Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
Electric potential, often denoted as V, represents the amount of electric potential energy per unit charge at a specific point in an electric field. It describes how much work would be done to move a positive test charge from infinity to that point.
Related terms
Voltage: Voltage is another term for electric potential difference, which measures the change in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points in an electrical circuit.
Capacitance refers to an object's ability to store electrical energy in an electric field. It depends on both geometry and material properties.
Equipotential Surfaces: Equipotential surfaces are imaginary surfaces where all points have equal electric potentials. They are perpendicular to electric field lines and help visualize regions with constant potentials.