Question

Is electrostatic potential necessarily zero at a point where electric field strength is zero? Justify.

Answer 1

Electric potential is a scalar quantity, whereas electric field intensity is a vector. When adding potentials at a point due to multiple point charges, the procedure is simple scalar addition. The sign of V is dictated by the sign of the producing q. At a given position, the net field is the total of individual charge fields. An electric dipole’s potentials are identical in magnitude but opposite in sign, resulting in a total of zero. The electric fields generated by charges are equal in magnitude and direction, pointing toward the negative charge, resulting in a net field that is not zero. Midway between two equal charges, the potentials are equal in magnitude and sign, resulting in a non-zero net potential. The fields created by two equal charges are identical in magnitude but opposite in direction, resulting in a vector sum of zero.