Chapter 22:

Electric field lines and Electric flux.

Gauss’ Law.
You must be able to use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field of a high-symmetry
charge distribution.

Conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.

You must be able to use Gauss’ law to draw conclusions about the behavior of charged
particles on, and electric fields in, conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.
 Electric Field Lines: “pictorial lines”
Electric field lines help us visualize the electric field and predict
how charged particles would respond to the field.

[Link]
 Electric Field Lines
Example: electric field lines for isolated +2e and -e charges.

The number of lines leaving a positive charge or

approaching a negative charge is proportional to the
magnitude of the charge.
 Electric Flux

We are now going to count the

number of electric field lines passing
through a surface, and use this E
count to determine the electric field.
The electric flux passing through a surface is the number of
electric field lines that pass through it.

Because electric field lines are drawn A

arbitrarily, we quantify electric flux E
like this: E=EA,

…except that…

If the surface is tilted with angle  ,

fewer lines cut the surface. E

Later we’ll learn about magnetic flux, which is
why I will use the subscript E on electric flux.
The green lines miss!
We define A to be a vector having a
magnitude equal to the area of the A
surface, in a direction normal to the 
surface. E

The “amount of surface” perpendicular
to the electric field is A cos .

Therefore, the amount of surface area effectively “cut through”

by the electric field is A cos .

AEffective = A cos  so E = EAEffective = EA cos .

Remember the dot product from Physics 101? E  E  A

If the electric field is not uniform, or the surface is not flat…

divide the surface into

infinitesimal surface
elements and add the
flux through each…

E E  lim
Ai 0
 E  A i i
A
dA i

 E   E  dA

a surface integral,
therefore a double integral 

Remember, the direction of dA

is normal to the surface.
If the surface is closed (completely encloses a volume), as the 6
faces of a cube …

…we count lines going out

as positive and lines going
in as negative…
E

dA
a surface integral, therefore a
double integral

For a closed surface, dA

is normal to the surface
and always points
away from the inside.
Example 11: Calculate the electric flux through a cylinder with
its axis parallel to the electric field direction.

I see three parts to the cylinder:

E
The left end cap.
dA For a closed surface, dA
is normal to the surface
and always points
away from the inside.
Electric Flux Example: Calculate the electric flux through a
cylinder with its axis parallel to the electric field direction.

I see three parts to the cylinder:

The tube.
E
Electric Flux Example: Calculate the electric flux through a
cylinder with its axis parallel to the electric field direction.

I see three parts to the cylinder:

E
The right end cap.
dA
Let’s separately calculate the contribution of each part to the
flux, then add to get the total (net) flux.

E   E  dA   E  dA left   E  dA tube   E  dAright

left tube right

E
The left end cap.
dA

The tube.
E

E
The right end cap.
dA
 E
The left end cap.
dA

Every dA on the left end cap is antiparallel to E. The angle

between the two vectors is 180

 E  dA
left
left   E dA
left
left cos180   E dA
left
left

E is uniform, so  E dA
left
left  E  dA left   EA left
left
 The tube.
E

E
Let’s look down the axis of the tube. 

E is pointing at you. dA

Every dA is radial (perpendicular

to the tube surface).

E
The angle between E and dA is 90.

dA
 E
The angle between E and dA is 90.

dA

 E  dA
tube
tube   E dA
tube
tube cos 90   0 dA
tube
tube 0

The tube contributes nothing to the flux!

 E
The right end cap.
dA

Every dA on the right end cap is parallel to E. The angle

between the two vectors is 0


right
E  dAright  
right
E dAright cos 0  
right
E dAright

E is uniform, so 
right
E dAright  E 
right
dAright  EAright
The net (total) flux

E   E  dA
left
left   E  dA
tube
tube  
right
E  dAright

 E  EA left  0  EA right  0

The flux is zero! Every electric field line that goes in also goes
out.
 E

The net electric flux through a closed cylindrical surface is zero.

 +
- E

If there were a + charge inside the cylinder, there would be

more lines going out than in.

If there were a - charge inside the cylinder, there would be

more lines going in than out…
…which leads us to…
Chapter 22:

Electric field lines and Electric flux.

Gauss’ Law.
You must be able to use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field of a high-symmetry
charge distribution.

Conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.

You must be able to use Gauss’ law to draw conclusions about the behavior of charged
particles on, and electric fields in, conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.
Gauss’ Law
Mathematically*, we express the idea of the last two slides as
  q enclosed
Φ E   E  dA 
ε0

We will find that Gauss’ law gives a very simple way to calculate
electric fields for charge distributions that exhibit a very high
degree of symmetry…
Hmm… Let’s check out the calculation of the electric flux
through the cylinder of the last few slides:
the charge enclosed is zero and thus the total flux is zero too!

Gauss’ Law
Always true, not always useful!

*“Mathematics is the Queen of the Sciences.”—Karl Gauss

Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field from an
isolated point charge q.

Let’s assume the point charge E

is +.

The electric field everywhere

points away from the charge.
+q

If you go any distance r away from

+q, the electric field is always
directed “out” and has the same
magnitude as the electric field at
any other r, i.e. E is constant in
magnitude and in direction
(uniform).
What is the symmetry of the electric field? Spherical symmetry.
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field from an
isolated point charge q.
  q enclosed
E
 E  dA  ε 0
To apply Gauss’ Law, we really
want to pick a surface for which
we can easily evaluate E  dA.
+q
So let’s draw a Gaussian
sphere of radius r, enclosing
and centered on +q. r
“Centered on” makes it easy to
evaluate E  dA. dA

Everywhere on the sphere, E and dA are parallel and E is

constant so You do know the formula
for Asphere, don’t you? If
not, ask your 4th grade
Math teacher!
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field from an
isolated point charge q.
  q enclosed
E
 E  dA  ε 0
The charge enclosed by my
Gaussian sphere is q, so
+q
q
E 4r 
2

o r

q dA
E=
4 o r 2
The direction of E is shown in the diagram.
q Or you can say E is “radially out.”
E=k 2
r
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field from an
isolated point charge q.
q E
E= , away from +q
4o r 2

“But wait,” you say, “we

already knew the equation for +q
the electric field of a point
charge. We haven’t learned r
anything new. It was a lot of
work for nothing.”

Wrong! You have learned how to apply Gauss’ Law. You will
find this technique extremely useful on the following examples.
 Strategy for Solving Gauss’ Law Problems

 Select a Gaussian surface with symmetry that “matches” the

charge distribution.
You want E to be constant in magnitude and in direction

 Evaluate the surface integral (electric flux).

 Determine the charge inside the Gaussian surface.

 Solve for E.
Example 12 : calculate the electric field for 0<r< for an
insulating spherical shell of inner radius a, outer radius b, and
with a uniform volume charge density  spread throughout shell.

Note: we will study the conducting shell next lecture.

Example: calculate the electric field for 0<r< for an insulating
spherical shell of inner radius a, outer radius b, and with a
uniform volume charge density  spread throughout shell.

Before choosing a Gaussian


surface, we need to have a
clear picture of the charge
distribution. a

Draw a spherical shell. Drawn is a b

2D slice through the center of the
3D sphere.

A uniform volume charge density  is distributed throughout

the shell. Let’s indicate this in the diagram.

The inner radius is a and the outer radius is b.

Example: calculate the electric field for 0<r< for an insulating
spherical shell of inner radius a, outer radius b, and with a
uniform volume charge density  spread throughout shell.

I see three different


regions: 0<r<a, a<r<b, and
r>b. We should do each
region separately. a

b
What is the symmetry of the charge
distribution?

It is obviously spherical!
Example (First Part): calculate the electric field for 0<r<a.


For 0<r<a, draw a Gaussian
sphere of radius r<a,
centered on the center of
the shell. r
  q enclosed
 E  dA  ε 0
How much charge is enclosed by the sphere? qenclosed=0.
  q enclosed
 E  dA  0 ε 0
Thus, the only way for the integral to be zero is if E  0.

So for 0<r<a, E  0.
Example (Second Part): calculate the electric field for a<r<b.
For a<r<b, draw a Gaussian E >0

sphere of radius a<r<b,
centered at the center of a
the shell.
Let’s assume  is positive, so that I b r
have a direction to draw the electric
field. A negative  just reverses the
direction of the electric field.

