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- PHY102 Physics II © Dr.Cem Özdoğan
- The equation for the electric field set up by a particle does not apply to an extended object with charge (said to have a continuous charge distribution).
- 22-6 The Electric Field due to a Continuous Charge
- Because the individual electric fields dE have different magnitudes and point in different directions, we first see if symmetry allows us to cancel out any of the components of the fields, to simplify the integration.
- dq = dL
- dq = dS
- dq = dV
- To find the electric field of an extended object at a point, we first consider the electric field set up by a charge element dq in the object, where the element is small enough for us to apply the equation for a particle.
- Assumption: divide into small parts
- Then we sum, via integration, components of the electric fields dE from all the charge elements.