Continuous charge distribution
Definition
A continuous charge distribution is a model where the electric charge is spread over a region of space rather than being confined to discrete points. This concept is used to calculate the electric field produced by objects with uniformly distributed charges.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
- In continuous charge distributions, charge density can be expressed in terms of volume, surface, or linear density.
- The electric field due to a continuous charge distribution is calculated using integration over the charged region.
- For volume distributions, the charge density is denoted by $\rho$ and has units of C/m³.
- For surface distributions, the charge density is denoted by $\sigma$ and has units of C/m².
- For linear distributions, the charge density is denoted by $\lambda$ and has units of C/m.
Review Questions
- What are the different types of charge densities in continuous charge distributions?
- How do you calculate the electric field from a continuous charge distribution?
- What are the units for volume, surface, and linear charge densities?
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Related terms
Electric Field: A vector field that represents the force exerted per unit charge at any point in space.
Charge Density: The amount of electric charge per unit volume, surface area, or length.
Gauss's Law: A law stating that the net flux of an electric field through a closed surface is proportional to the enclosed electric charge.