The charge distribution is spherically symmetric (you see the

“same” thing at any given r). Therefore you must see the
same electric field at any given r, so the electric field is also
spherically symmetric.
A spherically symmetric electric field is everywhere radial and
has the same magnitude at any given r. For >0, E is “out.”
Example (Second Part): calculate the electric field for a<r<b.

Everywhere on the sphere, E and dA E >0

are parallel and E is constant so
a

b r

dA

That was easy so far, wasn’t it.

The “tricky” part is finding qenclosed. We have to determine the
charge inside the dashed-line Gaussian sphere.

The volume charge density is . The amount of charge in a

volume V is simply V.
Example (Second Part): calculate the electric field for a<r<b.

The charge enclosed by the >0

dashed-line Gaussian sphere is
the total charge on a spherical a
shell of inner radius a and outer
radius r. b r

qenclosed  qshell of inner radius a and outer radius r

qenclosed  Vshell of inner radius a and outer radius r

q enclosed    Vsphere of radius r  Vsphere of radius a 

4 3 4 3 4
   r  a     r 3  a 3 
Notice it doesn’t matter how
q enclosed large b is. It’s only the
3 3  3 charge inside r that counts.
Example (Second Part): calculate the electric field for a<r<b.

Finishing… >0

  r 3  a 3 
4 a
E 4r 2  3
0 b r

  
3 3
r a
E
3 0 r 2

Above is the magnitude E, the direction is radially out.

We still need to calculate the electric field for r>b.

Example (Third Part): calculate the electric field for r>b.

  q enclosed E
 E  dA  ε 0 >0
Vshell of inner radius a and outer radius b
E 4r  2
a
o
Hmm.. How about the b r
volume of the shell of
inner radius b and outer
radius r?
dA

   b3  a 3 
4 This is just Q/40r2,
E 3 2 like a point charge.
4r  o Why is it so?

  b3  a 3 
E , radially out
3o r 2
Summary: electric field for 0<r< for an insulating spherical
shell of inner radius a, outer radius b, and with a uniform
volume charge density  spread throughout shell.

0<r<a E0

  r3  a 3 
a<r<b E , radially out
30 r 2

  b3  a 3 
b<r E , radially out
3o r 2

Something to note: E is continuous at both r=a and r=b.

Chapter 22:

Electric field lines and Electric flux.

Gauss’ Law examples.

You must be able to use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field of a high-symmetry
charge distribution.

Conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.

You must be able to use Gauss’ law to draw conclusions about the behavior of charged
particles on, and electric fields in, conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.
 Gauss’ Law

Last time we learned that

  q enclosed
Φ E   E  dA  Gauss’ Law
ε0 Always true, not always easy to apply.

and used Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field for

spherically-symmetric charge distributions (Example 12)

Today we will calculate electric fields for other patterns of

charge distributions that exhibit high degree of symmetry, and
then consider what Gauss’ Law has to say about conductors in
electrostatic equilibrium.
Example 13 : calculate the electric field outside a long
insulating cylinder of finite radius R with a uniform volume
charge density  spread throughout the volume of the cylinder.

“long” cylinder with “finite” radius means neglect end effects;

i.e., treat cylinder as if it were infinitely long.

Cylinder is looooooong. I’m just showing a bit of it here.

Example: calculate the electric field outside a long cylinder of
finite radius R with a uniform volume charge density  spread
throughout the volume of the cylinder.

>0

Note how we neglect end effects

 E

dA
Looking down the axis of the cylinder.
 dA

>0

r R

L
E
You should be aware of the difference between r and L: you are requested to
calculate the field outside the cylinder, i.e., at r > R. On the other hand, L is
the length of the “Gaussian surface”. Therefore, r is a real parameter
determined by the problem, while L is just a “fabricated” parameter! Thus,
you might anticipate that the field will not depend on L.
 E
dA
E  dA  0 because E  dA

dA
E  dA  0 because E  dA

E
 dA
E

E  dA  E dA because E // dA
Also E  E must be constant at any given r.
 dA
E

L
We need the area of the
tube; the two end caps
contribute zero flux
E   E  dA   E  dA   E dA  E  dA
tube tube tube

 E  circumference of Gaussian cylinder  length of GC 

 E  2r  L 
 dA
E
>0

r R

  q enclosed
EEddA
A  E 2r L 
o
You would better know
the formulae for Acylinder
and Vcylinder .

