PART 1 Find the equipotential and electric field lines. 3) Place the probe verti

Question

PART 1

Find the equipotential and electric field lines.
3) Place the probe vertically in the water (horizontally respect to Figure 1), move it at random points in the tray, what is the range of the possible values for the reading of the AC voltage?

To trace an equipotential line, move the probe to find the points corresponding to a constant value of the potential (e.g., 5 volts). Start measuring the first equipotential line about 2 cm away from the flat electrode (top electrode in Figure 1).

4) Read the coordinates of the probe location from the graph paper, have somebody else to plot the points on the dry graph paper. Move the probe to a new point on the same equipotential. About eight points should be enough to trace an equipotential line. Once an equipotential line has been traced over the desired region, move in about 3.0-volt intervals and repeat the process for the next potential. As you move closer to the other electrode (bottom electrode in Figure 1) use smaller volt intervals so you can better see the shape of the equipotential lines.

5) Using these equipotential lines, sketch the electric field lines (which are perpendicular to the equipotentials lines) on the same graph paper.

Questions:

6) At which points are the equipotential lines closest together?

7) Farthest apart?

8) What does this imply about the value of the electric field at these points?

9) Calculate approximate values of the electric field at the places where it is strongest and where it is weakest.

10) For better experimental results, you have used AC Voltage instead of DC Voltage. Now consider instead a DC voltage: 0-Volts on ‘wedge’ electrode and +20 Volts on the flat one, and imagine that a floating plastic object (positively charged) is placed in the middle of the tray. Describe its motion: in which direction will it move?

Will it feel a force? In which direction?

Will this force be constant trough out all its motion?

11) Why do the equipotential lines near the electrodes tend to follow the shape of the electrodes?

PART 2

Now replace the ‘wedge’ electrode in figure 1 with a circular electrode and repeat the procedure. 12) Find both the equipotential lines and the electric field lines and draw then on the second graph paper.

13) What is the value of the potential at the center of the circle?

Power supply AC electrodes probe Multimeter Figure 1 Setup of the experiment. Place a sheet of graph paper at the bottom of the tray and put 74 inch of water in the tray. Place your conducting electrodes in the tray as shown in the configuration in figure 1. Connect the electrodes to the AC power supply using two cables. Connect the probe to the multimeter and connect the multimeter to either one of the electrodes with one cable. Now the experiment is set up: you will use the power supply to provide a potential difference across the electrodes (one of the two electrodes is at 0-Volt) and the multimeter to measure the potential difference between points at various distances within the electrodes. Figure 4. Multimeter Figure 2. AC Power Supply Figure 3. Lab Setup ac voltage set ac power output voltage on readout.

Explanation / Answer

6. Equipotentail lines are closest at the points where the field is maximum.

7. They are farthest apart at the points where the field is weakest.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse P
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.