Definition of Electric Potential: Formula, Examples and Uses

Electric potential refers to the amount of work needed to move one unit charge from a particular point to another in a given electric field. The reference point for the movement of charge is usually the Earth. However, the reference point can vary depending on the influence of the electric charge.

Two elements possess some electric potential energy. The charge will be possessed by the object and have a relative position concerning the other electrically charged objects around it. The magnitude of an electric potential will depend on the amount of work to be done to move the object from one point against the electric field.

What is Electric Potential Energy? 

The electric potential energy of any given charge or system refers to the changes in the system as the overall work that the external agent does for bringing change in the particular charge or the entire system. It will have a specific configuration that will undergo acceleration. Therefore, the electric potential energy can be defined as the unit charge that is located in the given outer space.

Electric Potential Overview

Students preparing for their respective class examinations must follow the schedule correctly. The electric potential charge chapter is one of Physics’s most important and fun concepts.

The electric potential energy is a scalar quantity. Therefore, it has no direction but only magnitude. Electric potential energy will be measured in Joules and is donated by V. The electric potential energy has a dimensional formula of ML2T-3A-1.

When calculating the electric potential energy of a substance, you must know that it depends on two important factors. These include:

• Own Electric Charge
• Relative Position Concerning Electrically Charged Objects

Electric Potential Formula

Every charge in an electric field will have some potential energy. This energy is further measured using the work done to move that charge from an infinity point to another point against the electric field. This is usually measured using two different charges, which the distance d will eventually separate. 

Following the example or theorem given above, the electric potential energy of that given point will be:

U = [1/(4πεo)] × [q1q2/d]

The system’s potential energy will increase when the two like charges, whether two protons or two electrons are brought close to each other. Similarly, when two unlike charges, a proton and an electron, are brought close to one another, the electric potential energy of the system will decrease.

How Do Electric Forces Function?

Electric forces are liable for pretty much each and every synthetic response that happens in your body. Practically all of the natural chemistry depends on understanding how these powers make electrons move among molecules and the progressions in the design or structure that happen when electrons move between iotas. In any case, the essential guidelines for electric powers are shockingly straightforward: electrons repulse different electrons. However, protons and electrons draw in one another. Here we will discuss where these powers come from and the various ideas that physicists, scientific experts, and scholars use to figure out electric power more readily.

Cell Layers

The layers or membranes that encompass your cells are involved slight layers of particles that stay together to frame a nonstop, two-layered sheet. The sheet is kept intact in light of the fact that the particles that structure the layer have exceptional dispersions of electric charges that permit them to remain together without dissolving in the water encompassing the cell.

Since the film is kept intact by the fascination of inverse charges, it is feasible to defeat this fascination by applying an enormous electric possible across the layer. In certain cells, applied electric possibilities are utilised to open and close the cell film to permit supplements and waste to enter and leave the cell. In nerve cells, the electric potential across the film can be handily different, permitting the cells to convey messages encoded in their layer potential.

Electric Potential of a Point Charge

Let us consider a point charge ‘q’ in the presence of another charge ‘Q’ with infinite separation between them.

UE (r) = ke × [qQ/r]

where, ke = 1/4πεo = Columb’s constant

Let us consider a point charge ‘q’ in the presence of several points charges Qi with infinite separation between them.

UE (r) = ke q × ∑ni = 1  [Qi /ri]

Electric Potential for Multiple Charges

In the case of 3 Charges:

If three charges q1, q2 and q3 are situated at the vertices of a triangle, the potential energy of the system is,

U =U12 + U23 + U31 = (1/4πεo) × [q1q2/d1 + q2q3/d2 + q3q1/d3]

In the case of 4 Charges:

If four charges q1, q2, q3 and q4 are situated at the corners of a square, the electric potential energy of the system is,

U = (1/4πεo) × [(q1q2/d) + (q2q3/d) + (q3q4/d) + (q4q1/d) + (q4q2/√2d) + (q3q1/√2d)]

Special Case:

In the field of a charge Q, if a charge q is moved against the electric field from a distance ‘a’ to a distance ‘b’ from Q, the work done is given by,

W = (Vb – Va) × q = [1/4πεo × (Qq/b)] – [1/4πεo × (Qq/a)] = Qq/4πεo[1/b – 1/a] = (Qq/4πεo)[(a-b)/ab]

The idea of electric potential helps understand electrical peculiarities; contrasts in potential energy are quantifiable. If an electric field is characterised as the power per unit charge, by relationship, an electric potential can be considered the potential energy per unit charge.

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