Venclosed   A base  length    R 2   L 

E 2r L   
o o o
 dA
E
>0

r R

  R 2   L  L cancels out!
E 2r L 
o
R 2 R 2
E 
2o r 2o r
 dA
E
>0

r R

R 2
For positive : E , radially out
2o r

 R2 common sense:
In general: E  E αρ
2 o r E α 1/r
Example 14 : use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due
to a long line of charge, with linear charge density .

This is very easy using Gauss’ Law (remember what a pain it

was in the previous chapter, namely Example 5).
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due to a
long line of charge, with linear charge density .

Line is looooooong.

E >0
 E

dA
Looking down the line.
 dA
E
>0

Don’t forget the difference between r and L

 E dA

>0

  q enclosed λL
 E  dA  E2π r L  ε 0  ε 0 E is constant

L cancels out!
 λ
For positive : E  , radially out
2 πε 0 r common sense:
λ 2k λ E αλ
In general: E  or: E
2πε0 r r E α 1/r
Recall the result of Example 5 L
from the previous chapter:
Q L2 dx
E y  kd  d
L L 2
x 2
d 
2 3/2

P
Evaluation of the integral (with the aid of an integral table or a
software package like Mathematica or Maple) gives us

 This is the same result but attained

2 πε 0 d here (using Gauss’ law) in a much
simpler way!
Example 15 : use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due
to an infinite sheet of charge, with surface charge density .

This is very easy using Gauss’ Law (study example 21.11 in

your text!!)
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due to
an infinite sheet of charge, with surface charge density .

>0

Two views of sheet of charge; side view looking edge on, and
top view looking down. Sheet extends infinitely far in two
dimensions.
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due to
an infinite sheet of charge, with surface charge density .

>0
E

E

For this electric field symmetry, we

usually use a “pillbox” (cylinder or
rectangular shape) for our Gaussian
surface.
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due to
an infinite sheet of charge, with surface charge density .

E
>0

H E


 
E  dA  2   
E π r 2

q enclosed  
q enclosed  σ π r 2
ε0

One more time: (π r2) is the area of the “Gaussian surface”. The pillbox is a
fabricated surface. The field should not depend on such parameter!
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due to
an infinite sheet of charge, with surface charge density .

E
>0

H E

2Eπ r  
2

 
σ π r2
ε0 That sure was way easier
than the derivation back
σ in Example 21.11!
E
2ε 0
Example: use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field due to
an infinite sheet of charge, with surface charge density .

E
>0

H E

r

For positive : E , away from the sheet
2ε 0
E is constant everywhere
σ (r independent!).
In general: E We will recall this result
2ε 0
when we study capacitors
(Chapter 24).
Example 16 : an insulating solid sphere of radius a has a
uniform charge density ρ and a total positive charge Q.
I) Calculate the electric field at a point inside the sphere.
  qqenclosed Venclosed
 EEddA
A  
enclosed

ε0o o
r 4 3
a   r 
E  4r    
2 3
Q o

II) Calculate the electric field at a point outside the sphere.

Hmm… one has to anticipate that the field is identical to that

for a point charge: Q/40r2

Quiz: check for the continuity of E(r) inside & outside the
sphere at r = a
Gauss’ Law works well for three patterns of symmetry:

Charge Symmetry Gaussian Surface

spherical (example 12 & 16) concentric sphere
cylindrical (example 13 & 14) coaxial cylinder
planar (example 15) pillbox

You can tackle very difficult (high-symmetry) problems in a very

easy way by using this technique.

Gauss’ Law
Always true, not always useful!
Chapter 22:

Electric field lines and Electric flux.

Gauss’ Law examples.

You must be able to use Gauss’ Law to calculate the electric field of a high-symmetry
charge distribution.

Conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.

You must be able to use Gauss’ law to draw conclusions about the behavior of charged
particles on, and electric fields in, conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.
 Conductors in Electrostatic Equilibrium
Free electron (Copper) Vs Bound electron (Rubber)

Electrostatic equilibrium means there is no net motion of the

charge carriers (mediators) inside the conductor.

1) The electric field inside the conductor must be zero.

If this were not the case, charges would accelerate.

2) Any excess charge must reside on the outside surface of the

conductor. No net charge on the interior surface of the conductor.

