Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Electric Field and Potential Expansion

In course

PHYS-324: Classical electrodynamics

The goal of this course is the study of the physical and conceptual consequences of Maxwell equations. ...

Description

This lecture covers the expansion of electric field and potential, including calculations and applications. Topics include dipole moments, charge distributions, and the relationship between potential and field. The lecture also discusses the Laplace equation and its solutions.

This video is available exclusively on Mediaspace for a restricted audience. Please log in to MediaSpace to access it if you have the necessary permissions.

Watch on Mediaspace

Instructor

Victor Gorbenko

Official source

Related concepts (17)

Electric potential

The electric potential (also called the electric field potential, potential drop, the electrostatic potential) is defined as the amount of work energy needed per unit of electric charge to move this charge from a reference point to the specific point in an electric field. More precisely, it is the energy per unit charge for a test charge that is so small that the disturbance of the field under consideration is negligible.

Electric field

An electric field (sometimes E-field) is the physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles and exerts force on all other charged particles in the field, either attracting or repelling them. It also refers to the physical field for a system of charged particles. Electric fields originate from electric charges and time-varying electric currents. Electric fields and magnetic fields are both manifestations of the electromagnetic field, one of the four fundamental interactions (also called forces) of nature.

Electromagnetic field

An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by moving electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical counterpart to the quantized electromagnetic field tensor in quantum electrodynamics (a quantum field theory). The electromagnetic field propagates at the speed of light (in fact, this field can be identified as light) and interacts with charges and currents.

Magnetic field

A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to the magnetic field. A permanent magnet's magnetic field pulls on ferromagnetic materials such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.

Electric dipole moment

The electric dipole moment is a measure of the separation of positive and negative electrical charges within a system, that is, a measure of the system's overall polarity. The SI unit for electric dipole moment is the coulomb-meter (C⋅m). The debye (D) is another unit of measurement used in atomic physics and chemistry. Theoretically, an electric dipole is defined by the first-order term of the multipole expansion; it consists of two equal and opposite charges that are infinitesimally close together, although real dipoles have separated charge.

Related lectures (31)

Second Maxwell's equation: Magnetic dipole

Covers Maxwell's equations, magnetic dipoles, vector potential, torque, and field patterns.

Electromagnetism and Optics: Forces, Fields, and Optics

Covers the basics of electromagnetism and optics, including forces, fields, and optical principles.

Atomic Structure: Charge Density and Electric Field

Explains charge density and electric field distribution within an atom.

Electric field and electric potential

Covers electric field, potential, field lines, and potential difference with practical examples.

Electric Potential and Field Relationship