PHYS 230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Test Particle, Electric Potential, Electric Field
Document Summary
Topics: electric potential energy u , electric potential v. Related reading: lea textbook, chapter 25. 1, 25. 2, 25. 3 alternative ebook sections 3. 1-3. 5. Just as electric fields are analogous to gravitational fields, electric potential is analogous to gravitational potential. We introduce from the point of view of calculating the electric potential given the electric field. Next we will consider the opposite process, that is, how to calculate the electric field if we are given the electric potential. Before defining potential, we first remind you of the more intuitive idea of potential energy. You are familiar with gravitational potential energy, u (= mgh in a uniform gravitational field g, such as is found near the surface of the. Earth), which changes for a mass m only as that mass changes its position. To change the potential energy of an object by u, one must do an equal amount of work wext, by pushing with a force fext large enough to move it: