow of some vectorial quantity through an area. The

simplest example to picture is the flow of fluid. Imagine
that flowing with velocity ~v = vx̂ . Now imagine that we
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dip a square wire loop of cross section area A into this fluid.
We describe this loop with a vector A ~ = An̂, where n̂ is the
normal to the plane of the loop.

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Figure 3.1: Unit normal of a loop of area A
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The velocity flux Φv is defined as the overlap between
~:
the velocity vector ~v and the loop area A
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~
Φv = ~v · A (3.1)

For a uniform, plane loop, and constant, uniform velocity ~v ,

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we have Φv = vA cos θ, where θ is the angle between n̂ and

the velocity vector:

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gu Figure 3.2: Flux
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For this example, the rate of fluid flow through this loop
is proportional to this flux, Φv .
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What if things aren’t nice and uniform like this? Then,

we break the cross sectional area of the loop up into little
~ we assign each square its own normal n̂. The
squares dA;
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flux then becomes an integral:

Z
Φv = ~v · dA ~ (3.2)

The integral is taken over the entire surface through which

we wish to compute the flux.

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3.2 Electric flux and Gauss Law

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The electric flux ΦE (which I’ll usually just write Φ) is just
like the velocity flux discussed above, using the electric field
E~ rather than the fluid velocity ~v :
Z
Φ= E~ · dA
~ (3.3)

gu Surface

Electric flux has a very nice interpretation in terms of field

lines. To motivate this interpretation, imagine that we have
a uniform electric field. Let’s calculate the flux through a
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square with cross sectional area A :
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Figure 3.3: Flux of Electric Field

~ · (An̂) = EA cos θ
Φ = (E) (3.4)

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The Gauss which is just as equivalent as Coulomb’s law

is expressed as the total electric flux through a closed
surface is equals to the charge enclosed by the sur-

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face divided by the constant 0
I Z
1 Q enclosed
E · dA = ρ(x)d3 x = (3.5)
S 0 V 0

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Notice that it doesn’t matter what shape the surface S
takes. As long as it surrounds a total charge Q, the flux
through the surface will always be Q/0 . This is shown, for
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example, in the left-hand figure below. The choice of S
is called the Gaussian surface; often there’s a smart choice
that makes a particular problem simple.
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Figure 3.4: Flux of Electric Field

Only charges that lie inside V contribute to the flux.

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Any charges that lie outside will produce an electric field

that penetrates through S at some point, giving negative
flux, but leaves through the other side of S, depositing posi-
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tive flux. The total contribution from these charges that lie
outside of V is zero, as illustrated in the right-hand figure
above.

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3.3 Applications of Gauss Law

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Solid Sphere: What will be the electric field inside and
outside of a uniformly charged solid sphere of radius R and
containing total charge Q?

Solution: Outside Look at the left side of the figure

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below. We want to know the electric field at some radius
r > R. We take our Gaussian surface S to be a sphere of
radius r as shown in the figure. Gauss’ law states
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Z
Q
E · dS =
S 0
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Figure 3.5: Electric Field inside and outside of a uniformly

charged sphere

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At this point we make use of the spherical symmetry of

the problem. This tells us that the electric field must point
radially outwards: E(x) = E(r)r̂. And, since the integral is

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only over the angular coordinates of the sphere, we can pull
the function E(r) outside. We have
Z Z
Q
E · dS = E(r) r̂ · dS = E(r)4πr2 =
S S 0

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where the factor of 4πr2 has arisen simply because it’s the
area of the Gaussian sphere. We learn that the electric field
outside a spherically symmetric distribution of charge Q is
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Q
E(x) = r̂ (3.6)
4π0 r2
Finally, note that the assumption of symmetry was crucial in
our above analysis. Without it, the electric field E(x) would
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have depended on the angular coordinates of the sphere S

and so been stuck inside the integral. In situations with-
out symmetry, Gauss’ law alone is not enough to determine
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the electric field and we need to also use ∇ × E = 0. If

you’re worried, however, it’s simple to check that our final
expression for the electric field in (3.6) does indeed solve
∇×E=0

Solution: Inside The electric field outside a spheri-

cally symmetric charge distribution is always given by (3.6)

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What about inside? Look at the right side of figure 3.5 This
depends on the distribution in question. The simplest is a
sphere of radius R with uniform charge distribution ρ. The

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total charge is
4π 3
Q= Rρ
3
Let’s pick our Gaussian surface to be a sphere, centered at

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the origin, of radius r < R. The charge contained within
this sphere is 4πρr3 /3 = Qr3 /R3 , so Gauss’ law gives

Z
Qr3
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E · dS =
S 0 R3
Again, using the symmetry argument we can write E(r) =
E(r)r̂ and compute
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Qr3
Z Z
2
E · dS = E(r) r̂ · dS = E(r)4πr =
S S 0 R3
This tells us that the electric field grows linearly inside the
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sphere
Qr
E(x) = r̂ r < R (3.7)
4π0 R3
Outside the sphere we revert to the inverse-square form
(3.6). At the surface of the sphere, r = R, the electric
field is continuous but the derivative, dE/dr, is not. This is
shown in the graph.

