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प्रश्न
Draw equipotential surfaces:
(1) in the case of a single point charge and
(2) in a constant electric field in Z-direction. Why are the equipotential surfaces about a single charge not equidistant?
(3) Can electric field exist tangential to an equipotential surface? Give reason
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उत्तर
(1)
(2)
The equipotential surfaces about a single charge are not equidistant because electric field due to a single change is not constant.
(3) If the electric field exist along tangential to an equipotential surface, a charged particle will experience a force along the tangential line and can move along it. As a charged particle can move only due to the potential difference (along with the direction of change of potential), this contradicts the concept of an equipotential surface.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
Draw a sketch of equipotential surfaces due to a single charge (-q), depicting the electric field lines due to the charge
Two charges 2 μC and −2 µC are placed at points A and B 6 cm apart.
- Identify an equipotential surface of the system.
- What is the direction of the electric field at every point on this surface?
Describe schematically the equipotential surfaces corresponding to
(a) a constant electric field in the z-direction,
(b) a field that uniformly increases in magnitude but remains in a constant (say, z) direction,
(c) a single positive charge at the origin, and
(d) a uniform grid consisting of long equally spaced parallel charged wires in a plane.
The top of the atmosphere is at about 400 kV with respect to the surface of the earth, corresponding to an electric field that decreases with altitude. Near the surface of the earth, the field is about 100 Vm−1. Why then do we not get an electric shock as we step out of our house into the open? (Assume the house to be a steel cage so there is no field inside!)
What are the forms of energy into which the electrical energy of the atmosphere is dissipated during a lightning?
(Hint: The earth has an electric field of about 100 Vm−1 at its surface in the downward direction, corresponding to a surface charge density = −10−9 C m−2. Due to the slight conductivity of the atmosphere up to about 50 km (beyond which it is good conductor), about + 1800 C is pumped every second into the earth as a whole. The earth, however, does not get discharged since thunderstorms and lightning occurring continually all over the globe pump an equal amount of negative charge on the earth.)
Draw the equipotential surfaces due to an electric dipole. Locate the points where the potential due to the dipole is zero.
The diagrams below show regions of equipotentials.
(i) |
(ii) |
(iii) |
(iv) |
A positive charge is moved from A to B in each diagram.
Can two equipotential surfaces intersect each other?
Equipotential surfaces ______.
- are closer in regions of large electric fields compared to regions of lower electric fields.
- will be more crowded near sharp edges of a conductor.
- will be more crowded near regions of large charge densities.
- will always be equally spaced.
Prove that a closed equipotential surface with no charge within itself must enclose an equipotential volume.
