Continuous charge distribution

Definition

A continuous charge distribution is a model where the electric charge is spread over a region of space rather than being confined to discrete points. This concept is used to calculate the electric field produced by objects with uniformly distributed charges.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. In continuous charge distributions, charge density can be expressed in terms of volume, surface, or linear density.
2. The electric field due to a continuous charge distribution is calculated using integration over the charged region.
3. For volume distributions, the charge density is denoted by $\rho$ and has units of C/m³.
4. For surface distributions, the charge density is denoted by $\sigma$ and has units of C/m².
5. For linear distributions, the charge density is denoted by $\lambda$ and has units of C/m.

Review Questions

• What are the different types of charge densities in continuous charge distributions?
• How do you calculate the electric field from a continuous charge distribution?
• What are the units for volume, surface, and linear charge densities?

Related terms

Electric Field: A vector field that represents the force exerted per unit charge at any point in space.

Charge Density:

The amount of electric charge per unit volume, surface area, or length.

Gauss's Law:

A law stating that the net flux of an electric field through a closed surface is proportional to the enclosed electric charge.