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Figure 3.6: Graph of Electric Field inside and outside of a

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uniformly charged sphere

Example: Consider a charge Q at the origin of 3-dimensional

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coordinate system. The flux of the electric field through the
curved surface of a cone that has a height h and a circular
base of radius R (as shown in figure) is [NET Dec 2015]
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Q Q hQ QR
(a) (b) (c) (d)
ε0 2ε0 Rε0 2hε0
Solution: The Gauss law will be implemented in a

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clever manner. Imagine another cone base of which is placed

in the base of the original cone and thus make the system
closed. The system is now look like this

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Now the total charge enclosed by the closed cone is Q.
Hence the total flux is Φ = Q/0 . The flux passes through
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the whole surface. The syatem is symmetric as is composed

of exactly two cone. The flux passes through the upper cone
and through the lower cone is same. Hence the flus passes
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Q
through the curved surface of the upper cone is Φ/2 =
2ε0
Problem: A sphere of radius R1 has charge density
ρ uniform within its volume, except for a small spherical
hollow region of radius R2 located a distance a from the
center.

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Find the field E at the center of the hollow sphere.

Solution: Consider an arbitrary point P of the hollow

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region as shown in figure 3.7 and let

OP = r, Q0 P = r0 , OO0 = a, r0 = r − a

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Figure 3.7: Electric field inside hole

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If there were no hollow region inside the sphere, the elec-

tric field at the point P would be
ρ
E1 = r
3ε0

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If only the spherical hollow region has charge density ρ

the electric field at P would be

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ρ 0
E2 = r
3ε0

Hence the superposition theorem gives the electric field

at P as

gu E = E1 − E2 =
ρ
3ε0
a

Thus the field inside the hollow region is uniform. This of

course includes the center of the hollow.
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There are many examples in the standard books like
Griffiths. Please do some exercises from Griffiths also.
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4 Divergence and Curl of Electric

Field
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Divergence and curl of Electric field is given by (Remember,

here we are dealing with the electrostatic case, when the
charges of the system are not moving. In the dynamic case

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the curl will be different)

ρ
∇·E= (4.1)
0

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∇×E=0 (4.2)
We write E(x) in terms of a scalar function V (x) as

E(x) = −∇V (x) (4.3)

tential. gu
The very important function V (x) is called the electric po-

V (x) =
1
4π0
Z
ρ (x0 ) d3 x0
|x − x0 |
(4.4)
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Applying it with the divergence of electric field we get

− ∇2 V = ρ/0 (4.5)

This is called Poisson’s equation. In regions of space where

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the charge density vanishes, we’re left solving the Laplace

equation
∇2 V = 0 (4.6)
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5 Electric Potential

It is instructive to construct V (x) in another way. Let

−V (x) be the line integral of E along a curve Γ from a

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reference point x0 to x
Z
V (x) = − E · d` (5.1)

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Γ

This equation says that V (x) is equal to the work that must
be done by an external force, acting against the electric
force, to move unit charge from x0 to x along the path Γ,

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because −E is the force per unit charge that the external
agent must exert.

Example: The electric potential of some configuration

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is given by the expression

e−λr
V (r) = A
r
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where A and λ are constants. Find the electric field E(r),

the charge density ρ(r), and the total charge Q .

Solution:
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∂ e−λr
 
E = −∇V = −A r̂
∂r r
r(−λ)e−λr − e−λr
 
−λr r̂
= −A = Ae (1 + λr)
r2 r2

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So the potential

ρ = 0 ∇ · E

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r̂ r̂
= 0 A e−λr (1 + λr)∇ · + 2 · ∇ e−λr (1 + λr)


r 2 r
But as you know
 
r̂

gu ∇·
r2
And from the properties of the delta function
= 4πδ 3 (r)
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e−λr (1 + λr)δ 3 (r) = δ 3 (r)

The gradient
∂ −λr
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∇ e−λr (1 + λr) = r̂



e (1 + λr)
∂r
= r̂ −λe−λr (1 + λr) + e−λr λ = r̂ −λ2 re−λr


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So we get

r̂ −λr

λ2 −λr
· ∇ e (1 + λr) = − e
r2 r
And hence the charge density
2
 
λ
ρ = 0 A 4πδ 3 (r) − e−λr
r
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Hence the total charge

Z  Z Z −λr 
3 2 e 2
Q = ρdτ = 0 A 4π δ (r)dτ − λ 4πr dr

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r
 Z ∞ 
= 0 A 4π − λ2 4π re−λr dr
 2
 0
λ
= 4π0 A 1 − 2 = 0
λ

6
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Surface charge and discontinuity
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of electric field

Now consider an infinite plane, which we take to be z = 0

, carrying uniform charge per unit area, σ. We again take
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our Gaussian surface to be a cylinder, this time with its axis

perpendicular to the plane as shown in the figure. In this
context, the cylinder is sometimes referred to as a Gaussian
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”pillbox” (on account of Gauss’ well known fondness for

aspirin).

