Question

Define electric flux.

Define electric flux. Is it a scalar or a vector quantity?

Answer 1

Electric flux is the total number of lines of force passing through the unit area of a surface held perpendicularly.

Electric flux ΔΦ through an area element ΔS is given by

ΔΦ = E.ΔS = EΔScosθ

θ is the angle between E and ΔS.

Answer 2

Electric flux is defined as the number of electric field lines crossing the per unit area. It is given as

`triangle phi = vecE.vec(triangleS) cos theta`

where `vecE` is Electric field and `vec(triangleS)`is area vector. The angle θ here is the angle between `vecE` and `vec(triangle S)`.

Since Electric flux is the dot product of two vectors, Hence it is a Scalar quantity.