davisnotes/elec_contdist.html

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<title>Electricity - Electric Field Due to Continuous Charge
Distributions - Physics 299</title>
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<h1>Electric Field Due Continuous Charge Distribtuions<br>
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<center><img src="celticbar.gif" height="22" width="576"><br>
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<font color="#ff0000"><i>"</i></font><font color="#ff0000"><i>
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Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age
eighteen"</i></font><br>
Albert Einstein<br>
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<li>Electric charge is a property of individual particles -
protons, electrons etc.&nbsp; But since these particles are
extremely small it is often convenient to consider charge to be
continuously distributed.&nbsp; <br>
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<li>These distributions can be over a line (one dimension), an
area (two dimensions) or a volume (three dimensions).</li>
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<li>In order to determine the electric field due to a continuous
charge distribution we "sum" the fields due to the individual
"elements" that comprise the distribution, by integrating over
the line, area or volume in question.&nbsp; For example in the
example below charge is distributed uniformly over the rod on
the x axis.&nbsp; To determine the electric field at point P, we
write down the expression for the field at P due to the "point"
charge dq located at "x" as shown, then integrate over x from x
= 0 to x = x. <br>
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<div align="center"><img alt="contin charge dist"
src="elec_continchgdist.jpg" height="244" width="272"><br>
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<i><font color="#ff0000">Overheard after a student failed a
physics test miserably:
Nuclear, Hydrogen, Atomic, My test- They can all be bombs.</font></i><br>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New
Roman&quot;;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style:
italic;"></span></span> <br>
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&nbsp;
<p><i>Dr. C. L. Davis</i> <br>
<i>Physics Department</i> <br>
<i>University of Louisville</i> <br>
<i>email</i>: <a href="mailto:c.l.davis@louisville.edu">c.l.davis@louisville.edu</a>
<br>
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