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Figure 6.1: Discontinuity of electric field when surface

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charges are present

On symmetry grounds, we have

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E = E(z)ẑ

Moreover, the electric field in the upper plane, z > 0, must

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point in the opposite direction from the lower plane, z < 0,

so that E(z) = −E(−z).
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The surface integral now vanishes over the curved side

of the cylinder and we only get contributions from the end
caps, which we take to have area A. This gives
Z
σA
E · dS = E(z)A − E(−z)A = 2E(z)A =
S 0
The electric field above an infinite plane of charge is there-

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fore
σ
E(z) =
20

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Note that the electric field is independent of the distance
from the plane! This is because the plane is infinite in ex-
tent: the further you move from it, the more comes into
view.

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There is another important point to take away from this
analysis. The electric field is not continuous on either side
of a surface of constant charge density. We have
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Figure 6.2: Boundary conditions of electric field

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σ
E z → 0+ − E z → 0− =


0

For this to hold, it is not important that the plane

stretches to infinity. It’s simple to redo the above analy-

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sis for any arbitrary surface with charge density σ. There is

no need for σ to be uniform and, correspondingly, there is
no need for E at a given point to be parallel to the normal

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to the surface n̂ . At any point of the surface, we can take
a Gaussian cylinder, as shown in the left-hand figure above,
whose axis is normal to the surface at that point. Its cross-
sectional area A can be arbitrarily small (since, as we saw,

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it drops out of the final answer). If E± denotes the electric
field on either side of the surface, then

n̂ · E|+ − n̂ · E|− =
σ
0
(6.1)
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In contrast, the electric field tangent to the surface is
continuous. To see this, we need to do a slightly differ-
ent calculation. Consider, again, an arbitrary surface with
ys

surface charge. Now we consider a loop C with a length

L which lies parallel to the surface and a length a which
is perpendicular to the surface. We’ve drawn this loop in
Ph

the right-hand figure above, where the surface is now shown

side-on. We integrate E around the loop. Using Stoke’s
theorem, we have
I Z
E · dr = ∇ × E · dS (6.2)
C

where S is the surface bounded by C. In the limit a → 0 ,

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the surface S shrinks to zero size so this integral gives zero.

This means that the contribution to line integral must also
vanish, leaving us with

ide
n̂ × E+ − n̂ × E− = 0 (6.3)
This is the statement that the electric field tangential to the
surface is continuous.

7
gu
Electrostatic energy
ics
There is energy stored in the electric field. In this section,
we calculate how much. Suppose we have some test charge
q moving in a background electrostatic potential φ. We’ll
ys

denote the potential energy of the particle as U (r). The

potential U (r) of the particle can be thought of as the work
done bringing the particle in from infinity;
Ph

Z r Z r
U (r) = − F · dr = +q ∇φ · dr = qφ(r)
∞ ∞
where we’ve assumed our standard normalization of φ(r) →
0 as r → ∞

Consider a distribution of charges which, for now, we’ll

take to be made of point charges qi at positions ri . The

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electrostatic potential energy stored in this configuration is

the same as the work required to assemble the configuration
in the first place. (This is because if you let the charges go,

ide
this is how much kinetic energy they will pick up). So how
much work does it take to assemble a collection of charges?

Well, the first charge is free. In the absence of any elec-

gu
tric field, you can just put it where you like - say, r1 . The
work required is W1 = 0 .

To place the second charge at r2 takes work

ics
q 1 q2 1
W2 =
4π0 |r1 − r2 |
ys

Note that if the two charges have the same sign, so q1 q2 >
0, then W2 > 0 which is telling us that we need to put work
in to make them approach. If q1 q2 < 0 then W2 < 0 where
Ph

the negative work means that the particles wanted to be

drawn closer by their mutual attraction.

The third charge has to battle against the electric field

due to both q1 and q2 . The work required is
 
q3 q2 q1
W3 = +
4π0 |r2 − r3 | |r1 − r3 |
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and so on. The total work needed to assemble all the charges
is the potential energy stored in the configuration

ide
N
X 1 X q i qj
U= Wi = (7.1)
i=1
4π0 i<j |ri − rj |
P
where i<j means that we sum over each pair of particles
once. In fact, you probably could have just written down

gu
the above equation as the potential energy stored in the
configuration. The whole purpose of the above argument
was really just to nail down a factor of 1/2 : do we sum over
ics
P P
all pairs of particles i<j or all particles i6=j ? The answer,
as we have seen, is all pairs.

We can make that factor of 1/2 even more explicit by

ys

writing
1 1 X X qi q j
U= (7.2)
2 4π0 i |ri − rj |
j6=i
Ph

where now we sum over each pair twice.

There is a better way of writing the above equation. The

potential at ri due to all the other charges qj , j 6= i is
1 X qj
φ (ri ) = (7.3)
4π0 |ri − rj |
j6=i

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which means that we can write the potential energy as

N
1X
U= qi φ (ri ) (7.4)

ide
2 i=1
This is the potential energy for a set of point charges. But
there is an obvious generalization to charge distributions
ρ(r). We’ll again assume that ρ(r) has compact support so

gu
that the charge is localised in some region of space. The
potential energy associated to such a charge distribution
should be
U=
1
Z
d3 rρ(r)φ(r) (7.5)
ics
2

where we can quite happily take the integral over all

of R3 , safe in the knowledge that anywhere that doesn’t
ys

contain charge has ρ(r) = 0 and so won’t contribute.

