Electric Field of a Line of Charge
Electric Field of a Line of Charge
According to the principle of superposition, the field generated by a collection of charges is the sum of the electric fields generated by each of the individual charges.
E
1
4
πϵ
0
n
∑
i=1
E
i
1
4
πϵ
0
n
∑
i=1
q
i
2
r
i
r
i
E
i
1
4
πϵ
0
q
i
2
r
i
r
i
r
i
r
i
r
If the charge distribution is continuous, then the total electric field can be calculated by integrating the electric fields generated by each small element of charge in the distribution.
d
E
dq
E
E
1
4
πϵ
0
r
2
r
ddq
E
r
2
r
r
r
r
dq=λdl
λ
This Demonstration illustrates the electric field generated by a line of charge.