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The work can be done, for example, by electrochemical devices (electrochemical cells) or different metals junctions [clarification needed] generating an electromotive force. Electric field work is formally equivalent to work by other force fields in physics, [1] and the formalism for electrical work is identical to that of mechanical work.
By definition, the change in electrostatic potential energy, U E, of a point charge q that has moved from the reference position r ref to position r in the presence of an electric field E is the negative of the work done by the electrostatic force to bring it from the reference position r ref to that position r.
In classical electrostatics, the electrostatic field is a vector quantity expressed as the gradient of the electrostatic potential, which is a scalar quantity denoted by V or occasionally φ, [1] equal to the electric potential energy of any charged particle at any location (measured in joules) divided by the charge of that particle (measured ...
The work done is given by the dot product of the two vectors, where the result is a scalar. When the force F is constant and the angle θ between the force and the displacement s is also constant, then the work done is given by: = If the force is variable, then work is given by the line integral:
The definition of electrostatic potential, combined with the differential form of Gauss's law (above), provides a relationship between the potential Φ and the charge density ρ: =. This relationship is a form of Poisson's equation. [11]
Coulomb's inverse-square law, or simply Coulomb's law, is an experimental law [1] of physics that calculates the amount of force between two electrically charged particles at rest. This electric force is conventionally called the electrostatic force or Coulomb force . [ 2 ]
In most applications, Coulomb's law determines the force acting on an electric charge. Electric potential is the work done to move an electric charge from one point to another within an electric field, typically measured in volts.
The work function W for a given surface is defined by the difference [1] =, where −e is the charge of an electron, ϕ is the electrostatic potential in the vacuum nearby the surface, and E F is the Fermi level (electrochemical potential of electrons) inside the material.