Now this is in a form that we can start to play with. We

use Gauss’ law to rewrite it as
Ph

Z Z
0 3 0
U= d r(∇ · E)φ = d3 r[∇ · (Eφ) − E · ∇φ]
2 2

But the first term is a total derivative. And since we’re

taking the integral over all of space and φ(r) → 0 as r → ∞,

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this term just vanishes. In the second term we can replace

∇φ = −E . We find that the potential energy stored in a
charge distribution has an elegant expression solely in terms

ide
of the electric field that it creates,

Z
0
U= d3 rE · E (7.6)
2

gu
Integral must be done over all space. Example: (a) Three
charges are situated at the corners of a square of side a,as
shown in Figure below. How much work does it take to
ics
bring in another charge, +q, from far away and place it in
the fourth corner?

(b) How much work does it take to assemble the whole

ys

configuration of four charges?

Ph

Figure 7.1:

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Solution: (a)
 
1 X gi 1 −q q −q
V = = +√ +

ide
4π0 r 4π0 a 2a a
 ij 
q 1
= −2 + √
4π0 a 2
hence
q2
 
1

(b)
gu W4 = qV =
4π0 a
−2 + √
2
ics
−q 2 q2 q2
   
1 1
W1 = 0, W2 = ; W3 = √ −
4π0 a 4π0 2a a

W4 has already been calculated to part (a)

ys

1 q2
 
1 1
Wtot = −1 + √ − 1 − 2 + √
4π0 a 2 2
Ph

2
 
1 2q 1
= −2 + √
4π0 a 2

Example: Find the energy of a uniformly charged

spherical shell of total charge q and radius R.

Solution:

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Method 1: Use (7.5). For surface charges

Z
1
W = σφda

ide
2
Now, the potential at the surface of this sphere is (1/4π0 ) q/R

1 q2
Z
1 q
W = σda =

gu E=
8π0 R

1 q
r̂,
8π0 R
Method 2: Use (7.6). Inside the sphere, E = 0; outside

so 2
E =
q2
ics
4π0 r2 (4π0 )2 r4
hence
Z  2
0 q 2


Wtot = r sin θdrdθdφ
2 (4π0 )2 outside r4
ys

Z ∞
1 2 1 1 q2
= q 4π dr =
32π 2 0 R r
2 8π0 R
Ph

Example: Find the energy stored in a uniformly charged

solid sphere of radius R and charge q. Do it three different
ways:

(a) Use (7.5)

(b) Use (7.6)

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(c) Solid sphere: Assemble layer by layer, each time

bringing in an infinitesimal charge dq from far away and
smearing it uniformly over the surface, thereby increasing

ide
the radius. How much work dW does it take to build up the
radius by an amount dr ? Integrate this to find the work
necessary to create the entire sphere of radius R and total
charge q .

gu
Solution : (a) Potential of a uniformly charged sphere
with charge density ρ is
2 2
ics
   
ρ r 1 q r
V = R2 − = 3− 2
20 3 4π0 2R R
then
Z R
r2

1 1 q
ys

W = ρ 3 − 2 4πr2 dr
2 4π0 2R 0 R
 3 R
1 r5  R3
  
qρ r qρ 3
= 3 − 2 = R −
40 R 3 R 5 0 40 R 5
Ph

qρ 2 qR2 q 3 q2
 
1
= R = =
50 50 43 πR3 4π0 5 R

(b) We need to calculate the fields first Outside (r > R)

1 q
E= r̂
4π0 r2
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Inside (r < R)
1 q
E= rr̂

ide
4π0 R3

Z ∞ Z R  2 
0 1 2 1 r
r2 4πdr + 4πr2 dr



W = 2q

= gu
2 (4π0 )
1 q2
4π0 2
(  R r

1 
−  + 6
r R
∞
4

R
 R
1 r5 


5 0
)0

=
R 3

1 q2 1


4π0 2 R 5R
+
1

=
ics
(c) We build up the sphere by adding subsequent in-
finitesimal layers of charge (carried from infinite distance).
From Gauss’s theorem we know that, for an uniformly charged
ys

sphere having charge density ρ, radius r, and total charge

q = q(r) = ρ 4πr3 /3 , the field and the potential out-
side the sphere are those of a point charge q located in the
Ph

center. Thus, in building the sphere, when a new layer of

charge dq = ρ4πr2 dr is added, its charge will be located
at the potential V (r) = k0 q(r)/r, where k0 = 1/4π0 ; thus,
the corresponding stored amount of electrostatic energy is
V (r)dq Integrating over r up to the final radius R we find

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for the total energy U0

Z Z R
q(r)
U0 = V (r)dq = k0 ρ4πr2 dr

ide
0 r
Z R
4πρ2 R 4 4πρ2 R5
  Z
4π 3 1 2
= k0 ρ r ρ4πr dr = r dr =
0 3 r 30 0 150
3k0 Q2 1 3 q2
= =
5 R 4π0 5 R

gu
we have used ρ = Q/ 4πR3 /3 .


ics
8 Conductors

Let’s now throw something new into the mix. A conductor

ys

is a region of space which contains charges that are free

to move. Physically, think “metal”. We want to ask what
happens to the story of electrostatics in the presence of a
Ph

conductor. There are a number of things that we can say

straight away:

ˆ Inside a conductor we must have E = 0. If this isn’t the

case, the charges would move. But we’re interested in
electrostatic situations where nothing moves.

