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Work Done in Rotating an Electric Dipole in an Electric Field

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Estimated time: 3 minutes
CISCE: Class 12

Derivation

Think of a compass needle in Earth's magnetic field — it naturally aligns with the field, and turning it away requires work, just like rotating an electric dipole against an electric field.

Step 1: Torque on dipole at angle θ:

τ = pE sin⁡ θ

Step 2: Work done for a small rotation dθ (against torque):

dW = τ dθ = pE sin⁡ θ dθ

Step 3 — Integrate from θ₁ to θ₂:

W = \[\int_{\theta_1}^{\theta_2}pE\sin\theta d\theta=pE\left[-\cos\theta\right]_{\theta_1}^{\theta_2}\]
W = pE(cos⁡θ1 − cos⁡θ2)

Step 4: If dipole starts from stable equilibrium (θ1 = 0°) and rotates to θ:

W = pE(1 − cos ⁡θ)
CISCE: Class 12

Special Cases

Angle θ Physical Meaning Result
Stable equilibrium (p ∥ E) W = 0
90° Dipole perpendicular to E W = pE
180° Unstable equilibrium (p antiparallel to E) W = 2pE
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