Electric Dipole - Creating Electric Field

Description:

Necessary conditions for a dipole in an electric field to experience force or a torque.

An electric field can apply force on a charge only when the net charge is not zero (i.e q ≠ 0).

Let there be two particle creating an electric field, such that the direction of electric field due to each of the charge is as shown in figure −

As the two electric field lines cannot intersect each other, so, they bend and becomes parallel. These parallel lines experience a transversal force of repulsion, due to which the two charges also get repelled away from each other, thereby providing sufficient space for electric field to move conveniently.

In order to experience force due to electric field the necessary conditions are −

• Both bodies should exert electric field.
• Their electric field should strike each other.
• They would not like to cancel each other .
• There should be a transversal force of repulsion.

We know that the net charge over a dipole is zero. But a dipole still can create electric field if the distance of positive and negative charge of the dipole is different with respect to any point (say O). We also know that electric field at a point depends on the distance. So the electric field created by the two charges will be different. Hence, the resultant electric field due to both the charges will be the net electric field due to the system.

Figure is

Note −

• At every point around the dipole there is always an electric field where another dipole will experiences torque.