Download Equipotential

Equipotential
No Change
 A charge moving perpendicular
to field lines has no change in
potential.
 A line that is always
perpendicular to the field lines
connects point of equal
voltage.
q
q
 This is an equipotential line.
E
Equipotential Lines
 Equipotentials occur in any field.
• Altitude for gravitational field
Spherical Shell
 The equipotential line
for a point charge in a
plane is a circle.
 The field lines go in 3-
dimensions.
 The equipotential is
actually a spherical
surface.
Perpendicular Lines
 All field lines are perpendicular
to the surface of a conductor.
 The surface of the conductor is
an equipotential surface.
 The interior is also at the same
potential.
• An equipotential volume
q
q
Dipole Potential
 The field lines of a
dipole can be used
to find equipotential
lines.
Electrocardiography
 The heart muscle produces
electrical potential differences.
• Typically 1 mV at the skin
 At any time there are
equipotential lines on the skin.
 The heart beat trace is the
voltage at one point on the
skin.
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