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Question
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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Solution
(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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