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ˆ since E = 0 inside a conductor, the electrostatic poten-

tial φ must be constant throughout the conductor.

ide
ˆ since E = 0 and ∇ · E = ρ/0 , we must also have ρ = 0.
This means that the interior of the conductor can’t carry
any charge.

ˆ Conductors can be neutral, carrying both positive and

gu
negative charges which balance out. Alternatively, con-
ductors can have net charge. In this case, any net charge
must reside at the surface of the conductor.
ics
ˆ since φ is constant, the surface of the conductor must
be an equipotential. This means that any E = −∇φ is
perpendicular to the surface. This also fits nicely with
the discussion above since any component of the electric
ys

field that lies tangential to the surface would make the

surface charges move.
Ph

ˆ If there is surface charge σ anywhere in the conductor

then, from the boundary condition of the electric field,
together with the fact that E = 0 inside, the electric
field just outside the conductor must be
σ
E= n̂
0

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Problems involving conductors are of a slightly different na-

ture than those we’ve discussed up to now. The reason is
that we don’t know from the start where the charges are,

ide
so we don’t know what charge distribution ρ that we should
be solving for. Instead, the electric fields from other sources
will cause the charges inside the conductor to shift around
until they reach equilibrium in such a way that E = 0 inside

gu
the conductor. In general, this will mean that even neutral
conductors end up with some surface charge, negative in
some areas, positive in others, just enough to generate an
electric field inside the conductor that precisely cancels that
ics
due to external sources.

Example: A Conducting Sphere

ys

To illustrate the kind of problem that we have to deal

with, it’s probably best just to give an example. Consider
a constant background electric field. Now place a neutral,
Ph

spherical conductor inside this field. What happens?

We know that the conductor can’t suffer an electric field

inside it. Instead, the mobile charges in the conductor will
move: the negative ones to one side; the positive ones to the
other. The sphere now becomes polarised. These charges

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counteract the background electric field such that E = 0 in-

side the conductor, while the electric field outside impinges
on the sphere at right-angles. The end result must look

ide
qualitatively like this:

gu
ics
Figure 8.1: Conducting sphere in an Electric field
ys

We’ll learn how to compute the electric field in this, and

related, situations later.
Ph

9 Image Problem

For particularly simple situations, there is a rather cute

method that we can use to solve problems involving con-
ductors. Although this technique is somewhat limited, it

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does give us some good intuition for what’s going on. It’s
called the method of images.

ide
Example: A charged particle near a conducting plane:
Suppose a point charge q is held a distance d above an in-
finite grounded conducting plane. What is the potential in
the region above the plane? It’s not just (1/4π0 ) q/n, for

gu
q will induce a certain amount of negative charge on the
nearby surface of the conductor; the total potential is due
in part to q directly, and in part to this induced charge. But
how can we possibly calculate the potential, when we don’t
ics
know how much charge is induced or how it is distributed?

We’re looking for a solution to the Poisson equation with

a delta-function source at z = d = (0, 0, d), together with
ys

the requirement that φ = 0 on the plane z = 0. From the

uniqueness theorem, there’s a unique solution to this kind
of problem. We just have to find it.
Ph

Here’s the clever trick. Forget that there’s a conductor

at z < 0. Instead, suppose that there’s a charge −q placed
opposite the real charge at z = −d. This is called the image
charge. The potential for this pair of charges is just the
potential

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ide
gu
Figure 9.1: Image problem: Charge in front of grounded
plane conductor
ics
" #
1 q q
V (x, y, z) = p −p
4π0 x2 + y 2 + (z − d)2 x2 + y 2 + (z + d)2
(9.1)
ys

(The denominators represent the distances from (x, y, z) to

the charges +q and −q, respectively.) It follows that
Ph

(1) V = 0 when z = 0 and (2) V → 0 for x2 +y 2 +z 2  d2

(3) The only charge in the region z > 0 is the point charge
+q at (0, 0, d).

But these are precisely the conditions of the original

problem! Evidently the second configuration happens to
produce exactly the same potential as the first configura-

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tion, in the ”upper” region z ≥ 0. Conclusion: The poten-

tial of a point charge above an infinite grounded conductor
is given by (9.1) for z ≥ 0.

ide
What happen in The ”lower” region, z < 0, ? As there
are a conductor in z = 0, which restricts any influence of
the charge at z > 0 to penetrate into z < 0 region, the field

gu
in z < 0 remains ZERO.

The electric field in the z direction

∂V q

z−d z+d

ics
Ez = − = − x≥0
∂x 4π0 |r − d|3/2 |r + d|3/2
(9.2)

Meanwhile, Ez = 0 for z < 0. The discontinuity of Ez at

ys

the surface of the conductor determines the induced surface

charge . The value is
Ph


∂V ∂V 
σ == −0 = −0 = Ez 0 |z=0
∂n ∂z z=0
As
( )
∂V 1 −q(z − d) q(z + d)
= +
∂z 4π0 [x2 + y 2 + (z − d)2 ]3/2 [x2 + y 2 + (z + d)2 ]3/2

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So the charge density

−qd
σ(x, y) =

ide
2π (x2 + y 2 + d2 )3/2
The total induced charge
Z
Q= σda

Q= gu
Z

0
2π Z

0
∞
−qd
2π (r2 + d2 )3/2
rdrdφ = √
qd 
∞

r2 + d2 0
The total charge induced on the plane is −q, as expected.
= −q
ics
The force on the charge is

1 q2
F=− ẑ
ys

4π0 (2d)2
This force is attractive, pulling the charge towards the con-
ductor.
Ph

Example: A charged particle near a conducting

sphere: A point charge q is situated a distance a from the
center of a grounded conducting sphere of radius R . Find
the potential outside the sphere.

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ide
Figure 9.2: Image problem: Charge in front of grounded
Spherical conductor

gu
You can assume a image charge q 0 at x distance from the
center along the axis in which the q charge has been placed
ics
as shown in the right side of the figure. Now to potential has
to be zero everywhere at the surface of the sphere. Evaluate
the potential at point A and B as shown in the figure.

q0
 
1 q
ys

VA = + =0
4π0 a − R R − x

and
q0
 
1 q
Ph

VB = + =0
4π0 a+R R+x
From these two equations you get

R R2
q 0 = − q; x=
a a

If you take the line on which the charge q is placed to

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be your z axis and the position of q is, then (0, 0, d) the

potential at some point (x, y, z) is now

ide
V (X, Y, Z) =
 
q  1 R 1
− q

4π0
p 2

gu
(x + y 2 + (z − d)2

Using the laws of cosines

d 2 2 2
x + y + (z − R /d) 2

(9.3)

ics
r 2 = r2 + a2 + 2ra cos θ

and 2
R2 R2

02
r 2
=r + + 2r cos θ
ys

a a

the potential can be written by as shown in the figure

Ph

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ide
gu
Figure 9.3: Charge in front of grounded Spherical conduc-
tor: Calculation of potential
ics
V (r, θ) =
ys

" #
1 q q
√ −p
4π0 r2 + a2 − 2ra cos θ R2 + (ra/R)2 − 2ra cos θ
(9.4)
Ph

Example: A hollow metallic sphere of radius a, which

is kept at a potential V0 has a charge Q at its centre. The
potential at a point outside the sphere, at a distance r from
the centre, is [NET Dec 2015]
2
(a) V0 (b) 4πQ0 r + Vr0 a (c) 4πQ0 r + Vr02a (d) Vr0 a

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Solution: The most important thing is to consider the

boundary condition. The potential is fixed at V0 at radius
a, so whatever be the charges present inside or outside the

ide
sphere, the potential remains constant.

How much charge we need to keep to make the potential

V0 at r = a? Obviously if we keep charge Q0 at the center,
Q0

gu
the potential is is

V0 =
4π0 a
Q0
at the radius. So

4π0 a
; =⇒ Q0 = 4π0 aV0
ics
That is the image charge. it will produce the potential
Q0 V0 a
V (r) = =
4π0 r r
outside the sphere.
ys

Now what is the effect the charge Q kept at the center?

Well, it won’t change anything as long as the boundary
Ph

condition remains same. that is the essence of uniqueness

theorem, right? If you change the charge distribution but
remains the boundary conditions same, then the potential
won’t change. Only the image charges redistribute them-
selves. So the charge Q don’t effect the potential outside.

If you wonder what is the image charge now? Well the

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total charge at the center remains to be 4π0 aV0 . So the

induced charge is Q0 = 4π0 aV0 − Q.

ide
10 Multopole expansion of electric
field

are
gu
The potential and field due to a point charge at the origin

q qr̂
ics
V (x) = and E(x) =
4π0 r 4π0 r2
Here r = |x| and r̂ = x/r. Now consider a collection of
charges in a region near the origin. The problem we shall
solve in this section is to determine the aymptotic form of
ys

V (x), i.e., far from the charge distribution. The complete

treatment of this problem is to express V (x) as an expansion
in powers of 1/r, called the multipole expansion. We won’t
Ph

derive the full multipole expansion, but rather consider the

first few terms, which are the most important.

