In electrostatics, what is the significance of equipotential surfaces?
Practice Questions
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Q1
In electrostatics, what is the significance of equipotential surfaces?
They are surfaces where electric field is zero
They are surfaces where potential is constant
They are surfaces where charge density is uniform
They are surfaces where current flows
Equipotential surfaces are defined as surfaces where the electric potential is constant. No work is done when moving a charge along these surfaces.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: In electrostatics, what is the significance of equipotential surfaces?
Solution: Equipotential surfaces are defined as surfaces where the electric potential is constant. No work is done when moving a charge along these surfaces.
Steps: 4
Step 1: Understand what an equipotential surface is. It is a surface where the electric potential is the same at every point.
Step 2: Recognize that since the electric potential is constant, there is no change in potential energy when moving a charge along this surface.
Step 3: Realize that because there is no change in potential energy, no work is done when moving a charge along an equipotential surface.
Step 4: Note that equipotential surfaces are always perpendicular to electric field lines, which helps visualize the relationship between electric fields and potential.
