PHYS 115 Chapter Notes - Chapter 16: Superposition Principle, Xerography, Electrostatic Precipitator
Document Summary
The work done by a conservative force can be reinterpreted as the negative of the charge in a potential energy associated with that force. The change in potential energy equation is only valid in the case of a uniform (constant) electric field, for a particle that undergoes a displacement along a given axis. Moving an object opposite the direction of the field results in a gain of potential energy, and upon release, the potential energy is converted to the object"s kinetic energy. The electric potential difference v between points a and b is the change in electric potential energy as a charge q moves from a to b divided by the charge q. Electric potential energy is a scalar quantity. 16. 2 electric potential and potential energy due to point charges. In electric circuits a point of zero electric potential is often defined by grounding (connecting to the earth) some point in the circuit.