As a first step, consider just two charges, q1 at x1 and

q2 at x2 . The exact potential function is the superposition

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ide
gu
Figure 10.1: Vector representation of potential of two charge
ics
q1 q2
V (x) = + (10.1)
4π0 |x − x1 | 4π0 |x − x2 |
ys

Asymptotically, i.e., for r  r1 and r  r2 , we may make

the expansion (for k = 1 or 2)
Ph

1 1 1
=p = √ (10.2)
|x − xk | r2 − 2rrk cos θ + rk2 r 1+


where  = −2rrk cos θ + rk2 /r2 and θ is the angle between
x and xk . Expand the result in  using the Taylor series
1 1 3
= 1 −  + 2 + O 3


√ (10.3)
1+ 2 8

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and reexpress the result in powers of 1/r, dropping terms of

order rk3 /r4 . We obtain the result

ide
1 r̂ · xk 3 (r̂ · xk )2 − rk2
 
1 1
= + 2 + + O (10.4)
|x − xk | r r 2r3 r4

multipole expansion for V (x) by substituting these re-

sults and neglecting terms higher than quadrapoles we get

gu
(try to do by yourself, if you get frustrated, leave it)

V (x) =
1


4π0 r
Q r̂ · p r̂ · Q2 · r̂
+ 2 +
r r3

(10.5)
ics
The three terms are called the monopole (Q), dipole (p),
and quadupole (Q2 ) terms. Q is a scalar, equal to q1 + q2 ,
the total charge. The monopole term is dominant as r → ∞
ys

unless Q = 0. The parameter p is a vector, given by

p = q1 x 1 + q 2 x 2 (10.6)
Ph

called the electric dipole moment of the system. The dipole

term is dominant at large r if Q = 0. The parameter Q2 is
a tensor , given by

q1   q2 
3x1 x1 − r12 I + 3x2 x2 − r22 I

Q2 = (10.7)
2 2
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called the quadrupole moment. Here I denotes the unit

tensor. As a vector has one index, a tensor has two indices;
for example, (x1 x1 )ij = x1i x1 j and (I)ij = δij

ide
Monopole, dipole and quadrapole moment for discrete
(individual point charges) charge distribution is
N

gu Q=

p=
X

k=1
XN
qk

q k xk (10.8)
ics
k=1
N
X qk
3xk xk − rk2 I


Q2 =
2
k=1

Monopole, dipole and quadrapole moment for continuous

ys

charge distribution is
Ph

Z
Q= ρ (x0 ) d3 x0
Z
p= x0 ρ (x0 ) d3 x0 (10.9)
Z
1
3x0 x0 − r02 I ρ (x0 ) d3 x0


Q2 =
2

Notice the dependence on r for the various multipoles:

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For a charge (monopole) the potential decreases as 1/r and

the field as 1/r2 ; for a dipole the potential de- creases as
1/r2 and the field as 1/r3 ; for a quadrupole the potential

ide
decreases as as 1/r3 and the field as 1/r4 . This pattern gen-
eralizes to higher multipoles.

Example: To understand the notations we see the ex-

gu
ample. Charges q1 and q2 on the z axis, at z = d1 and z = d2
respectively, as shown in figure.
ics
ys
Ph

Figure 10.2: Two charges q1 and q2 : Calculation of potential

By symmetry, V (x) is V (r, θ) (independent of φ). The

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exact potential is

V (r, θ) =

ide
( )
1 q1 q2
p + p
4π0 r2 − 2rd1 cos θ + d21 r2 − 2rd2 cos θ + d22
(10.10)

The multipole expansion through order r−3 , valid for

gu
r  d1 , d2 , is
ics

1 q1 + q2 (q1 d1 + q2 d2 ) cos θ
V (r, θ) = +
4π0 r r2
2 2

) (10.11)
q1 d1 + q2 d2
3 cos2 θ − 1


+ 3
2r
ys

This result agrees with the general equation (10.5). The

total charge is Q = q1 + q2 , and the dipole moment is p =
Ph

(q1 d1 + q2 d2 ) k̂ . The quadrupole moment is

1
q1 d21 + q2 d22 (3k̂ k̂ − I)


Q2 = (10.12)
2

In general the dipole and quadrupole moments depend

on the choice of origin. For example, (10.11) shows that the

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multipole expansion for a single charge displaced from the

origin, e.g., q1 at (0, 0, d1 ) with q2 = 0 , has nonzero dipole
and quadrupole moments, p = q1 d1 k̂ and Q2 = q1 d21 (3k̂ k̂ −

ide
I)/2; whereas if the origin were chosen to be the position
of q1 there would be only a monopole term. An interesting
special case occurs if the total charge in the distribution is
0 ; then. p does not depend on the choice of origin.

10.1
gu Electric Dipole
ics
For two equal but opposite charges, i.e., q1 = q and q2 = −q,
the total charge is Q = 0, and the dipole moment is

p = qd (10.13)
ys

where d = x1 − x2 is the vector from the negative charge

(q2 = −q) to the positive charge (q1 = q) . This system is
Ph

called an electric dipole. An important limiting case is the

limit d → 0 with p fixed, called a point-like electric dipole.
In this limit, and taking the origin to be the position of
the dipole, all other multipole moments (quadrupole and
higher) are 0. The potential of a point-like dipole is
p · r̂
V (x) = (10.14)
4π0 r2
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for all x . If the dipole points in the z direction, i.e.,

p = p0 k̂ , then in spherical coordinates the dipole potential
is

ide
p0 cos θ
V (r, θ) = (10.15)
4π0 r2
The point-dipole potential is a good approximation for a

gu
neutral charge distribution that is small compared to all
length scales in the problem. For example, molecule, hav-
ing a size of order 10−10 m, acts as a point-like dipole when
ics
placed in a laboratory-scale field. The permanent dipole mo-
ments of small molecules such as H2 O, NH3 , HCl , or CO ,
are of the order of 1 debye (D), where 1D = 3.33 × 10−30 Cm
. One debye is approximately the dipole moment of two
ys

charges ±0.2e separated by 1 angstrom.