Apply Gauss’ law to a Gaussian surface just inside the

conductor surface. The electric field is zero, so the net charge
inside the Gaussian surface is zero. Any excess charge must go
outside the Gaussian surface, and on the conductor surface.
3) The electric field just outside a charged conductor must be
perpendicular to the conductor’s surface.

Otherwise, the component of the electric field parallel to the

surface would cause charges to accelerate.

4) The magnitude of the electric field just outside a charged

conductor is equal to /0, where  is the magnitude of the
local surface charge density.

Different from infinite sheet of charge by a factor of 2 because

E is zero inside the conductor.
Example 17 : a conducting spherical shell of inner radius a
and outer radius b with a net charge -Q is centered on point
charge +2Q. Use Gauss’s law to show that there is a charge of
-2Q on the inner surface of the shell, and a charge of +Q on
the outer surface of the shell.

  q enclosed
-Q
 E  dA  ε 0
r a
E=0 inside the conductor!
+2Q q enclosed Q I  2Q
b QI 0   Q I  -2Q
ε0 ε0
Example: a conducting spherical shell of inner radius a and
outer radius b with a net charge -Q is centered on point charge
+2Q. Use Gauss’s law to show that there is a charge of
-2Q on the inner surface of the shell, and a charge of +Q on
the outer surface of the shell.
QI  -2Q
From Gauss’ Law we know
-Q that excess charge must
reside on the outside
r a
surface of the conductor:
+2Q Electric charge is neither
b QI created nor annihilated; it is
conserved:

Qshell  -Q  QI  QO  -2Q  QO
QO - Q  -2Q  QO  QO  Q
Example 18 : An insulating spherical shell has an inner radius b
and outer radius c. The shell has a uniformly distributed total
charge +Q. Concentric with the shell is a solid conducting sphere
of total charge +2Q and radius a<b. Find the magnitude of the
electric field for r<a.
+Q
For 0<r<a, we are inside
the conductor, so E=0. b a

c
If E=0 there is no need to +2Q
specify a direction (and the
problem doesn’t ask for one
anyway).
An insulating spherical shell has an inner radius b and outer radius c. The
shell has a uniformly distributed total charge +Q. Concentric with the shell
is a solid conducting sphere of total charge +2Q and radius a<b. Use Gauss’
Law to find the magnitude of the electric field for a<r<b.

  q enclosed +Q
 E  dA  ε 0
b a
r
E  4r  
2 2Q c
o +2Q

Q
E
2 o r 2

Be able to do this: begin with a statement of Gauss’s Law. Draw an

appropriate Gaussian surface on the diagram and label its radius r. Justify
the steps leading to your answer.
An insulating spherical shell has an inner radius b and outer radius c. The
shell has a uniformly distributed total charge +Q. Concentric with the shell
is a solid conducting sphere of total charge +2Q and radius a<b. Use Gauss’
Law to find the magnitude of the electric field for b<r<c.

  q enclosed
 E  dA  ε 0 +Q

b a
+2Q
qshell,enclosed  qconductor,enclosed
E  4r 
2 r

o c

q conductor,enclosed  2Q

Qshell Hmm.. Recall

q shell,enclosed  shell Vshell,enclosed  Vshell,enclosed Example 12 and
Vshell compare how we
determined qenclosed
 Qshell +Q
q shell,enclosed  Vshell,enclosed
Vshell b a
+2Q
r

Q 4 3 4 3
qshell,enclosed   r  b  c
4 3 4 3 3 3 
 3 c  b 
3

Q  r 3  b3 
qshell,enclosed 
c 3
 b3 

Q  r 3  b3  The direction of E is shown

 2Q in the diagram. Solving for
E  4r
c 3
b 3

2
 o
the magnitude E (do it!) is
“just” math.
 An insulating spherical shell has an inner radius b and outer radius c. The
shell has a uniformly distributed total charge +Q. Concentric with the shell
is a solid conducting sphere of total charge +2Q and radius a<b. Find the
magnitude of the electric field for r>c.

4 3 4 3
Qshell    c  b 
3 3 
  q enclosed
 E  dA  ε 0
 4 3𝟑 4 3 
  r𝐜  b   2Q
E  4r    
2 3 3
o
What would be different if we had concentric cylinders instead of concentric spheres?
What would be different if the outer shell were a conductor instead of an insulator?