PH 122 Lecture Notes - Van De Graaff Generator, Equipotential, Electric Potential Energy
Document Summary
Electric fields are responsible for another type of potential energy. Energy is stored in the arrangement of charges. Capacitors can store a lot of energy that can be quickly discharged. Muscle and nerve cells have large electric fields. Depolarization of nerve and muscle cells produces externally measurable fields. Suppose you need to roll a stone to the top of a hill. A +1. 0 nc charge sits at a certain point in the earth"s field, which is 100 n/c, directed down. uphill) If the charge is moved upward, the electric potential energy will be increased (moving. The potential is the potential energy per charge . The change in potential energy when a charge goes through a potential difference v. We generally look at differences in potential; a difference in potential v is called a voltage. In a uniform field, moving a distance d produces a change in potential. Thus the field is given by the change in potential as follows.