The electric field produced by a point-like electric dipole

Ph

located at the origin is

3r̂(p · r̂) − p
E(x) = −∇V = (10.16)
4π0 r3

For the special case of a dipole p = p0 k̂ located at the origin

and pointing in the z direction, the field in spherical polar

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coordinates is
p0
E(x) = −∇V = (2 cos θr̂ + sin θθ̂) (10.17)

ide
4π0 r3

Example: A sphere of radius R centered at the origin,

has charge density

gu ρ(r, θ) = k
R
r2
(R − 2r) sin θ

where k is constant. Find the approximate potential outside

the sphere along z-axis, far from the sphere.
ics
Solution: We will expand the potential in multipoles.
The monopole terms is zero, as can be seen by calculating
the total charge,
ys

R π
R − 2r
Z Z
Q =kR dr 2
sin θ2πr2 sin θdθ
r
Ph

0 0
R
Z Z π
= 2πkR (R − 2r)dr sin2 θdθ
0 0
R π
= 2πkR Rr − r2 0 × = 0


2
We next calculate the dipole term, which is obtained by
multiplying the integrand above by r cos θ. In this case, the

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angle integration is
Z π 3 π

sin θ
sin2 θ cos θdθ =  =0

ide
0 3 
0

Thus the dipole term also does not contribute to the po-
tential. We next calculate the quadrupole term, given by
R

Q = ρ(r)r2 3 cos2 θ − 1 d3 r. This can be calculated as
follows:

gu
Qzz = 2πkR
Z R

0
 3
Rr
2
r (R − 2r)dr

r4 
  R
Z π

0
sin2 θ 3 cos2 θ − 1 dθ
Z π


ics
2

2
= 2πkR −2 × 3 cos θ − 1 sin θdθ
3 4 0 0
R4 π kπ 2 R5
= 2πkR × =
6 8 24
ys

The potential due to the quadrupole is

1 Qzz kπR5
V = =
4π0 2r3 1920 r3
Ph

10.2 Torque and Force on a Dipole in an

Electric and field

What happen when an electric dipole is placed in an electric

field? It experiences some torque and force.

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A dipole p = qd in a uniform field E experiences a torque

N=p×E (10.18)

ide
Force on a dipole while placed in an non uniform (inho-
mogeneous) electric field

gu F = q(∆E) = (p · ∇)E

energy of an ideal dipole p in an electric field E is

(10.19)
ics
U = −p · E (10.20)

This cn also be written as

1 1
U= [p1 · p2 − 3 (p1 · r̂) (p2 · r̂)] (10.21)
ys

4π0 r3

10.3 The Force Between Electric Dipoles

Ph

As an application of our formula for electrostatic energy, we

can compute the force between two, far separated dipoles.
We place the first dipole, p1 , at the origin. It gives rise to
a potential
1 p1 · r
φ(r) =
4π0 r3
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Now, at some distance away, we place a second dipole. We’ll

take this to consist of a charge Q at position r and a charge
−Q at position r − d, with d  r. The resulting dipole

ide
moment is p2 = Qd. We’re not interested in the energy
stored in each individual dipole; only in the potential energy
needed to bring the two dipoles together. This is given by

Q
gu
U = Q(φ(r) − φ(r − d)) =

p1 · r
Q
4π0



1
p1 · r p1 · (r − d)
r3
−

3d · r
|r − d|3


ics
= − p1 · (r − d) 3 + 5 + . . .
4π0 r3 r r
 
Q p1 · d 3 (p1 · r) (d · r)
= −
4π0 r3 r5
ys

where, to get to the second line, we’ve Taylor expanded the

denominator of the second term. This final expression can
be written in terms of the second dipole moment. We find
Ph

the nice, symmetric expression for the potential energy of

two dipoles separated by distance r,
 
1 p1 · p2 3 (p1 · r) (p2 · r)
U= −
4π0 r3 r5

But, we know from our first course on dynamics that the

force between two objects is just given by F = −∇U . We

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learn that the force between two dipoles is given by

 
1 3 (p1 · r) (p2 · r) p1 · p2
F= ∇ −

ide
4π0 r5 r3

The strength of the force, and even its sign, depends on the
orientation of the two dipoles. If p1 and p2 lie parallel to
each other and to r then the resulting force is attractive. If

gu
p1 and p2 point in opposite directions, and lie parallel to r,
then the force is repulsive. The expression above allows us
to compute the general force.
ics
ys
Ph

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