PHY 182 1st Edition Lecture 17Outline of Last Lecture I. Calculating Electric Fields with Gauss's LawII. Conductors in Electrostatic EquilibriumOutline of Current Lecture I. Introduction to Electric PotentialII. Important Concepts to RememberCurrent LectureIntroduction to Electric Potential- We will build our understanding of electric potential by developing a comparison to gravitational potential.- For gravity, you can look at it from an energy perspective with constant acceleration (U=mgy) or non-constant potential (U=-GMm/r). Remember that with the second equation, it is the potential energy for both masses.- Similarly, for a constant electric field (and thus, constant acceleration), the electric potential is U=qEy.- For most problems, you will set the initial potential equal to final potential. Be sure to include electric potential and kinetic energy. Usually the initial kinetic energy will be zero. Also, the final electric potential can usually be zero. In this situation, you would have initial electric potential equal to final kinetic energy.- If you have a problem in which the electric field is not uniform (and thus acceleration is not constant), you will use the equation U=kQq/r. There are two things to remember about this equation: first, that this will yield the potential of both charges; second, you have to include the signs of both charges.- If the two charges are infinitely far apart, the electric potential will be zero.Important Concepts to RememberThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- For like charges, the electric potential will decrease as the distance between them increases.- For unlike charges, the magnitude of the electric potential will approach zero (become less negative) as the distance increases.- The charge of an alpha particle is +2e.- The charge of a positron is +e.- The potential energy of dipoles is equal to the negative cross product of the dipole moment and the electric
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